A Comparison Of “Fear” And “Fear Of A Black Hat”

Fear: A book.
Fear Of A Black Hat: A movie.

F: Available from Amazon.
FOABH: Free to stream if you have Amazon Prime.

F: Not funny unless you have a very specific sense of humor. For example: Charles-Henri Sanson was the Royal Executioner in France back when such a job existed. First he worked for the king, and then he worked on the king. Charles-Henri Sanson lived in interesting times. A man can’t lop off noggins forever, though, and so Charles-Henri groomed his son Gabriel to take his place. Lifting up a severed head to show the crowd, Gabriel stepped off the 15-foot-high platform and broke his neck. Do you think that’s funny? Then you’ll think Fear is funny.
FOABH: Broadly hilarious. Not for kids, but otherwise: it’s for everyone.

F: Written by Bob Woodward, a preeminent Washington insider and chronicler who once helped bring down a presidency.
FOABH: Written by Rusty Cundieff, who directed 21 episodes of The Wanda Sykes Show.

F: I’m on page 54 and haven’t seen any black people yet.
FOABH: Almost entirely black people.

F: 2nd century BC Roman populist Tiberius Gracchus is referred to.
FOABH: No Ancient Romans, regardless of their political leanings, are discussed.

F: Every single sentence belongs in the Problem Attic.
FOABH: Impressively little of the film needs to be taken to the Problem Attic, which is amazing for a bawdy comedy from 1993.

F: The guy who played Lamar in Revenge of the Nerds has not appeared, but–again–I’m only on page 54.
FOABH: Guy who played Lamar is in almost every scene.

F: Making all the money in the world.
FOABH: Made around twelve bucks.