My Kids Think My Stuff Is Porn (Manly Writeoff)
Written: Jun 14 '03 (Updated Jun 14 '03)
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Pros: Some wickedly funny humor and cheesecake photos...
Cons: ...that are not for the easily offended or overly sensitive PC crowd
The Bottom Line: Caters to a specific demographic that would consider this a five star magazine. For the whole population, call it three stars.
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| Joubert's Full Review: Stuff Magazine |
Think of it as the old Spy magazine written by a bunch of frat boys who have not managed to become, um, worldly.
That is the rationale I gave my wife when Stuff magazine began appearing in our mailbox six months ago, part of a binge from one of those $4.95 web magazine sites. Like the old Saturday Night Live, the writing is either hysterically funny or sophomoric. And like that television chestnut, Stuff houses enough repeating characters to create familiarity.
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Although in Stuff, Mommy would most likely wear a bikini or g-string. A large part of each issue is dedicated to cheesecake shots that would make a kid in a World War II foxhole blush, but seem tame by today’s standards. Think of the girls running around on Comedy’s Centrals The Man Show for an idea of the subject matter.
The magazine does not spend the dollars that Playboy or similar sophisticate magazines (industry term, not mine) does to attract brand name celebrities or infamous women to pose. But you will find the up-and-coming starlet, some models or a musician trying to break through on more than her ability to quickly transpose a pentatonic scale to sound more like Ravel. But if you are reading, Norah Jones…
Humor. Sometimes Even Funny
Humor has long been a men’s magazine staple. Much of the content is crude although gems sift to the top as readers peruse an issue. The editorial staff does an exceptionally good job on the front part of the book. Mini-interviews, short character sketches and several typically funny columns dot this section of each issue.
The trick to enjoying the magazine is for a reader to join in the editorial joke that the magazine is often lurid, sometimes crass and should not be taken seriously. There are truly more harmful things to read, and if the average reader gets a chuckle, thrill or both from the $4.99 cover price, then they have not done half bad. Annual subscriptions are currently running $18, but check a few web links. You may find an even better price.
But The Magazine Debases Women
Go away.
My Favorite Stuff
An advice column positioned as the editor’s mother is great for a laugh every issue as is constant editorial jabbing at magazines such as Entertainment Weekly. Like many media outlets catering to this demographic, there is a new products section filled with descriptions of cool gadgets. But even these sections are not immune from the comedy writers. Readers will therefore find a picture of a cigarette (“price: $7/pack NYC”) sandwiched between a digital camera and a stereo in the most recent edition.
Other fun regular Stuff includes music reviews which feature a musical equation equaling the artist’s latest release. For example, The Clash plus Skinny Puppy times Queens Of The Stone Age plus some others equals Wire’s latest.
The magazine also regularly features interviews with trade show participants at unique events. This is not the Garden Club, but maybe associations dealing with security or sex toys. One can imagine the bizarre and often hilarious questions posed to the employees marooned in a booth.
Regular Stuff
There are Bathroom Tapes, purportedly recordings of women talking about sex in bathrooms, Six Degrees of Penetration, a picture-laden matrix of who has slept with whom in Hollywood and interviews with gorgeous female bartenders and strippers. There is also the occasional straight interview with a bizarre twist, but thankfully, these are scattered far and few between.
The Bottom Line, Renewal Cards and All
A little bit Mad and Cracked, a little bit Spy, a little bit Playboy and a lot Maxim, this is a magazine for men who do not want to take reading a magazine seriously. The frat boy staff often misses the mark, but like most comedians, when they nail a joke, it is a bulls-eye.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. Please do not bother reading the magazine or writing to me if you have easily offended sensibilities.
2. Yes, there are pictures of scantily-clad women. Pretty ones too.
3. Humor may be the hardest thing to write. These folks get it right more often than others.
4. Plenty of words are printed that you would not whisper to your eight year old daughter or eighty year old granny. See item number one
5. You will find newsstand copies for $5 and an annual subscription for $18.
Joubert’s FunLink. You Say It’s My Anniversary?
Hot diggity! My buddy HawgWyld and I have been lazing about Epinions for three years. (Happy Annivesary, E) This weekend, our anniversary, is marked with our Second Annual Write-off, cleverly titled HawgWyld & Joubert's Manly Write-Off. Nearly five dozen writers from across the site are helping us celebrate this Father’s Day weekend. You can join in by visiting this page:
HawgWyld & Joubert's Manly Write-Off
And let me just pause a second to thank Char.Mike for her help in organizing this writeoff. Keep her son, AJ, now serving in our armed forces in Kuwait, in your prayers.
Recommended:
Yes
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