by Shea Serrano
First published 2019
Shea Serrano examines movies through unexpected angles and pop culture connections. He analyzes Kevin Costner's pattern of playing white savior characters across different films, from McFarland USA to Dances with Wolves to Draft Day. He expands the Mean Girls universe by determining which high school movie characters would join Regina George's inner circle, placing Johnny Lawrence temporarily in while keeping Claire from The Breakfast Club but rejecting Ferris Bueller and Isis from Bring It On. Serrano creates Academy Awards categories specifically for romantic comedies and conducts an NBA style draft of memorable gangster movie moments. The book combines humor with cultural insight, treating both major blockbusters and smaller details with equal attention. Serrano offers readers a fresh perspective on familiar films while connecting seemingly unrelated movie elements through his distinctive analytical approach.
Genres: essays, humor, contemporary, comedy, film, cultural-studies
Vibes: humorous, insightful, thought-provoking
Tropes: cultural-commentary, unexpected-perspectives
736 pages · Kindle Edition · Twelve