Review by Booklist Review
Seth Weinstein, trudging along in an aimless career as a Twitter marketer, knows he is outmatched by his fiancee, Tina, who is rich, brilliant, and driven by serious causes. But amazingly, she has agreed to marry him. So they are off to Florida for their fabulous wedding, paid for by Tina's rich and powerful father, who doesn't quite approve of Seth. And Seth does not fail to disappoint as he and his Groom Posse become entangled with a stripper, her angry boyfriend, a desperate Haitian refugee and her children, and a cast of others in the hectic two days leading up to his wedding. When he should be preparing for the wedding, he's off on rescue missions and avoiding police in a car chase. Can Seth pull himself together in his grand misadventure of wildly competing desires and obligations to do the right thing and still make it to the altar? Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist Barry's latest offers a wild romp through south Florida.--Bush, Vanessa Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In Barry's very funny new novel, the destination wedding of a slacker protagonist and his beautiful lawyer fiancee goes haywire. Though Seth Weinstein tries to live up to Tina Clark's expectations, he's immediately thwarted. He's lost his suitcase, wedding ring, and Groom Posse before arriving, drunk, at the Miami hotel where he's to be married. His newly found companion, the fourth runnerup in the Miss Hot Amateur Bod competition, enlists her friend, who keeps a python as a pet, to help find the ring. The stripper that Seth didn't ask for greets him in his suite demanding payment. Seth goes in search of an ATM and returns, the next morning, with a nearly drowned Haitian woman and her children. The stripper's tab keeps climbing, and her pimp is unlikely to make a deal. Barry adds to the mix Tina's disapproving, social-climbing, billionaire parents and Seth's clueless mom and dad, complete with medicinal marijuana and matching tracksuits. Seth must also contend with an amorous orangutan and his soon-to-be-wife's family's bodyguards, one of whom has a grudge. None of the mayhem gets the better of Barry, whose sly observations, well-delineated characters, and intricate plotting mesh perfectly, even as the story reaches a frenetic denouement aboard a pirate ship. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Seth Weinstein and his Groom Posse arrive in Miami, FL, for his destination wedding to Tina Clark-the beautiful, wealthy sophisticate who is decidedly out of his league. Soon, Seth and his buddies are off on a series of misadventures that include a refugee Haitian mother and her two small children, a bouncer and his albino python, a supersize stripper and her even larger pimp, an orangutan named Trevor, and Cindy, who came in fourth in a hot body contest. Each mishap creates further complications that threaten to sabotage Seth's wedding. Laugh out loud dialog coupled with insane mis-adventures will leave the listener reeling with mirth. Some buffoons blossom into capable individuals, losers become heroes, and villains are defeated. Despite many catastrophes, a satisfactory conclusion is achieved. Barry does an excellent job of narrating his own material and portraying the various characterizations. VERDICT This is a thoroughly enjoyable audiobook. Highly recommended for Barry's fans and anyone who wants to be regaled by their own laughter. It's almost impossible not to listen straight through to the end once the audio starts. [The Putnam hc was a New York Times best seller.-Ed.]-Gloria Maxwell, Metropolitan Community Coll.-Penn Valley Lib., Kansas City, MO (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Hangovers, bridesmaids, Haitian refugees and rogue primates run amok in Miami. Big, goofy comedy in the vein of Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey doesn't come by as often as most readers would like and neither do straight-up novels by the likes of Barry (Lunatics, 2012, etc.). So, to have two entries by the Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist in a single year is momentous. For this (nominally) adult-oriented novel, Barry returns to the broad strokes and over-the-top characters that marked early novels Big Trouble and Tricky Business. Seth Weinstein is a good-hearted, unambitious professional tweeter on the verge of marrying up to Tina Clark, a wealthy debutante whose affection for Seth is largely based on his sense of humor. Seth's "Groom Posse" has loaded up for his bachelor party with the traditional elements of booze, strippers and a complete lack of common sense, starting by stocking his baggage with sex toys. Back at the hotel, Tina and her sister Meghan work with wedding planners and try to reel in the Posse's antics while her father, a member of a secret cabal called The Group of Eleven, conspires to join the even more exclusive Group of Six. "So you're not bleeding from the head and hanging out with a Beyonc look-alike and a Jerry Springer bouncer carrying a large snake?" Tina asks--it's one of those weekends. Despite the adult content, Barry keeps the humor good-naturedly bawdy while simultaneously throwing in everything but the kitchen sink. While the Groom Posse are standard fare from every bachelor-party film you've ever seen, the supporting cast is inspired insanity. Among the subjects of Barry's whacked-out character studies are Hot Bod competitor Cyndi, who takes a shine to Seth; wedding planner Blaze Gear, with assistants Traci and Tracee in tow; an angry, expensive stripper and her gargantuan pimp; a Haitian family on the run; and a rogue orangutan named Trevor. Yes, really. Utterly familiar but funny.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
