fuche_bu's Full Review: Maxim Magazine Subscription
Everyone is aware of magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse. These men’s magazines have been known for their pictorials of stunningly beautiful naked women. In the case of Playboy especially there are also informative interviews and articles. But many people seem to take issue with the nude female form. At the risk of being politically incorrect, I call them religious zealots.
So somewhere along the line some less bold guys came up with the concept of a men’s magazine with beautiful women scantily clad. The lack of nudity is designed to thwart the attacks from the right. This has spawned magazines such as Maxim. This is a magazine that will feature some nice cartoons, some moderately funny humor and scantily clad pictorials of famous women.
I was always curious as to the appeal of these magazines. Anytime I check them out I am always less than impressed. Now don’t get me wrong, I do greatly appreciate pictures of Anna Kournacova in a bikini. I still have a pulse even though I am getting older. I am appreciative of some of the humor found in these magazines. They just lack a lot of things I am looking for.
I suppose it would be easy to pin my disdain on my own rapidly deteriorating imaginative powers. Have I really gotten so lame that I need to see the fully nude pictures to get excited. Well, my appreciation for the Victoria’s Secret catalogs will negate that thought. The pictures in Maxim are very good. It’s just that I find it lacking as a whole magazine. Amazingly enough, I will eventually be finished looking at the pictures. Then I have hours on my hand to kill. An incisive interview or a well written article would really hit the spot. Don’t hold your breath waiting for anything intelligent in these quasi men’s magazines.
That is really my gripe with Maxim and magazines of this ilk. It seems to cater to the notion that I have to be dumb in order to be a male. Well, imagine my surprise when I discovered that I did have a brain. The photos of Anna were fabulous. I also greatly enjoyed the pictures of Kelly Carlson (from Nip/Tuck. They had a brief and cheesy interview with John McEnore. This guy has had an interesting life and great career. A Playboy interview would have been comprehensive and informative. I guess they assume my attention span isn’t long enough to handle more than a one page interview. Maybe they assume that lust for and appreciation of beautiful women blunts all other thoughts.
The reality is that I like Playboy for the beautiful women and the incisive journalism. Both play a part in making the magazine successful. I guess magazines like Maxim are catering to the illiterati that can’t handle anything vaguely approaching intelligence. That’s a pity. I always appreciated that Playboy assumes its readers know how to read and want to learn about technology and music etc. I have made book purchases based on Playboy reviews. This is something not likely to come up with Maxim. They seem embarrassed with the notion that some men actually know how to read. They must think an appreciation for Tang Dynsty Chinese poetry makes a man a homo.
The humor in the recent issue can be funny. Bard to the Bone is hilarious. Here they give really brief synopsis of various Shakespeare plays. They wrap up classics like Hamlet, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet in single paragraphs. Even though its written very low brow it has an almost subtle feel to it. I do like the line about learning Shakespeare in ten minutes and saving 80,000 on a college education. Would that it were that simple.
The appeal of the magazine is that they get a lot of celebrities to do shoots for them. I guess a lot of celebrities that don’t want to pose nude for Playboy will be willing to do a bikini or lingerie shoot for Maxim. They do get a lot of beautiful women in this magazine. I can remember the great cover featuring Alyssa Milano. They have also had many beauties like Jessica Simpson, Elisha Cuthbert, Michelle Branch, Kim Smith, Tyra Banks and Eliza Dushku. I guess that is worth something in and of itself.
I probably should be giving this a not recommended. After all, it doesn’t give me nude photos like Playboy. If I want to use my imagination I can do that with girls I know in real life that I have no shot in He!! at attaining. I’m too old and worn down for any added effort. I also should blast them for not giving me good music reviews and book reviews and cool interviews with the world’s most interesting people. But the Shakespeare thing was funny. And finally, I have this month’s issue sitting on my desk next to the computer. The picture of Anna Kournacova in a bikini is simply too much. The horndog in me simply will not allow me to give it a not recommended.
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