Adam Carolla is a name that may not be familiar to you, but if you’re a fan of comedy, it should be.
Carolla got a late start in show business, he was nearly 30 before he began his climb to becoming the multi-hyphenate comedy powerhouse he is today. Now Carolla has the Guiness World Book Record for most-downloaded podcast, a movie, two books, numerous television shows and a stint on Dancing With the Stars to his credit. Carolla is one of the men behind The Man Show and Crank Yankers, but his range extends far further than that.
In The Hammer (rated R, avg review rating 4.5/5 stars), Carolla’s semi-autobiographical comedy, he relates the hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt story of a 40 year old failed construction worker taking a second swing at making the Olympic boxing team. Carolla never went out for the Olympics, but he’s an experienced boxing instructor and spent a number of years working dead-end construction jobs and living hand to mouth in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley, and he definitely draws on that experience here. From Amazon:
No, The Hammer is not the Fred Williamson story, but a surprisingly satisfying underdog sports movie and date movie; an unlikely genre combination, but The Hammer nails it. Adam Carolla, former co-host of The Man Show, stars as underachiever Jerry, just turned 40. A former Golden Gloves boxer (as was Carolla), he works as a construction worker/handyman and also teaches the sweet science at the local gym. You know the drill: Jerry gets fired after running afoul of his abusive boss; Jerry loses fed-up girlfriend; Jerry meets Lindsay (Heather Jurgensen), an idealistic public defender; Jerry impresses a coach and gets the chance to try out for the Olympic boxing team. But a deft touch makes The Hammer a contender. This is Carolla’s first bout with leading man status, and, happily, he has the director of the “I Kissed a Girl” arthouse hit, Kissing Jessica Stein in his corner. The script makes effective use of Carolla’s unpretentious screen presence, giving him ample opportunity to punch out some droll comic riffs while he pursues his second chance in the ring as well as Lindsay. Add to the mix a grudging friendship he develops with a cocky boxer whom the coach is grooming. The Hammer may not technically be a knockout, but it does go the distance.
–Donald Liebenson
The Hammer is available as an Amazon Instant Video to rent for $2.99, or buy for $9.99.
First is his New York Times Bestselling In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks (avg review rating 4/5 stars, $9.99 for Kindle edition, $16.75 or 1 Listener Credit for Audible members or FREE with a new Audible Listener trial membership). From Amazon:
What we used to settle with common sense or a fist, we now settle with hand sanitizer and lawyers. Adam Carolla has had enough of this insanity and he’s here to help us get our collective balls back.
In Fifty Years We’ll All Be Chicks is Adam’s comedic gospel of modern America. He rips into the absurdity of the culture that demonized the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, turned the nation’s bathrooms into a lawless free-for-all of urine and fecal matter, and put its citizens at the mercy of a bunch of minimum wagers with axes to grind. Peppered between complaints Carolla shares candid anecdotes from his day to day life as well as his past—Sunday football at Jimmy Kimmel’s house, his attempts to raise his kids in a society that he mostly disagrees with, his big showbiz break, and much, much more. Brilliantly showcasing Adam’s spot-on sense of humor, this book cements his status as a cultural commentator/comedian/complainer extraordinaire.
On 6/12/12, Carolla released his new book, Not Taco Bell Material ($12.99 for Kindle edition, $17.15 or 1 Listener Credit for Audible members or FREE with a new Audible Listener trial membership) and with an average review rating of 5/5 stars, it’s getting even stronger rave reviews than his first book did. From Amazon:
In his second book, Adam Carolla…reveals all the stories behind how he came to be the angry middle-aged man he is today. Funnyman Adam Carolla is known for two things: hilarious rants about things that drive him crazy and personal stories about everything from his hardscrabble childhood to his slacker friends to the hypocrisy of Hollywood. He tackled rants in his first book, and now he tells his best stories and debuts some never-before-heard tales as well.Organized by the myriad “dumps” Carolla called home—through the flophouse apartments he rented in his twenties, up to the homes he personally renovated after achieving success in Hollywood—the anecdotes here follow Adam’s journey and the hilarious pitfalls along the way. Adam Carolla started broke and blue collar and has now been on the Hollywood scene for over fifteen years, yet he never lost his underdog demeanor. He’s still connected to the working class guy he once was, and delivers a raw and edgy, fish-out-of-water take on the world he lives in (but mostly disagrees with), telling all the stories, no matter who he offends—family, friends or the famous.
For a taste of Carolla’s brand of humor at a bargain price, try the MP3 album download of his Live at the Ontario Improv standup show (99 cents). This recording is from a live performance Carolla gave in the fall of 2010, and it’s a great introduction to his style and content for the uninitiated.
Adam Carolla: sometimes rude, sometimes crude, but always telling it like it is and never afraid to take on the sacred cows of modern society.