Matty Simmons (1926–2020)

I absolutely love the movie Animal House. I was in graduate school at the time it was released, having just graduated from a legendary party school on the west coast the year before. The movie resonated deeply with me, not so much because I could identify with the characters—I’m not a Bluto, an Otter, or a Niedermeyer—but because it allowed me to live vicariously through a lot of experiences I wished I’d had myself. (In truth, I probably would have been one of those characters in the show more background during the food fight in the cafeteria.) Over the last three decades, I have watched the film between two and four times a year and I still try to work some of the more famous lines from the script into my everyday conversation, although fewer and fewer people now seem to know what I’m talking about.

So, I am likely to be the perfect target audience for Fat, Drunk, and Stupid, a memoir about the making of the movie written by one of its producers. Sadly, though, reading this book was a highly disappointing experience. Billed as a “wild, uncensored, behind-the-scenes account of America's favorite film comedy”, it is, in fact, not wild, not interesting, and not even wholly original; most of the reviews, interviews, and anecdotes have long been available through other outlets (including an extra feature packaged into the DVD of the movie itself). Surprisingly, Matty Simmons devotes only one short chapter to the actual film shoot—the ostensible purpose of the book—but much more space to seemingly tangential topics such as how he helped develop the Diners Club concept, how he launched National Lampoon magazine, how he made a failed television series based on the film, and the success and failures of other movies he produced in the aftermath of Animal House.

Worse than being unfocused and repetitive, however, Fat, Drunk, and Stupid is simply not funny, having absolutely none of the irreverence or charm of the project it chronicles. Indeed, it becomes abundantly clear that while Simmons may well have been instrumental in making the movie happen, he was not the creative force that made it hysterical and endearing to an entire generation of college students. Instead, the author comes off as the “numbers guy” in the process, far more concerned about things like production budgets, opening grosses, and percentage of top-line revenues than with writing jokes or creating memorable sight gags. The whole time I was reading the book, I kept thinking of that old adage about the folly of dissecting a canary to find out what makes it sing, only in this case the surgery is performed by someone with the soul of an accountant. Unless that sounds like an interesting premise, this is probably a book you will want to let pass. show less

Several years ago, Matty Simmons wrote IF YOU DON'T BUY THIS BOOK, WE'LL KILL THIS DOG about his history with the founding of the Nationa Lampoon. Though hung up on money and the business side, it's very satisfying for anyone who wants to know the history of this landmark institution.

This book, however, is dogshit. Simmons has little to say, and any real content comes in the form of extensive quotes from the people who made the movie, people who saw the movie, and other sources that aren't show more always related. The only reason I can see from Simmons even putting this mess into existence was to discourage anyone else from publishing the story of ANIMAL HOUSE.

Here's to the hope that qualified writers are inspired by the NatLamp biographies A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE and MR. MIKE to continue mining NatLamp history, and put garbage like this in the rearview. show less

Matty Simmons owned The National Lampoon and ended up being the Producer of the hit movie Animal House. His insider view is very fun and very open. He doesn't try to hide the open secrets of drug and alcohol use on set but is adamant that John Belushi was clean and drinking only moderately while on set, remember he wasn't yet a superstar. He had just started doing Saturday Night Live but it was his Bluto character that catapulted him into the highest reaches of Hollywood fame.

I love the show more descriptions of trying to get the movie made and then the descriptions of the studio heads as this "little movie". That little movie is still making money for them.

Simmons sounds like he was a smart producer, he got very good writers (all from National Lampoon), was extremely lucky in getting John Landis to direct (John was also relatively unknown) and Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman working behind the scenes.

It is quite amazing how many careers where launched by this little movie. Just to name a few: John Belushi, Harold Ramin, Ivan Reitman, John Landis, Karen Allen, Kevin Bacon, Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert and Tom Hulce.

This was more about the background of the movie and less about the "stars", I think because none of them were stars at the time.

The book is a quick read, has plenty of picture (but not sure why they are all in black and white) and enough backstage tidbits to keep the gossip mongers happy. show less

To quote Emil Faber, "Knowledge is good"