A WONDER TO BEHOLD- FUNNIEST THING EVER!
592282
What a joy to have a book that makes you laugh from beginning to end! What might appear as a "coffe table" book is actually a great cover to cover read. The artwork, illustrations and design is firstrate, but what stands out above all is the comedy - this is one REALLY REALLY REALLY funny book - and I'm not even a Jew! This is going to be my gift of choice for all my friends!
738953
Gave this as a "gift" in the humorous sense! I was so impressed by the unbelievable quality!! This is done beautifully!!!! . . . and it is hilarious!!!
336682
Apparently a lot of Amazon customers here don't get dark humor. Yes, it is meant to be off-putting! Yes, it is meant to make you uncomfortable! Yes, it is absurd but yet quite realistic! This mockumentary accurately captures what lowlifes people can be! It's ABSOLUTELY THE MOST HILARIOUS WORK OF CINEMATIC ART I HAVE EVER SEEN!!! I've seen it dozens of times since it was released and it still doubles me over with LAUGHTER!! The whole pig collection scene is iconic!!
562665
This is one of the funniest toys ever!  I saw it in an Amazon Prime video documentary on, well...farting.  Yes, someone actually made that!  When I saw it, I knew it would be a fun gift for anfew select friends.  So I ordered one...okay so I ordered FIVE!  Great gift!
3574065
The Goodies have not played much on TV here in the US. In Washington, DC, the PBS station had it on for, I think, a week--they mistakenly put it on in the middle of their kids' block, and this is by no means a kids' show.

But don't jump to the conclusion that The Goodies is as filthy as what generally passes for adult entertainment. The Goodies is an amazingly funny show that excels in both witty dialog and physical comedy. The show's stars, Graeme Garden, Tim Brooke-Taylor, and Bill Oddie, will do anything for a laugh, and they know how to acheive what they want. Some of the stunts, which they performed themselves, are flat-out amazing. The Goodies must have been fans of silent comedies, and they easily equaled the best of Keaton, Lloyd, and other comedy legends.

There are more laughs per minute in any Goodies episode than in any Monty Python episode, but The Goodies just haven't had the exposure the Pythons have had. And somehow, inexplicably, the label "kids' show" has plagued the show, perhaps because of the prevalent physical comedy. The Goodies even had fun with this--in one episode (not on this DVD) John Cleese shows up and dismisses the goings-on with the disdainful utterance "Kids' show!".

This DVD includes The Goodies' signature show, Kitten Kong, plus two other episodes that may be a bit obtuse for non-anglophiles. But Kitten Kong is worth the price of the disc by itself. Just let the frenetic silliness of the Goodies' theme song set the mood, and ride the comedy wave.

I had to subtract one star for the DVD itself. This was mastered from an older videotape source, and the picture is a bit soft. Beautifully restored DVDs of The Goodies are available in England, but if you don't want to go to the trouble of obtaining them, this disc is a good enough way to get introduced to The Goodies. Then you can start clamoring for MORE! MORE!!
4936955
Honestly, I think this is the funniest book I've ever read! I'm amazed more people don't know about it. I made the mistake of reading it on the subway and my I laughed so much that I started spluttering my coffee - people looked at me like I was insane but I just couldn't help myself!

Buy this book - but don't read it on the subway, you'll only embarrass yourself.

Maybe the publisher will bring out a paperback next Christmas and more people will get to enjoy it. A must-read for anyone who loves to laugh!
2604447
Let's get one thing straight: A Confederacy of Dunces is funny. Mind-bendingly, gut-wrenchingly, heart-palpatatingly hilarious. You know those moments that are so funny, they make you wonder how anyone could have  thought them up? This book has about three per page. The comedy comes from everywhere;  the plot itself is a twisting, quixotic odessey, while Toole's narration is gleefully sardonic. The dialogue is as realistic as the kind of conversation you overhear taking place between two people who think that nobody can hear them, and as instantly memorable as a good line from Shakespeare (yes, I just compared John Kennedy Toole to William Shakespeare). Every character has his or her own unique voice, a distinctive sound that makes them instantly recognizable and weirdly likeable.

