Book Source: Personal copy (Mother's Day gift to be specific!)
Sensitive reader: Language, including the F bomb.
Tina Fey – master of Sarah Palin impersonations and creator of quirky Liz Lemon and 30 Rock - has ventured into literary memoirs with her book, Bossypants.
I was expecting fall on the floor, choking on spit, side cramp funny – and it never materialized. For me anyway.
There are chapters on her childhood, her parents (her dad, Don, seems like one you’d want to meet!), summer jobs, her years as an improv actor with Second City, and her more recent work with Saturday Night Live, Sarah Palin and 30 Rock. Oh, and motherhood.
None of them were particularly memorable, or attention-grabbing. The highlight of the book was the latter chapters on creating the memorable scenes for SNL of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton with Amy Poehler in 2008. They rehearsed a total of TWICE before going live with that 5 minute scene! I was amazed! And her Mother's Prayer, which has made its rounds on Facebook, is worth reading too.
Bossypants read as if she were talking to herself in the bathroom. With no one around to listen. Or any intended audience. Like one big rambling session. With a few cuss words thrown in for emphasis.
I think this would have been a GREAT audio book – listening to the author recite her experiences, impressions, and antics first hand – and possibly a Sarah Palin accent thrown in for good measure.
I still love Tina Fey. And I still love 30 Rock. Just didn’t love her book.
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Melissa McCurdy is a mother of 3; wife of 1; daughter, sister, friend, aunt; lover of football, politics, food, travel, walking, tennis, theatre and all things literary. She can be found in front of the TV during every March Madness college basketball tournament and on every Saturday during college football season. Her youngest was born with a congenital heart defect and had open heart surgery at 5 weeks. She knows more about Children’s Hospitals than she ever wanted too. She recently finished a two year stint as PTA president, and would rather not be involved in another silent auction. Ever. And when she grows up, she wants to be the first female commissioner of the NFL. Personal blog: Gerbera Daisy Diaries