A Good Bad Boy: Luke Perry and How a Generation Grew Up

Cultural critic Wappler (Neon Green) serves up a loving if unwieldy overview of the acting career of Perry (1966–2019), best known for playing Dylan McKay on the 1990s teen drama Beverly Hills 90210. Growing up in Mansfield, Ohio, Perry endured his father’s drunken rages until his mother got a divorce when Perry was six. By middle school, he aspired to act professionally, but it took 216 auditions before he landed his first part in a daytime soap opera in 1987. Three years later, he overcame a lackluster initial audition to nab the role of Dylan on 90210, and quickly became a fan favorite. Wappler traces the ups and downs of Perry’s time on the show and discusses his tenure on both HBO’s Oz and the CW’s Riverdale. Perry’s fans will appreciate the doting treatment he receives from Wappler, who describes the actor as empathetic and modest in an industry of big egos. Unfortunately, the omission of significant portions of Perry’s personal life (his marriage receives only a handful of fleeting mentions) baffles. Wappler also includes interstitial chapters that use her teenage memories of watching 90210 as a springboard to recount her adolescent relationship problems and troubles fitting in at school, though these sections never quite gel with the biography. This struggles to balance its numerous objectives. Agent: Erin Hosier, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (Mar.)