And speaking of characters! The people who populate this novel are incredible, a dizzyingly varied assortmrnt of heroes and villains, of high-minded thugs and heroic lowlifes. The star of the show is Ignatius J. Reilly, a bumbling bozo of an anti-anti-hero whose antics redefine the phrase "over the top." Reilly defies description, but suffice to say he's a thirty-year-old medievalist who is driven by a bottomless appetite, a gigantic ego, and an all-consuming hatered of anything and everything that happened after the year 1450. He's also a lazy hypochondriac who spends his days writing paragraph after scalding paragraph in denouncement the modern world, watching children's television shows (which he believes are a sign of civilization's decline into absolute decadence), dodging his mother's attempts to make him get a job, and trying to infuriate his old college girlfirend (who is herself an absolute piece of work). His quest for "taste and decency" (as he puts it) leads him on a series of increasingly unbelievable misadventures in and around his beloved home town of New Oreleans. As he's hurled from one bizarre situation to the next, Ignatius unwittingly spreads chaos to every corner of the city.

But don't think of this as a disjointed series of bizarre events. The plot is held together thanks to Toole's own wonderfully twisted writerly skill and sense of narrative logic; the events that befall Ignatius stem from the actions of some of the greatest supporting characters ever concieved. Indeed, Toole has assembled one of the greatest casts of all time, providing Reilly with a motely crew of friends and foes, flinging our hero headlong into a wonderful world of McCarthyist grandfathers, apathetic clothing moguls, down-on-their luck undercover policemen, conniving nightclub owners, shady teenaged entrepeneurs, kitsch-obsessed homosexuals, ambitious strippers, loudmouthed spinsters, senile octognerians, flip-flopping socialites, nervous bartenders, unapologetically ignorant university professors, heroically incompotent filing clerks, long-suffering neighbors, resentful floorsweepers, an endless series of unfortunate taxi drivers, and the like. Most of these characters could have easily won the lead role in just about any other novel, and it's somewhat amazing that Toole managed to find space for each and every one of them without letting any individual's outrageousness overwhelm the proceedings.

But this is more than just a funny novel- there is genuine tragedy in the story of Ignatius Reilly, and in the stories of those around him. Even in its most gut-busting moments, A Confederacy of Dunces shows just how pathetic human existance can become, and how low society (rich and poor alike) can sink. In this sense, Toole's novel is also a brilliant satire, a warped and strangely illuminating farce of modern life. It's one of those rare moments when humor and heart go hand in hand, and manage to say something truly poignant about the way we live. It's a masterpiece.
3231567
I have never bothered to write a review for anything I've bought on Amazon, but this book is simply extraordinary.  I am a voracious reader, and this is without a doubt the funniest book I've ever read.  There was not one single story that didn't elicit multiple fits of laughter.  He must've edited them over and over again because the word and phrase choices were so spot-on.  Not only are these stories hysterically funny, but they evince a great inner humanity.  Resnick vividly brings to life his childhood and young-adulthood.  His father seems almost like a mythical creature, but I don't want to spoil anything.  I almost didn't buy this because of some of the negative early reviews here, so I felt compelled to write.  And, no, I am not biased as I have never even heard of the author.  I urge anyone who loves to laugh to buy and read this book!
1614751
This is one of the funniest movies ever - had to own it!
2236557
THIS IS TOTALLY HYSTERICAL!  EVEN MORE WAS THE REACTION OF PAPPY'S, GRANDPAPPY'S, THAT THIS WAS REAL, AND  A GREAT IDEA!  As they remembered the years of all nighters with each kid cumulatively. This,  of all the others too, is  so believable  with the instructions, and talking points on the box!  I paid full price for these, more than I've read of other stores, AND DON'T REGRET IT AT ALL!  In fact, I tried to  buy it back from a recipient who would never sell it back to me, was even indignant, having rolled their eyes at what a stupid waste of money they thought it was, until they, (unfortunately not I),  saw the fabulous reaction of her husband, (a , computer geek, and most loving, hands on, dad, grandpa, one who thought this was a great idea), and son, father of their only so spoiled great grandson.  She took great pleasure in pointing out what idiots they were!  Although, as any good parent will attest to,  this actually may have some workable ideas if total safety were included, only used for a short time in some respects.  Buy  it for a hundred bucks worth of laughs  for shower gifts, baby gifts, or as in this case, even without a "baby" in the family anymore!  Be sure to keep another on hand for your use later on as it was "priceless" to this friend who wouldn't let it go!
3967571
The closest I ever came to dying of laughter was while I read this book - this is the funniest book I've ever read!
Great at any time, but best of all on a gray December day, with a steaming pot of chili &agrave; la H. Allen Smith by your side, and a cold glass of milk.  More delectable than any chili in the world, Texan or otherwise, is H. Allen's incredibly funny turn of phrase and genius in telling a story.
2028037
Sure, this is not your average coffee table book, nor is it your average book at all.  But it is gauranteed to get a laugh from anyone who reads it.  I would suggest hiding it from Grandma, or even the Parents when they come over, but if you want hours of laughs with you and your friends, this book is a must. Throughout the book there is a comic for everyone.  Did your Canadian friend get insulted by the "8 Reasons to Keep a Canadian as a Pet"? then show him "7 reasons to Keep your Tyrannosaur Off Crack Cocaine".  The point is, there is something for everyone, and you won't be disappointed.

