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Spoilers: Essays That Might Ruin Your Favorite Hollywood Movies
"Carlos is on McSweeney's Mount Rushmore of Satirists. Spoilers is a brilliantly funny display of his comedic talents." -- Chris Monks, Managing Editor of McSweeney's Internet Tendency "
Spoilers is an abundance of comedic riches from the mind of one of the sharpest satirists working today." -- Caitlin Kunkel, co-author of New Erotica for Feminists , co-founder of the Satire and Humor Festival
"This book has way more jokes than Schindler's List. " -- an objective statement of fact
Superman tries to apply for a Green Card but doesn't have the proper documentation from his home planet. The Little Mermaid writes a tell-all book about her struggle to fit in with her new siren-skeptical royal family. And an increasingly unhinged J. Edgar Hoover opens an FBI investigation into a counter-cultural rabble-rouser by the name of Forrest Gump. These are just a few of the scenarios explored in this raucous collection of essays from frequent New Yorker and McSweeney’s contributor Carlos Greaves. Spoilers will leave you laughing at hitherto unexamined plot points of your favorite films, at the sorry state of the world we live in, and definitely at whoever’s idea it was to open a theme park full of people-eating dinosaurs.
CARLOS GREAVES is an electrical engineer turned comedy writer—a career move that haunts him to this day. When he’s not busy questioning his life choices, he teaches online classes at The Second City, is a features contributor at The Onion, and runs the topical satire newsletter, Shades of Greaves. His articles on the humor site McSweeney’s have been read and shared by millions, including Roxane Gay, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, and N.K. Jemisin. He lives in North Carolina with his wife, Cristina, and their very spoiled cat, Luna. Visit shadesofgreaves dot substack dot com
Spoilers is an abundance of comedic riches from the mind of one of the sharpest satirists working today." -- Caitlin Kunkel, co-author of New Erotica for Feminists , co-founder of the Satire and Humor Festival
"This book has way more jokes than Schindler's List. " -- an objective statement of fact
Superman tries to apply for a Green Card but doesn't have the proper documentation from his home planet. The Little Mermaid writes a tell-all book about her struggle to fit in with her new siren-skeptical royal family. And an increasingly unhinged J. Edgar Hoover opens an FBI investigation into a counter-cultural rabble-rouser by the name of Forrest Gump. These are just a few of the scenarios explored in this raucous collection of essays from frequent New Yorker and McSweeney’s contributor Carlos Greaves. Spoilers will leave you laughing at hitherto unexamined plot points of your favorite films, at the sorry state of the world we live in, and definitely at whoever’s idea it was to open a theme park full of people-eating dinosaurs.
CARLOS GREAVES is an electrical engineer turned comedy writer—a career move that haunts him to this day. When he’s not busy questioning his life choices, he teaches online classes at The Second City, is a features contributor at The Onion, and runs the topical satire newsletter, Shades of Greaves. His articles on the humor site McSweeney’s have been read and shared by millions, including Roxane Gay, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, and N.K. Jemisin. He lives in North Carolina with his wife, Cristina, and their very spoiled cat, Luna. Visit shadesofgreaves dot substack dot com
194 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 2, 2023
Spoilers is an abundance of comedic riches from the mind of one of the sharpest satirists working today. From Superman’s visa issues to snippets of the Little Mermaid's biography to Forrest Gump's historical drop-in's driving J. Edgar Hoover insane, Greaves has a knack for inserting hilarious comedic premises and unique characters into the stories we know best. Would make a great gift for anyone who loves humor and/or movies, so basically, anyone worth knowing!
September 28, 2023
I genuinely didn’t expect a book to make me laugh as much as this did! It’s a genuinely great read, and I’ve already lent it out to some friends for them to read at the beach.
It’s a collection of short essays that poke fun at some of the most famous movies I’ve heard of. And even though I personally haven’t seen all the movies referenced, I still found myself laughing at the witty caricatures and the real life counterparts they reminded me of.
