Review of Private Parts (1997) by Timothy S — 13 Jul 2014

Very few books of the last twenty years must have looked as impossible to make the jump to film more than the autobiography of radio personality Howard Stern, called "Private Parts". Ivan Reitman took on the task and the end result is a brash, funny and wildly entertaining movie in which the filmmakers wisely allowed the principles involved to play themselves on screen.

No one could have played Stern like the man himself, and while I've never really been a fan of his radio program, the rise to fame portrayed here is a lot of fun to watch. Stern and his longtime colleagues Robin Quivers and Fred Norris, among others, are surprisingly good having never acted before, and the first half showcasing his humble beginnings will no doubt be fascinating to his hardcore fans. For me, however, it wasn't until the second half of the picture, when Stern is hired by NBC and makes the move to New York, that the film really takes off.

Watching him rebel against his new bosses, or more specifically Paul Giamatti playing is new and constantly frazzled program director, is where the picture really excels. Their battles are epic, and Giamatti is perfectly cast in one of his earliest film roles. The real surprise here are the scenes of the man's home life, with Mary McCormack filling in for Stern's devoted wife. They show his human side, and give you an understanding of how they managed to stay together for so long.

As a film, "Private Parts" does the near impossible. It humanizes one of the most misunderstood public figures of our generation, and it does so with humor and heart.