Continuity
Life Beyond the Credits
An upbeat peek inside the worlds of celebrities, Continuity covers the career of a Hollywood stylist.
Hollywood hair stylist Bonnie Clevering’s heartfelt memoir Continuity is about her decades-long career, with reflections on working with stars including Elvis Presley, George Clooney, and Kristen Stewart.
Clevering began her career as a newlywed, LA transplant, and relative amateur in the field. In time, she became an in-demand stylist, working on major film sets. Between behind-the-scenes moments and deliveries of industry wisdom, the book records her personal milestones. Still, it focuses most on her career, to the extent that it even ends with an alphabetized list of personalized thank-yous to clients ranging from Al Pacino to Zooey Deschanel. Photographs with celebrities on and off set amplify its dishy quality.
Insider stories accumulate across the book. Clevering asserts that her biscuits and gravy are so good that Julia Roberts raved about them on Oprah; she recalls bringing Spam and Wonder Bread onto a private jet to cheer up Tim Allen, whom she twice helped transform into Santa Claus. Elsewhere, she recalls rubbing Priscilla Presley’s belly at her baby shower at the request of Nancy Sinatra, who wanted to pass on good luck to Clevering in conceiving a baby of her own. At points, the book is more reflective, as with the declaration that “the film business has over-complicated itself with fear of failure, opting to over-analyze risk above creativity.” And it includes vivifying industry details, as of the weight and construction of the original Hollywood sign, the way stylists jockey for respect on set, and notes on how a good meal can lift an entire crew’s spirits.
While working to avoid undue gossip about famous clients, the book sometimes errs on the side of being complimentary. After decrying RoboCop actor Peter Weller’s prima donna behavior, for example, Clevering states that she only ever had positive interactions with him. Indeed, the celebrities mentioned throughout receive glowing praise and are treated as friends rather than subjects. Candid images emphasize their humanity: Brad Pitt wears a party hat and presents Clevering with a birthday cake; Natalie Portman gifts Clevering a stuffed dog to comfort her after her husband’s death. Sharp-tongued Faye Dunaway does not escape unscathed, though the behavior alleged here is also well documented elsewhere.
In the end, the book’s efforts to protect Clevering’s clients—including those who yelled, disrespected, or otherwise frayed her nerves—result in vague, surface-level revelations, though. In connection to a memory of Clevering being summoned to fix Kristen Stewart’s wig for the third Twilight Saga film, for example, the book declares that neither the previous stylist nor the actress were to blame; the issue was “rather a culmination of situations and problems that led to the hand I had been dealt with this dilemma.” Further, the book’s segues from Hollywood anecdotes to universal life lessons are often strained.
A warm Hollywood memoir, Continuity is about a career spent in service to craft, family, and quiet professionalism.
Reviewed by
Hannah Pearson
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