For some bite-sized funny reading that still makes you think a little, I highly recommend reading Spoilers.
It’s a collection of short essays that poke fun at some of the most famous movies I’ve heard of. And even though I personally haven’t seen all the movies referenced, I still found myself laughing at the witty caricatures and the real life counterparts they reminded me of.
For some bite-sized funny reading that still makes you think a little, I highly recommend reading Spoilers.
October 3, 2023
Spoilers by Carlos Greaves is a hilarious collection of satirical essays based on movies. This book has something for every film/satire fan. Movies covered include classic and well-known films like Casablanca, Forrest Gump, Harry Potter, Footloose, The Little Mermaid, Terminator, and James Bond. It would make a great gift!
Some of these essays were originally published in Mcsweeneys (and were very popular), but the majority are brand new. They’ll make you chuckle as well as view things from a different perspective. An ideal combo, in my book!
Some of these essays were originally published in Mcsweeneys (and were very popular), but the majority are brand new. They’ll make you chuckle as well as view things from a different perspective. An ideal combo, in my book!
January 5, 2024
Super fun take on the plots of great movies! Great read with super digestible, independent chapters that you can pick up and read whenever you want a laugh. Would make an excellent gift for the film lover in your life.
November 20, 2024
Greaves took thirty movies we all recognized. Writing as a devil’s advocate or a hot off the press critique of the movie, he presents them into short satirical stories. Matrix, Superman, When Harry met Sally, Footloose, The Lion King and more, Greaves goes deep into what he interprets as the alternate meaning behind the movie. The stories are very funny and while I did get some of his satire, there were too many movies and I had to stop reading although I only have four more to read. I recommend you read one-at-a-time so you appreciate the humor and the parody. In my case, I will re-read the book because Greaves writes how I want to.
February 10, 2024
Laugh out loud funny from start to finish. We chose this book for our book club and I was skeptical about how much I would enjoy an entire book of satirical essays. Really glad we chose it. My wife was initially perplexed by the cackles from my bedtime reading (perhaps in retrospect not the best book for winding down). It's the perfect book to pick up if you only have a few spare minutes and need a laugh while also managing to string through some meaningful social commentary in the process.
July 14, 2025
Carlos Greaves wrote something special here. I laughed throughout his 35 essays that lovingly send up the best and worst parts of my favorite films. The Jurassic Park section was a particular highlight, as was his take on Footloose, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Shawshank Redemption and more. If you like movies and comedy (and that should be everyone), this book is for you. Put succinctly: this book is for everyone. Buy it now. You're welcome.
May 9, 2026
Pretty funny stuff! I definitely enjoy the author's pieces on Mcsweeney's but maybe I just don't his work as humorous as an entire collection all by him. LOL, or maybe I'm still disturbed by how taken out of the story I was when reading of a sleaze-bag motel in the mid 60s having a microwave? (In the Shawshank Redemption parody) LOL, fecal germs aside.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
September 3, 2023
It's been a while since I've laughed this hard. The beauty of this book is that there's plenty to appreciate in each essay even if you haven't seen the particular movie being satirized. What a fantastic read!
October 3, 2023
I've read a few comedic books recently and this one has me laughing the most! It likely helps that I love movies, but you don't need to have seen them all to enjoy the book, just understand who Superman is, etc.
August 22, 2023
Hilarious and charming. The Jurassic Park essays are instant classics.
September 25, 2023
A hilarious and quick, fun read!
August 8, 2024
A Hilarious Must Read
These essays on movies are hysterical. Breaking down questions we should have watching these classic. They are ruined but it’s so much fun!
These essays on movies are hysterical. Breaking down questions we should have watching these classic. They are ruined but it’s so much fun!
October 12, 2024
A delightfully amusing collection, with the extended sequences (Jurassic Park as an allegory for Covid, the FBI files on Forrest Gump) standing out.
March 24, 2025
So fun! Definitely could’ve done with less satirical Covid chapters but that’s a me problem
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews