BOSSYPANTS by Tina Fey
As an avid “30 Rock” viewer, I was curious to see if Fey’s Frankenstein of a memoir (part actual memoir, part funny-strange, part funny-haha) would stand up to the abundance of positive buzz surrounding it. I mean, anything with not one, but two New Yorker excerpts must be worth at least the time I would have spent buying groceries I probably can’t afford or doing my laundry, right?
The inevitable answer to this, of course, is yes. It’s Tina Fey. Fey does not disappoint, although I’m sure you’ve probably already heard this a million times from your mother, your dentist, your dry cleaner or that random homeless man you pass by on your way to get coffee in the morning. Fey’s omnipresence throughout every medium is further testament to her talents, and Bossypants is the metaphorical icing on the talent cake.
Less of a memoir in the traditional sense, Bossypants chronicles Fey’s life from her sassy, albeit confused, younger years to her current place as a 40-something mom. Along the way, she details her journey to where she is now, her thoughts on our culture’s perceptions of what women should aspire to be, and issues of modern femininity (such as her disdain for blondes being blondes and brunettes being “brown,” hence her insistence on calling all blondes “yellow”).
While it is a fountain of comedic gold, there were a few irksome chapters for me in which she stoops to comment at length about some moderately offensive internet commentors. After all, she is miss Bossypants herself: the queen of SNL, 30 Rock, and a media mogul that is seemingly unstoppable. Why even bother to kick around a few internet trolling ants?
At its best, Fey’s book is a much needed addition to the discourse of modern feminism. At the very least, it is legitimately laugh-out-loud hilarious, from the front flap to the advance praise listed on the back of the book jacket (“Totally worth it.” – Trees).
Some other great books by other (mostly intentionally) humorous leaders of the entertainment industry:
ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT’S ME, CHELSEA by Chelsea Handler
Handler continues her reign as the queen of post-Empire in her most recent installment of gut-wrenching hilarity. Where Fey’s humor might be a bit drier, Handler’s no-holds-barred brutality is fantastic.
I AM AMERICA (AND SO CAN YOU!) by Stephen Colbert
Written by our beloved alumnus, I Am America, And So Can You! is the perfect encyclopedia of questionable “facts” that Colbert believes you should know, including his opinions on everything from the media to the creation of families (nuclear families need only apply!).
THE OVERTON WINDOW by Glenn Beck
In possibly my first ironic book choice, The Overton Window is one for audiences that don’t mind laughing at the author, as opposed to with him or her. Bravo if you can make it all the way through; as I am not a masochist, I decided to recycle it after tackling three quarters of it on a particularly stressful plane ride (made stressful by this book, not by the talents of the pilot).
