Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 11-15 of 69
 Great Gift November 29, 2001
Danielle L (Grantsville, MD, United States)
15 out of 16 found this review helpful
This magazine makes a terrific gift for the hard to buy male. It is always one of my top picks for holiday shopping. I haven't met a man, yet, who doesn't look forward to his monthly arrival. I definitely give this one top rank.
Hey, I Read It For The Intellectual Articles! Honest! February 14, 2004
Barron Laycock (Temple, New Hampshire United States)
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
The truth of the matter is that Playboy always has had a steady stream of quality articles accompanying the well showcased girlie photographs, and a bevy of provocative, humorous, and thoughtful items within each of its many, many monthly pages. So I have indeed been an inveterate subscriber for decades, though I admit that I sometimes let the subcription run out from time to time. Still, I have a wall full of old issues sitting patiently for me in the basement, and within those pages are interviews and articles featuring luminaries ranging all the way from Woody Allen, to Jack Nicholson, Martin Scorcese, Robert DeNiro, and Clint Eastwood, etc, etc, etc, grace its interview pages from month to month. Where else besides Playboy can one honestly recall having read thoughtful interviews with everyone from Bob Dylan to John Lennon, from Eldridge Cleaver to Arnold Schwarzenegger, from Annie Lennox to Jane Fonda in its pages. Playboy is a quality magazine, and while even we old babyboomers have to chuckle aloud even as we admit it, it is indeed a worthwhile read and a good magazine to subscribe to, even if your eyes do sometimes stray from the interview pages to "other" more noteworthy subjects. Honest! Enjoy!
 Cheap subscription + civil liberty focus + airbrushed women October 2, 2002
aryxus (Seattle, WA United States)
14 out of 24 found this review helpful
I've read Playboy (yes, READ) for years, and always enjoy it. It's better reading than Maxim, FHM, and all those other "men's" magazines. The interviews, the focus on civil liberties, the short fiction... It's all good. That said, it's VERY difficult to read this magazine. Not because of the writing, but because of the pictures... Where am I supposed to read it? Not in the house with my 6-year-old daughter around; not on the bus; not (ahem) at work. And it certainly looks bad carrying it into the bathroom. :)Another negative... Maxim, FHM, and Gear (in particular) have much sexier pictures. Why is that? Overall, though, you cannot beat the price of this subscription for what you get. And to all those people who say "what kind of man reads Playboy," I'll tell you: A man interested in the individual rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights; one who knows the difference between an airbrushed photo and the real thing; and one who proudly calls himself a feminist in a time when most women WON'T call themselves feminists.
 You used to be able to read it too October 26, 2001
Ashley (Ang Mo Kio, Singapore)
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
For soft-core nudity and some good editorial content this is still a good magazine. Each issue has 3 pictorials (with very little deviation in layout the last 20 years of the magazine). A feature, often by location (like girls of the Caribbean), a centerfold (9 white girls--usually blonde, 3 ethnic girls per year), and another feature, often a personality like Cindy Crawford or a tv star or somesuch.
Editorially, each issue has movie and music reviews. Leonard Maltin took over movie reviews not so long ago. There is always a short story and political commentary and news. They have an annual short fiction contest for college students which brings an amazing story most years. Lots of humor--cartoons, editorial, and weird news. There is also a 20 Questions feature with some celebrity and a full interview with another famous figure. The interviews are somewhat famous. "Playboy" had the last interview with John Lennon, and interviews with Malcolm X, Ayn Rand, world leaders, ex-presidents, rock bands, comedy stars, the works. The interviews tend to be good and sometimes hard hitting.
"Playboy" has been an amazing magazine for 50 years that was usually
*more* worth reading than... ...uh, hiding under your mattress.
With that said, the quality of the magazine has gone down in the last ten years. From the printing quality (I've received about 40% of my copies with printing flaws--bad ink, pages out of order) to the editorial content. Editorially it used to be amazingly balanced. Very liberal on rights (race, sex, drugs, and rock and roll) and very conservative on cash (the good life, clothes, manners). The magazine has lurched off the center line toward the left in print content and leaned ever so slightly to the right in photo content. They print too many blonde centerfolds with gi-normous implants and not enough pretty women who are still 100% woman. Witness the response in magazines like "Perfect 10" (a magazine dedicated to non-surgical beauty). They increasingly tinge their editorial with a hint of "look-out-for-the-right-wing-conspiracy." This is especially sad, because "Playboy" was the only mainstream source of objective political commentary in print.
It's still a really good magazine, just not as great as it once was.
 Oh Come on! December 16, 2004
robbie (california)
13 out of 21 found this review helpful
In my opinion Playboy pretty much sucks for the most part. Only 20% of it is worth viewing (you know what im talking about) and the rest is pointless BS! Telling me how to dress, what kind of crap is that!? It seems that hugh heffner (however you spell that name) has given up and gone the way of maxim. Its just to decent for my tastes i guess. Hustler is a much better mens magazine and not just for the girls either. Its got great articles and the parody section is hilarious. life is a big joke and hustler seems to get it. unless you like to play golf and eat caviar playboys sucks.
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