Dr. Wesley Britton
Reviewer
Dr. Wesley Britton: Dr. Britton is the author of four books on
espionage in literature and the media. He is also co-host of the
online radio program, Dave White Presents,
for which he interviews authors, musicians, and entertainment
insiders. His website is www.spywise.net; the radio program is
archived at http://www.audioentertainment.org/dwp. Dr. Britton teaches
English at Harrisburg Area Community College.
View all articles by Dr. Wesley Britton
Author: Adam BertocciPublisher: Simon & Schuster ISBN-10: 1451605811: ISBN-13: 978-1451605815Click Here To Purchase Two Gentlemen of Lebowski: A Most Excellent Comedie and Tragical Romance
In
2009, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies jump-started a new literary
trend—comic mashups in which, usually, a revered classic is blended with
characters from B movie lore. How about Sense and Sensibility and Sea
Monsters, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Zombie Jim, Little Vampire
Women, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, or Android Karenina? Not
surprisingly, William Shakespeare has found his way into such fusions
as with Romeo and Juliet and Vampires. Taking the whole concept up a
notch or two, perhaps, is Adam Bertocci’s Two Gentlemen of Lebowski: A
Most Excellent Comedie and Tragical Romance. This time, virtually the
entire Shakespeare canon is mashed with the 1998 Cohen brothers cult
favorite, The Big Lebowski. The film’s “Dudeism” can be seen in previous
books, essays, and a strong viral online presence; the latter will
likely provide the bulk of the audience interested in this new mashup.
After all, familiarity with the sources being played with is the key to
the humor, and if one hasn’t seen The Big Lebowski in some time, or
ever, much of the playfulness of this effort will be lost. Fortunately
for Bertocci, response to the earlier online posting of this five-act
play in verse was so huge, the new print edition should find a built-in
readership. On
the other side of the coin, lovers of the Bard can enjoy the word-play
drawn from a variety of Shakespeare’s works. Examples are evident in the
play’s opening lines: In wayfarer's worlds out west was once a man,
A man I come not to bury, but to praise.
His name was Geoffrey Lebowski call'd, yet
Not called, excepting by his kin.
That which we call a knave by any other name
Might bowl just as sweet. Lebowski, then,
Did call himself'the Knave', a name that I,
Your humble chorus, would not self-apply
In homelands mine; but, then, this Knave was one
From whom sense was a burden to extract,
And of the arid vale in which he dwelt,
Also dislike in sensibility;
Mayhap the very search for sense reveals
The reason it inspires me to odes.
If
this sort of thing is your cuppa tea, the print edition features
illustrations and, for this reviewer, puzzling footnotes that were
apparently added to add some level of humor—or are perhaps just padding.
Do we really need straight-forward definitions of “kin” or “knave”?
Perhaps I missed the point. Again,
devotees of “Dudeism” will most enjoy this volume, and there are
obviously enough of them to interest a major publisher in this effort. I
think the most encouraging news is that the genre of mashups has
finally begun to leave monsters behind to go into more creative
blendings. Without question—more to come. Click Here To Purchase Two Gentlemen of Lebowski: A Most Excellent Comedie and Tragical Romance
Dr. Wesley Britton
Reviewer
Dr. Wesley Britton: Dr. Britton is the author of four books on
espionage in literature and the media. He is also co-host of the
online radio program, Dave White Presents,
for which he interviews authors, musicians, and entertainment
insiders. His website is www.spywise.net; the radio program is
archived at http://www.audioentertainment.org/dwp. Dr. Britton teaches
English at Harrisburg Area Community College.
View all articles by Dr. Wesley Britton
