Book Log 2022 #56: Caddyshack: The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story by Chris Nashawaty

On one hand, this book is a film history, as it details what went on behind the scenes of filming Caddyshack, from the excesses of its stars to the all the ways it could have been a much different film (such as having Mickey Rourke play Danny Noonan, or keeping the original script's stronger focus on class issues).

On the other hand, it's a film criticism, as it discusses Caddyshack's place among period films, comedies in particular. There are the obvious comparisons to films like The Blues Brothers and Animal House, but also distinctions with more mainstream comedies (such as Any Which Way But Loose, where Clint Eastwood costars with an orangutan).

In both senses the book is largely successful, giving great detail as to how the film got made while also discussing how it's place in film contributed to not being an instant success at the box office. The book also spends a fair amount of time on the film's writer, Douglas Kenney, whose gift for comedy was often countered by episodes of depression.