The Friday Afternoon Club: A Family Memoir

I was expecting something a little more literary from the son of [a:Dominick Dunne 11012 Dominick Dunne https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1206680877p2/11012.jpg], and nephew of writing power couple [a:John Gregory Dunne 79463 John Gregory Dunne https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1212082753p2/79463.jpg] and [a:Joan Didion 238 Joan Didion https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1640504428p2/238.jpg]. But actor/director/producer Griffin Dunne relies primarily on name dropping in his memoir (he “deflowered” Carrie Fisher at her request; Sean Connery rescued him from drowning; he took a drama class with Linda Lovelace, who introduced Griffin to her current beau, Sammy Davis, Jr.) He also rather blithely portrays his family's dysfunctional dynamics, including alcoholism, mental illness, and closeted homosexuality, that fostered loving but fragile relationships. The heart of the memoir is the tragic death of Griffin's younger sister Dominique, who was strangled by a former boyfriend. The Dunnes went against legal advice and chose to attend the killer's trial, then watched, horrified, as the facts of the crime were twisted by the defense attorney so that Dominique and her rich, privileged family were seen as partially culpable. These chapters show that Dunne is capable of strong feelings and insight. Too bad the rest of the book has such an emotionally detached tone. Dunne's story ends abruptly in 1990 with the birth of his daughter (Mom is actress/former Bond Girl Carey Lowell). He doesn't discuss his most recent role as Uncle Nicky Pearson on NBC's This is Us, but I'll bet he felt comfortable being part of a drama about family dysfunction.