ReFocus

Offers the first book-length investigation Albert Brooks’ more than six-decade comedy career

• Situates Albert Brooks’ films in their cultural contexts, including representations of class, gender, religion, and race
• Assesses Albert Brooks’ critical reputation and relative popularity, including his influence on contemporary filmmakers and comedians
• Analyses every film written and directed by Albert Brooks, as well as a number of his acting and voice-over roles, his stand-up comedy albums, his talk show appearances, and his writing, both short-form and novelistic

This is the first sustained critical collection on Albert Brooks, one of the key but under-examined figures in American stand-up, television comedy and Hollywood film comedy. Analysing every film written and directed by Albert Brooks, including Real Life (1979), Modern Romance (1981) and Lost in America (1985), as well as a number of his acting and voice-over roles, his stand-up comedy albums, talk show appearances and writing, the book argues that Albert Brooks not only merits a wider viewership, both critical and popular, but also that his career offers a useful lens through which to understand American film and culture since the late 1960s.