Richard Ayoade is an actor, comedian, TV presenter, director, and writer. He is most well-known for playing Moss in The IT Crowd, directing the films Submarine and The Double, and being notoriously difficult to interview. In 2014, he wrote his first book, Ayoade on Ayoade: a Cinematic Odyssey, in which he actually interviews himself. In the book, a fictional version of Ayoade (a film obsessive) interviews another fictional version of Ayoade (an ‘auteur’ director). It’s a parody of film books that overanalyse their subjects, and it’s extremely funny.
The Grip of Film, his second book, was published in 2017. Instead of interviewing himself again, Ayoade this time hands the reins to a fictional alter-ego: Gordy LaSure. Gordy LaSure is a devotee of 80s and 90s action films, and treats them as high art, while dismissing classics such as Citizen Kane and The Godfather. He delusionally believes himself to be a film expert, and the book is a glossary of terms that in his view are vital to good film-making. It’s a parody of film books that give hackneyed and unhelpful advice on storytelling, and it’s also extremely funny.
The Grip of Film, his second book, was published in 2017. Instead of interviewing himself again, Ayoade this time hands the reins to a fictional alter-ego: Gordy LaSure. Gordy LaSure is a devotee of 80s and 90s action films, and treats them as high art, while dismissing classics such as Citizen Kane and The Godfather. He delusionally believes himself to be a film expert, and the book is a glossary of terms that in his view are vital to good film-making. It’s a parody of film books that give hackneyed and unhelpful advice on storytelling, and it’s also extremely funny.
Gordy is everything Ayoade isn’t. Ayoade is polite, intelligent, mentally stable, and tolerant of people different to him. Gordy is rude, mentally unsound, racist, sexist, homophobic, and very stupid. He is constantly talking about the films Road House (1989), Raw Deal (1986), 3 Days to Kill (2014), and Fire Down Below (1997). He frequently lusts over the hyper-masculine physiques of the lead actors, despite, in his own words, ‘find[ing] gayness terrifying’. There are 8 separate entries that are derivatives of the word ‘Ass’, not including the entry for ‘Ass’ itself.[1] Throughout the book, there are titbits of his private life, which seems to be wildly absurd and comically tragic. He seems to regard Steven Seagal as some kind of god.
I’m a big fan of Richard Ayoade. I think he’s one of the funniest people alive. He operates on a totally different level, and we’re all the better off for his brand of clever, niche, self-referential, wilfully silly, linguistically advanced comedy. I don’t remember laughing this much at a book since I read Ayoade On Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey. The Grip of Film I read in a day, and at one point I was laughing so loud that my dad came down from upstairs because he was worried that something bad was happening.
Ayoade’s third book, which I haven’t yet read, is called Ayoade On Top. It is about the 2003 ‘cabin-crew dramady’ View From the Top, and demonstrates a clear narrowing of focus through all three texts. The first is about cinema in general, the second about a single genre, and the third a single film. To continue this trend, the fourth book ought to be about a single scene, the fifth a single frame, and the sixth about nothing. However, I doubt he will go to these lengths, because then he wouldn’t be able to write any more books, and that would obviously be bad.
[1] Ayoade himself provides commentary on the text in the form of footnotes.
I’m a big fan of Richard Ayoade. I think he’s one of the funniest people alive. He operates on a totally different level, and we’re all the better off for his brand of clever, niche, self-referential, wilfully silly, linguistically advanced comedy. I don’t remember laughing this much at a book since I read Ayoade On Ayoade: A Cinematic Odyssey. The Grip of Film I read in a day, and at one point I was laughing so loud that my dad came down from upstairs because he was worried that something bad was happening.
Ayoade’s third book, which I haven’t yet read, is called Ayoade On Top. It is about the 2003 ‘cabin-crew dramady’ View From the Top, and demonstrates a clear narrowing of focus through all three texts. The first is about cinema in general, the second about a single genre, and the third a single film. To continue this trend, the fourth book ought to be about a single scene, the fifth a single frame, and the sixth about nothing. However, I doubt he will go to these lengths, because then he wouldn’t be able to write any more books, and that would obviously be bad.
[1] Ayoade himself provides commentary on the text in the form of footnotes.
review written by Charlie Alcock
The Grip of Film is published by Faber & Faber
The Grip of Film is published by Faber & Faber
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