But "why 5 stars?" you ask.  Well, would you give a four star or less rating to Monet, Manet, Picaso, or DaVinci? NO!  So this is why Matt Inman gets 5 from me.  Will his art ever be featured in the Louvre?  Will it ever tour through the Met, or any other fine art museums? Of course not, but that does not mean that this is excellence in a book.
545841
One of the funniest books ever! 3am last night, I'm laughing so hard that the bed is shaking, tears are streaming down my face.
My now-awakened husband rolls over to ask what's wrong - how can I explain this ridiculous,  wonderful masterpiece!  Sent link to my bestie,  then ordered the entire Greenwood catalog!  How is this woman not on a daytime talk show herself?! Love her & this book, would order print copies for all my friends if it were available! Spread the word, genius humor!
1586569
To anyone who needs to laugh often and hard, (and let's face it these days it is a must), BUY THIS! Having travelled from the U.S. to ol' Blighty for the reunion show at The Astoria,(as a 41st birthday gift to myself!), finding that they were taping for a DVD release was just the chocolate on the ice cream. So I sez to myself Lets see if I can ingraciate myself to a camera or two with a hastily scribbled sign announcing my birthday and where I came from!

Not only was the live show brilliant and funny as hell but a camera did indeed focus on my little signage!  Then a few months later having long finished the Sundae that was the show itself do I recieve this final bit of topping in the post and sure 'nuff I short hairy man with glasses gets the best birthday present EVER!

Thank you Bonzos for not only cutting me into the DVD but for keeping me laughing all these years! Hopefully there will be some more DVD stuff with the tour that is happening in November in the UK. Long live Viv! Only wish it was the complete show as a handfull of tunes that they played live did not make the final cut. Or Well! Can't have it all I suppose!

Joe Auger
3258204
A good friend gave this to my husband and myself at our baby shower.  This book is absolutely the funniest thing I have ever read, and just in time for when I need a laugh the most.

After the third night of hearing non-stop hysterical laughter, my husband finally stole the book away from me when I dosed off.  He also laughed his a** off, and we are currently fighting over who gets to read this book at night.
119383
I bought this as a gift for an 11 year old family member - neither of us could stop laughing!
3125387
I haven't laughed so hard while reading ever!  I am often accused of saying the things that other people only think, Jenny Lawson takes that to a whole new hilarious level!