Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

It is a credit to Sean Astin's acting abilities that I was so thoroughly disappointed in this substandard book. I had greatly admired Sean Astin's performance in LOTR, and was looking forward to reading some interesting anecdotes about the film making experience. I knew that filming a project of that stature would have had some very difficult moments, but I was in no way prepared for the diatribe that I was subjected to. An uncomfortable feeling started creeping over me almost immediately, when the phrase "my integrity" was used ad nauseam. I am not interested in hearing people talk about their integrity. That should speak for itself. The funny thing is, for all the talk of integrity, very little of it was exercised in regards to his colleagues. While this book did not contain a lot of dishing, there was certainly plenty of dissing. I lost count of all the left handed complements tossed about, as nearly everyone had a turn at the sniping. (The most notable exception being Christopher Lee. I can only assume that this was due to the fact that he had the decency to assume a smaller role in the films.) Each barb only served to amplify the undercurrent of jealousy and insecurity that ran through the entire book. The shots were not only directed at the cast and crew of LOTR; look for jabs at Brendan Fraser, Warren Beatty, and Johnny Depp, among others. I haven't heard this kind of verbal warfare since junior high. The incessant whining started to really get to me after I'd read about a quarter of the book. We hear about money problems (I'm sorry, but there is a real difference between maybe having to sell your half-million dollar house, and actual homelessness), his not fitting in, his not being the star (from what I understand, the title of the series is "The Lord of the Rings", not "Sam Gamgee gets Frodo to Mt. Doom"), his weight, and so on, and so on. I slogged through this entire tiresome "biography" in the vain hope that there may be some redeeming value just lurking on the next page, only to finish in disappointment. Mr. Astin, I'm sorry that Viggo Mortensen seemed aloof and intimidating to you. I'm sorry Ian McKellen didn't take to you. I'm sorry Liv Tyler got more attention in France. I'm sorry Orlando Bloom got more attention everywhere. What I am really sorry for, however, is the fact that you were blessed with such a wonderful opportunity, and chose to focus so intently on the negative aspects of the experience. It made for a really sour read, and not one that I would recommend to anyone.