Currently Reading the Book...

Gore Vidal himself tried to disassociate himself from the film. The movie has been described as disjointed and unfocused. Due mostly in part to it being handled by multiple directors (one of which had no prior directing experience). You should see it. I would love to hear how you think it compares to the book.

I actually like the movie better than the book. But there is virtually no way you can follow the movie without knowing what the book is about. It's high camp, but doesn't get the credit for it.

Dammit Carol Sue, where is the vodka?!

I read the book as a teenager and thought it was fantastic. I think I checked it out from the local library after seeing Visit to a Small Planet on tv, and as you can imagine, I was astonished that someone who I thought of as a Hollywood insider had written something so scandalous, and that it had been a bestseller in its day, and that my local public library actually had a copy of it! (Around that same time, I also got a copy of Vidal's An Evening with Richard Nixon, which is a completely different but also hilarious.)

I just watched the film version, and it was nowhere near as entertaining as I recall the book having been.

I don't think the film is as bad as its reputation has made it out to be. But neither is it anywhere as enjoyable as the book.

Stop worrying about the movie. You can get to that in some distant future. Concentrate on the book: it's a fantastic snapshot of mid-to-late 60's America, through Vidal's peculiar filter.