Mr. Famous - Softcover

Carol Wolper's Mr. Famous is the story of Lucinda, a personal chef, and her eponymous boss, Victor, an action-movie hero. The plot, which is as thin as a starlet and as lightweight as a pair of La Perla underwear, centers on Victor's emotional breakdown. Not only has he been implicated in a scandal involving his ex-girlfriend, a car accident, and a gun, but the studio hates his latest film. In response, he engages in self-destructive behaviors including eating pizza and sleeping with ambitious Hollywood actresses. Lucinda doesn't have much cooking to do while all this is going on, so, when she's not dodging a stalker or making snarky comments about the Hollywood elite, she's free to describe Victor's mysterious behavior to the reader.

Though Mr. Famous does move along at a nice clip, nothing much happens (other than the usual Hollywood clichés) as it goes. And if it did, would the reader care? The novel's publicity materials praises Wolper's ability to capture her characters in a "few brushstrokes," but unfortunately those brushstrokes aren't enough to bring them fully to life. Why make Lucinda a chef, for example? Perhaps because nannies and assistants are too old hat these days. This mirrors an oft-used Hollywood strategy--find a formula that works and then tweak it in an inconsequential way. (Wolper also employs cameos: Elizabeth West, the leading lady from her debut novel, The Cigarette Girl, makes a couple of appearances here.) Ironically, Wolper has Victor turn away from formula fluff as he begins to emerge from his depression. --Leah Weathersby

Carol Wolper is a screenwriter and the author of the novels The Cigarette Girl and Secret Celebrity.