Book review: 'Stories I Only Tell My Friends' by Rob Lowe - Everything Alabama Blog
Rob Lowe used to raise hell. Now he just wants to raise his sons.
A child of a fractured family, Rob Lowe practically raised himself. Several years ago, he and his wife of 20 years, former makeup artist Sheryl Berkoff, moved their family to Santa Barbara, Calif., to provide stability for sons Matthew and John Owen, now 17 and 15. Lowes autobiography, Stories I Only Tell My Friends, portrays a film and television star intent on nurturing his relationships with his wife and sons.
Rob Lowe is witty, wise and, lets be honest, easy on the eyes. When I mentioned I was reading his book, a friend replied, Wasnt he involved in a sex tape scandal? Unfortunately, many seem to remember him best for that. As a young man, Lowe may have been dumb, but he is no deviant. There were extenuating circumstances and he was single. Ironically, Lowes youthful indiscretion nearly cost him his career; similar, more recent scandals launched Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian into the celebrity stratosphere.
Although Lowe dated Melissa Gilbert, Nastassja Kinski, Demi Moore, Princess Stephanie of Monaco and Oliver Norths former secretary Fawn Hall, among others, this is no salacious Hollywood kiss-and-tell.
Lowes acting skills were showcased in NBCs The West Wing, which aired from 1999 until 2006, about a fictional White House staff. He offers fascinating insight into the ensemble cast, particularly regarding his relationship with Martin Sheen, who had been something akin to a surrogate father to him, just as President Josiah Bartlet, Sheens West Wing character, was to Lowes Sam Seaborn.
By Rob Lowe
Holt, $26
Reviewed by
BONNIE BARTEL LATINO
Correspondent
The book is most compelling when Lowe discusses the lengthy audition process for The Outsiders, the 1983 angst-filled coming-of-age movie. Lowe describes one audition with legendary film director Francis Ford Coppola as like a public cattle call with every important young working actor in the universe all wanting to play the orphaned Curtis brothers or one of their band of Greasers. He writes that Coppola tried various pairings of actors, playing them against each other. After being cast, the young men endured grueling situations and living conditions intended to heighten the tension, already high from teen testosterone and male ego.
Lowe summarizes the importance that Coppola and The Outsiders ultimately had on his career: Some actors ... go to schools of drama like Yale and Julliard ... I learned on the job. My most influential teacher was Coppola. His lengthy, sometimes bizarre rehearsal process for The Outsiders was my most memorable course. I learned more about preparing a character (how he walks, talks, dresses, eats, sleeps) in those two weeks than I probably would have in two years elsewhere. It also happened at the perfect time the end of my senior year of high school. Just as any kid about to go to college begins to think seriously about how he wants to earn a living. I was learning the tools of my trade and being paid to do it.
The Outsiders launched the careers of several actors who eventually became uber-stars. After watching one of the teens audition, Lowe thought him clearly a force to be reckoned with, and [he] is more focused and ambitious than I ever thought about being. That budding actor was Tom Cruise. When the cast assembled in Tulsa, Okla., to begin filming, a mysterious Mr. Swayze joined them. Later Lowe observed that Patrick Swayzes enthusiasm made Tom Cruise look lobotomized.
The man with an impressive body of work obviously values his life and career. Smart and interesting, the book shows Lowes self-effacing wit. Decades ago when he went into rehab for a drinking problem, the media erroneously reported that he was seeking a cure for sexual addiction. Laughing, Lowe said the people who were actually being treated for that led much more interesting sex lives than he did.
While most celebrities employ ghost writers to help tell their life stories, Lowe is proud to have written every word. His style is straightforward and fearless, showing vulnerability in every aspect of his life. His comments are never caustic, even in instances when it would appear he has every right to be bitter. As with any autobiography, selective revelation inevitably plays a role. However, Lowes narrative feels refreshingly real and self-revealing, never shying away from his most intimate character flaws.
One small negative: For a nonfiction work with a large cast of international characters, an index would have been helpful. Never mind. Lowe has shared stories from an extraordinary life, one that has not always been error-free. Now at 47, he seems to have learned from those mistakes to earn the life he wanted and apparently cherishes.
Stories I Only Tell My Friends makes delicious summer reading for beach or bayou.
Atmore native Bonnie Bartel Latino is a former columnist for Stars and Stripes newspaper in Europe. She may be contacted at BonLatino@aol.com.
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