Lea's Book of Rules for the World - Softcover

Delaria, Lea

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0440508541 ISBN 13: 9780440508540

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group, 2000

Synopsis

Rule #10: Learn all the rules...then break them.

Lea DeLaria has been breaking rules all her life. Now she offers some of her own....

Cross Howard Stern with Sandra Bernhardt, add a one-two punch, and you have stand-up comic Lea DeLaria, who plays to rave reviews on and off the Broadway stage. Now, in this uproarious collection of essays, DeLaria shares her Modern Day Ten Commandments and X-Rated Rules for the World with anyone bold enough to read them.

From fashion advice "Never point at anything beige and call it cool"(Rule #4) to the five myths of ex-girlfriends and the facts about fake breasts, DeLaria offers straight-talking wisdom for a world desperately in need of some raunchy humor. Here Lea shares glimpses of life as a Butch so butch she's mistaken for a man--by her gynecologist. Read all about it as Lea falls hard for the girl of her dreams...reveals how Judy Garland helped her to find her first New York apartment...and gives an appreciation of sex toys that is as outrageous as it is heartfelt. From her promising beginnings as a Nice Italian Catholic girl to her headlined adventures with Nice Italian Catholic girls, among others, here is Lea DeLaria, the stand-up, lay-down, in-your-face comic who tells you everything your mom never wanted you to know.

About this title

About the Author

Lea DeLaria is primarily known as the first openly gay comic to appear on national television, with appearances on The Arsenio Hall Show and Comedy Central's all-gay special, Out There, which she hosted. The summer of 1997 brought her national attention and critical acclaim in her breakout role as Hildy in On the Town, for the Shakespeare-in-the-Park Festival. Now her one-woman show, It's Delightful, It's Delicious, It's DeLaria, is playing to sold-out houses in major venues across the country. Recently Lea has been a featured guest on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and a popular contributor to Politically Incorrect. She also has hosted the syndicated talk show Last Call. Her TV credits include The John Larroquette Show, Friends, The Drew Carey Show, and Saved by the Bell. Her film credits include The First Wives Club and the independent films Rescuing Desire and Edge of 17.

Reviews

If your experience of lesbian comedy begins and ends with Ellen DeGeneres, say hello to Lea DeLaria, a brassy, foul-mouthed butch who, after traveling the queer comedy circuit for years, has begun to land parts everywhere from network TV (on shows such as Friends) to Broadway (playing Hildy in On the Town). Her first book isn't really a list of rules; it's more a loosely organized series of rants. Overflowing with energy and creativity, DeLaria doesn't just curse, talk about sex and criticize the Catholic Church (although she does plenty of that)--she's out to offend everyone. Here DeLaria, who angered straight-laced lesbians and gays at the March on Washington in 1992 by calling Hillary Clinton "a first lady you could fuck," rewrites the Ten Commandments (replacing Though Shalt Not Steal, for example, with Thou Shalt Not Steal from People Who Absolutely Don't Deserve to Be Stolen From); proudly details her passion for "banging" under-age straight girls; and her views on why "wops" and "micks" (her mother and father, for instance) should never marry. Piercingly smart and occasionally self-reflective, DeLaria knows exactly what she's doing; like Lenny Bruce, she uses both her own sensibilities and the criticism her work inevitably provokes to expose the hypocrisy of both straight and gay folks (she even includes an array of reviews and letters she has received over the years). However, while the book showcases DeLaria's enormous comedic talent, it is also filled with so many self-destructive rationalizations (shades of Lenny Bruce again) that it can be downright hard to read. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Stand-up comic DeLaria has succeeded on and off Broadway and on comedy stages throughout America. She is sometimes over-the-top, offensive, and downright insulting and sometimes howlingly funny, unless one is offended or insulted by, say, her modern "Ten Commandments," such as the flip "Thou shalt not take the name of Susan Sarandon in vain," or the list of women who are OK to sleep with because you will never stand sleeping with them, so sleeping with them really isn't adultery. By the way, as for coveting thy neighbor's wife, thou shalt not, DeLaria declares, unless she is really cute or amply endowed or your neighbor is your ex. Besides that and listing every known slang term for female genitalia, this former nice Italian Catholic girl shares glimpses of life as a butch who is so butch she is often mistaken for a man--by her gynecologist! DeLaria lets it be known that if you don't like it, you don't have to read it. Or you can kiss her ass. So be it. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0440508541
• ISBN 13: 9780440508540
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224