Review: My Wicked Wicked Ways: The Autobiography of Errol Flynn

I grew up watching Errol Flynn movies like "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and "The Adventures of Don Juan," knowing nothing more about the actor than his name. I started reading this book out of general curiousity, but I was quickly blown away by the story. This autobiography reads like an adventure novel with a little introspection on the side. Allegedly Errol Flynn had a ghostwriter who stayed with him for six weeks, mooched off his estate, asked a lot of questions and produced this book. Regardless of who actually wrote the text, it is a great read. Every period in Flynn's life is full of shenanigans, exploration and living life.

In a sense, Errol Flynn was the Tucker Max of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. With little regard for the effect of his behavior on others, Flynn sought to live life to its fullest, satisfying all his desires, given the vast wealth he amassed as an actor. However, Flynn rises above the ranks of an asshat like Tucker Max because he does not pursue women for the sake of pursuing women, he does so as an adjunct activity to exploring the world and all it has to offer. Flynn left school for the jungles of New Guinea in order to make his own way and discovered the occassional woman along the way. Flynn admits to his excessive drinking in his later years, but also identifies it as a symptom of his depression and dissatisfaction with his career and creative production. In all of his stories, the adventure, the joke, the boat, what he learned about humanity become the focus, rather than his debauchery. He muses on the dynamics of Hollywood and the effect of fame on his life. Often Flynn longs for his days of anonymity in Tasmania and New Guinea.

While Errol Flynn emerged as THE swashbuckler of film in the 1940s and 50s, he reveals himself to be no different than anyone else searching for meaning in his life.

- KER