Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Grip of Film

By: Richard Ayoade
Narrated by: Richard Ayoade, Jesse Eisenberg, Jon Korkes
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £4.99

Buy Now for £4.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

You SLUG the guy.

You KISS the dame.

You TOTAL the car.

That's movies. And I love 'em.

Gordy LaSure's passionate about film. He eats film, he drinks film, and sometimes he'll even watch a film. But most of all, he loves talking about film, and how they'd be a shit-ton better if only people would pull their asses out of their ears and listen to Gordy LaSure.

The voyage of this audiobook can be categorised as an attempt to understand How In Hell Film Works. Why are some films bad and some films terrible? How come just a handful of films (Titanic, Porky's, Dirty Harry) are any good at all? Gordy'll tell you How and Why, and he'll give you a shot of Wherefore on the side. And he doesn't shoot from the hip; he shoots from the gut.

©2018 Chicken Leg Ltd (P)2019 Audible, Ltd
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Ayoade on Top cover art
Bust cover art
Alan Partridge: Big Beacon cover art
From the Oasthouse: The Alan Partridge Podcast (Series 1) cover art
Ghost Stories: Stephen Fry's Definitive Collection cover art
Garth Marenghi’s TerrorTome cover art
Toast on Toast cover art
Everything Reminds Me of Something cover art
Perfect Sound Whatever cover art
Dishonesty Is the Second-Best Policy cover art
I, Partridge: We Need to Talk About Alan cover art
The Shadow Master Series: Books 1-3 cover art
Ramble Book cover art
James Acaster's Classic Scrapes cover art
That Mitchell and Webb Sound: The Complete Series 1-5 cover art
Boy Wonder cover art

What listeners say about The Grip of Film

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    118
  • 4 Stars
    72
  • 3 Stars
    54
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    20
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    161
  • 4 Stars
    52
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    10
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    100
  • 4 Stars
    59
  • 3 Stars
    50
  • 2 Stars
    18
  • 1 Stars
    19

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Nice work! If you like roadhouse...

Love that he references roadhouse as a masterpiece but rubbishes citizen cane.. I think I agree!!!! 👍🏻

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fucking hilarious

Hilarious and so clever. I never thought audiobooks could have this kind of quality. Ayoade's writing and Korkes' acting really brought life to this character of Gordy LaSure and made me almost believe he was real. I would totally go to his community college class. This was an experience you can not get by just reading the book. Great listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

great parody on movies

this was laugh out loud funny in multiple places from the "great movie" lists to the genre titles. One of those cases where the author has to know a lot about film in order to have such a funny view of it. The only parts that didn't really work for me were the recreations of scenes from a film to illustrate a point. The rest was gold though and I'd happily read the other books by the fictional author Ayoade has created.
The performances were strong, the trump like main character was particularly strong while Ayoade is always great doing deadpan and sarcasm.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hilarious observations and virtuoso performance

Ayoade's 2017 audiobook "dramedy' is a real laugh or loud treat, just the medicine needed for a winter lockdown. Ridiculing 80's/90's vintage action flicks and the mindset behind their production/existence may be like shooting fish in a barrel but Ayoade obliterated that barrel and left but a smoking crater in its place. His knowledge of screen writing and plot structure lend extra scope and depth to his hilarious observations and clever narrative tricks make the audiobook experience more immersive and multi layered.
Jon Korkes performance is sensational as the contemptible buffoon Gordy LaSure. Loved it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Enough

There are plenty of quite funny and enjoyable moments but at times it drags on a bit, particularly at the start, the first 30 mins or so aren't great.

Something which I think a potential buyer should really be aware of is that very little of the audiobook is narrated by Richard. Eisenberg does a little bit in the forward and Richard chirps in from time to time but it's mostly Jon Korkes. If you were expecting to listen to Ayoade you may be disappointed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

A fair few laugh out loud moments but takes some getting in to

The intro is a slog, but once you’re past it and get into the character that Richard has invented, it’s pretty funny. The book is a reflection on the worst parts of Hollywood; the racism, the sexism, and the repetitive nature of mainstream movies, particularly the action movies of the 80s and 90s.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Some funny parts, but mostly rambling

Ayoade as always gives me a giggle with his dry humour and played innocence but all in all too much “dramedy” and “secret length” banter for me. Love these types of films, so plenty of interesting parts, but this book is not for everyone

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Hilarious

I had previously already read the physical book on release but the audiobook is even better. Jon Korkes in particular is excellent as Gordy La Sure with plenty of audio interjections by the author himself Richard Ayoade.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Hilarious Nonsense

A very pointless but incredibly entertaining book. The narration is exquisite. Not sure I have ever laughed so much at a book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

So dry it should come with a drinks voucher

I really didn't know what to expect from Richard Ayoade's book on film but it certainly wasn't the fictionalised ramblings of an alcoholic womanising hanger-on Gordy La Sure (is this a Geordy Shore reference?) who is obsessed by Roadhouse and Steven Seagal.
I've read a few other reviews from people who didn't like this book, and I can see it's not for everyone, but I laughed a lot listening to it, and would recommend to anyone who Finds sarcasm funny, especially when mixed with a healthy dollop of American hero worship.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!