Danielle Solzman
Because He’s Jeff Goldblum, the new biography by Travis M. Andrews, is an unconventional biography of the actor/musician.
It’s an unconventional biography but then again, nothing about Goldblum’s career has ever been conventional. The only downside is that Goldblum himself did not participate in the book. A bummer, maybe, but Andrews has no shortage of interviews to quote be it filmmakers, actors, crew, or friends. I’ve had my own personal encounter with Goldblum during Wizard World Chicago 2019 but I digress. Anyway, if you’re either a fan of his acting or music, you’ll certainly enjoy this book. You might even come away with a new perspective of his skills.
One thing that I didn’t know about the man we know as Dr. Ian Malcolm is that he goes out of his way to know the names of crew members. It’s a way to bring him back down to earth. When you think of A-listers, you don’t really think of them going out of their way to know and then remember the names of crew. Nor do they usually start playing piano if there is one available on the set. At the end of the day, though, it’s about the craft being put in and well, Goldblum makes sure it gets done even if he’s singing or playing piano between CUT and ACTION.
When I first picked up Because He’s Jeff Goldblum, I was not expecting this book to be so entertaining. And yet, Andrews writes the book in such a way that it’s both precise and funny. I mean, the endnotes remind me of something I would do! But I’m not here to talk about my previously published book. No, I’m here right now to tell you about this book about, oh, you get the idea! What I’m trying to say here is that this book is probably the most entertaining page-turning biography that I’ve read during the pandemic!
I came of age in the 1990s with a number of films where Jeff Goldblum is playing a scientist. Maybe the actor was typecast but Andrews is able to break down his work. Anyway, you get an idea of how much his work has evolved through the years. And then you get to films directed by the likes of Wes Anderson and Taika Waititi. The Oscar-winning Waititi directs Goldblum as the Grandmaster in Thor: Ragnarok. It’s very much a role that’s up Goldblum’s wheelhouse. And yet, there was so much room for improv on set! When we talk about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Taika was really able to change things up and give us a nice breadth of fresh air.
But anyway, please read Because He’s Jeff Goldblum. You won’t have any regrets.
