Dads are the Original Hipsters; by Brad Getty
Reviewed by Uncle Mike
I picked up this book from the Blue Book Box because I was heading to the airport to fly back to Berkeley and I wanted something funny to read. “Dads are the Original Hipsters” features vintage snapshots of young 1970s men having fun and doing silly things. The text with each photo describes how “Your Dad” had fun and did silly things 30 years before you did. For example, above a snapshot of a bushy mustachioed “Dad” holding a large 1970s home movie camera, the caption reads “Your dad was a filmmaker before you were and has a movie starring your mom to prove it.” The photo is silly and nostalgic, but I’m disappointed to report that the comment about “a movie starring your mom” is just about the funniest line in the book, and I’m sure you’ll agree with me that it’s not that funny. Unfortunately, while I enjoyed the photos, the text grew tiresome very quickly and became a sad, painful trudge with few laughs. It’s clear that Mr. Getty thought he could write humor, but in fact he could only apply the same repetitive formula page after page until he ran out of silly snapshots. As a dad myself who grew up in the 70s, I had high hopes for this book, but it will be going straight to a Berkeley neighborhood book box when I am home, and Seattle book box fans can be glad that I moved it 800 miles south of the Blue Book Box.
1.5 stars for funny photos but humorless captions.
