Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy, and Stupid by Denis Leary

Product Details

Synopsis

A hilarious blast of scathing irreverence from the award-winning actor and comedian.

"A pissed off Leary is the best Leary," says one critic of the writer and comic. In Why We Suck, Dr. Denis Leary uses his common sense, and his biting and hilarious take on the world, to attack the politically correct, the hypocritical, the obese, the thin--basically everyone who takes themselves too seriously. He does so with the extra oomph of a doctorate bestowed upon him by his alma mater Emerson College. "Sure it's just a celebrity type of thing--they only gave it to me because I'm famous." Leary explains. "But it's legal and it means I get to say I'm a doctor--just like Dr. Phil."

In Why We Suck, Leary's famously smart style and sardonic wit have found their fullest and fiercest expression yet. Zeroing in on the ridiculous wherever he finds it, Leary unravels his Irish Catholic upbringing, the folly of celebrity, the pressures of family life, and the great hypocrisy of politics with the same bright, savage, and profane insight he brought to his critically acclaimed one-man shows No Cure for Cancer and Lock 'n Load, and his platinum-selling song, "Asshole."

Proudly Irish American, defiantly working class, with a reserve of compassion for the underdog and the overlooked, Leary delivers blistering diatribes that are penetrating social commentary with no holds barred. Leary's book will find wide appeal among people who want to laugh out loud or find a guide who matches their view of what's wrong in America and the world-at-large; and fans of his one-man shows, his many movies, and Rescue Me, Leary's Golden Globe and Emmy—nominatedtelevision show. Why We Suck is the latest salvo from one of America's most original and biting comic satirists.

Publishers Weekly

According to Leary, his first book is not for the faint of heart, by which he means Americans: "I am here to debunk and declassify and otherwise hold up a brutally honest mirror to our fat, ugly, lazy American selves." Now, a good many comedians make a career out of daring to speak the ugly, gasping truths that few others would. Leary brings a particularly acid-tinged tone to his rantings about annoying children, why cats are satanic spawn, what an ugly racket the Catholic Church is and (more surprisingly) why he loves Oprah. The book will most likely appeal to fans of Leary, and while the material might have been better delivered as a live performance (some of these hate-laced monologues are just begging to be read aloud), Leary himself wildly entertains. (Nov.)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

More Reviews and Recommendations

Biography

Denis Leary has appeared in more than thirty films, including the Oscar-nominated Wag the Dog, The Thomas Crowne Affair, and Ice Age, as well as the Christmas cult classic The Ref, and such indie favorites as Jesus' Son and Suicide Kings. Leary was the co-creator, producer, and star of the critically acclaimed network comedy The Job. His one-man shows No Cure For Cancer and Lock 'n Load broke viewing records on HBO. Leary has also written for New York Magazine, GQ, Playboy, Esquire, and many other publications. He is the co-writer, creator, and star of the four-time Emmy and Golden Globe—nominated television series Rescue Me.