Stories High And Lowe

I remember when I was in college, I had an assignment for English class. The professor gave us free reign to write on anything we wanted. I remember not liking it because...I didn't know what to write about. At least if we were given a topic, I could at least do some research, or contemplate on a topic. I remember it was a Sunday night and the assignment was due the next day. So out of desperation, I wrote a review of a movie I saw that weekend, "St. Elmo's Fire." I remember raving especially about the acting of the cast, especially Mare Winningham. I also remember that Rob Lowe looked so handsome in the movie. Flash forward to 2011, and Mr. Lowe writes his anecdote about making that movie in his memoir, "Stories I Only Tell My Friends," about how he thinks Joel Schumacher was forced into casting him for his part. There are hundreds of such anecdotes in the book, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading every single one of them. I think it helps that I know (and enjoy) a lot of the actors of his generation: Tom Cruise, Daryl Hannah, Demi Moore, Tom Cruise, Emilio Estevez, Charlie Sheen. He writes about encounters with a lot of his peers, probably because they all used to hang out in the same circles. And, a lot of them are quite interesting and gives us a glimpse on the real personality of these people: Tom Cruise has always been driven, Charlie Sheen has always been a party animal. Rob Lowe is also a gentleman, and that kind of tempers the "hot" factor of his stories. He writes in the dust jacket of the book that his stories will not be salacious. Those looking for specific dirt on these people need look elsewhere. He is quite generous to all these people, with only good things to say about them. I find it interesting that he skims through major stories of his life: his 6 year relationship with Melissa Gilbert, for example. Even his chapters on his sex tape don't get as much print. His spiral towards addiction is not as dramatic, in print anyway, so you don't get the true range of his highs and lows. Still, I hope this not deter anyone from reading the book. If you are from his generation (like I am) there is plenty to enjoy. 


BC/15