*** REVIEW *** ANGRY MOVIE GUY by Izzy Church

ANGRY MOVIE GUY is a romantic comedy about a struggling film critic who decides to take on a bad attitude to achieve fame and success as the Angry Movie Guy. When his review destroys the career of a woman he's fallen in love with he must re-think his life. 

Can he mend his hateful ways and win her heart?

I like this book.  It is a different and entertaining and worth reading. 

The main character, Charlie Evans (Zimmerman) made me laugh.  He is so far out there and typical of many movie critics I’ve read--mean. 

Charlie is a damaged soul who completely changes his personality to be successful.  His mother, an actress, died when he was a boy. Charlie’s devastated father turns him over to his crazy Aunt Hilda.  This whole situation causes Charlie emotional trauma and abandonment issues. 

Charlie never resolves his father’s abandonment.  At first he understands that his father is hurting too but eventually dad moves on and has many flings.  For Charlie this is a slap at his mother. 

Needless to say Charlie spends years in therapy.  Dr. Bloom is a hoot and unconventional but he wants to help Charlie move forward.  

“I’ll tell you why Charlie.  It’s simple… you like to suffer! You are here because you haven’t learned how to let go.

After many unsuccessful attempts to get hired as a movie critic, Charlie writes a scathing review that is surprisingly published.  The review and a connection to Charlie’s dad brings Harry Puebei into his life.  Harry convinces Charlie that he needs to put away the “nice guy” and come up with a gimmick if he wants to be a successful movie critic. 

“Listen, the point is you have to stand out.  You need a public persona.”  I looked worried. “A persona?”  Harry huffed, “Yes, Charlie!  No one wants to hear some dumb chump’s opinion.  I hear a bad review and I go out and see the damn picture anyway, just to see for myself.” 

With that the Angry Movie guy is born and leads to monetary success but an unhappy life continues.  Unfortunately Harry convinces Charlie to see an indie film that Charlie pans.  Unbeknownst to Charlie the movie turns out to be the life work of a woman he is crazy about and he wants a date.  Alex hates him after that and he spends all his time trying to come up with gifts and stunts to make her see the real Charlie. 

I like the characters.  I like how Charlie’s character is revealed.  He is more than the man on TV so full of anger and hate but underneath that angry exterior is a kind man.

For the most part the book is told from Charlie’s point of view.  The story flows smoothly and is an easy read.  What I didn’t like or understand completely is the “astral Charlie”.  It is an interesting technique to switch to the other characters’ point of view.  In that sense it works well.  However, often I couldn’t figure out what the deal is with astral and I want him to get lost.

You will enjoy the story.  Astral is only a slight annoyance to me and I think many readers will like him.    It isn’t the typical cookie cutter romance. The Angry Movie Guy has a nice array of characters and holds the readers interest.  I recommend it.

4.5 STAMPS

Isabella “Izzy” Church an Actress, Singer, Writer:  born in Sacramento California, USA. Focused on Film, Television and Music.
​
Izzy began her career as a model with the Wilhemina agency who fostered Izzy's career and supported her move to New York City. While in New York she attended Mary Mount Manhattan College graduating with honors with a degree in Communication Arts, specializing in writing for film and television. To further her writing career she interned at DreamWorks for the head of the film/television department where she later worked. Additionally, she pursued her acting studies with Shane Ann Younts and Maggie Flanigan, (one of the top acting instructors in the country).

​Izzy's music career grew while she was developing a Rock and Roll Sci-Fi  Dramedy TV series titled, “Eve Returns." The female lead, played by Izzy is the lead singer in a band called the, "Sexual 222's." Izzy's character work lead her to turn her focus  towards her music career and to begin recording. Her sound is a three way love child of Will.i.am, Lady Gaga and Trent Rezner, conceived while listening to Arcade Fire and Goldfrapp. She was influenced by David Bowie, Madonna, Velvet Underground, Nirvana, Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan to name a few. Izzy Church’s debut EP is available on iTunes, Rhapsody, Amazon.com and hundreds of other digital distributors. Singles include: "Summertime", "Sound of the Universe" and "The Rainbow".  A mix of electronic rock music infused with POP, Punk and Hip Hop. Her beat is sticky sweet and your gonna wanna rock that sound!!! It gets you back to a place where you feel wild and free.

​Izzy has a novel being released this year titled, "Angry Movie Guy"As the founder of 3rd Culture Creative, a Media and Entertainment Company she has several projects in development. Please visit projects to view a small selection of her work.