Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy…
I finished another memoir last night. Once Upon a Star, by Peggy Trentini. If you’ve ever flipped through a lingere catalog and wondered, “What is it like to be a lingere model?” or, more specifically, “What would it have been like to be a lingere model in the late 80s, early 90s?” this is the book for you.
Peggy, a former member of the Swedish Bikini Team, Frederick’s of Hollywood model, and Token T&A actress (you know how in the 80s, there was always at least one gratuitous boobie shot in any movie? that), and lover/mistress of Sylvester Stallone, Vince Neil, Billy Idol, Mick Jagger, Bret Michaels, Johnny Depp, Mark Messier, and Kevin Costner, and possibly the one willing woman in LA that Sean Penn did not sleep with, has written an entertaining little book about what it was like to go to bed with half of Hollywood’s A-list either on, or before the first date. (And you know it was the 80s because the only mention of condoms is in her having seen some on someone’s bathroom counter.) I wouldn’t call it a good book. That would be too far of a stretch, but Trentini comes across as someone I might like to have over for a girls night. She’d have some great stories, for sure!
What stood out to me:
- Billy Idol liked to do it on top of a mink bedspread. I was very worried about a) how sanitary this was, as it is very difficult to clean fur, b) how many different mink bedspreads Billy Idol might have had in order to manage the difficulty of keeping them clean, and c) whether or not the fur would shed?
- Whether Trentini ever found out why Bret Michaels never takes off his bandana–and I mean never–because she did mention it.
- How all these men seem to have the stamina of Danielle Steele heroes, after drinking ship-sinking vats of liquor.
- Life before cell phones was much more private.
- So THAT is how the Sandra Bullock lesbian rumor got started!
- I was really worried about that mink bedspread. Especially, after she mentioned how frequently they got it dirty.
The long and short of it is this: Sly, Vince, Billy, Mick, Bret, Johnny, Kevin, and Mark were all superior lovers with no flaws, save that they weren’t monogamous. Trentini had her success in LA, and lived to tell about it.
The book is part adorable, part ridiculous, part salacious, and entirely unbelievable. If you’ve got a late summer vacation planned, and you need something to read by the pool, give it a whirl. If only to live vicariously through someone who got to live out Rebel Yell.
3 out of 5 stars for sheer entertainment value
The Outside Lane 