Cover Me

The cover of Another Fine Mess: A History Of American Film Comedy intrigues me.  It has two photos.  The top one shows the Marx Brothers in a pile of film.  Makes sense. The team represents classic American film comedy, and the picture ties into the theme of the book.

But the lower photo is most of the cast of The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou sitting in a sub, staring at us.  Why?  The film was not a hit with the public or the critics.  Not too many consider it the best film of Bill Murray or Wes Anderson.  Not too many consider it the best film Bill Murray ever did with Wes Anderson.  There's nothing particularly funny about the photo.  And aside from Bill Murray, no one in it is especially assocated with comedy--I can imagine a book on American film comedy that never mentions Cate Blanchett, Anjelica Huston, Willem Dafoe and Michael Gambon.  Even the argument that it's a recent film, showing the book's scope, isn't great, since the movie is now seven years old.

Did the author just like the movie?  The photo?  Did the publisher force it on him?  Regardless, odd choice.