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RandomAnthony's Reviews > Bossypants
Bossypants
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Tina Fey's Bossypants was a disappointment. I don't know that expecting much from a comedy writer's cash-in big-font-with-pictures essay/memoir...thing...is fair, but I've been a Tina Fey fan since 30 Rock began, ready to trust her literary aspirations, and even to me this book barely scratches onto the two star plateau.
What did I expect? Well, it's probably easier to explain what I didn't expect. I wasn't counting on a sour, muddled, defensive screed against anyone who pissed off the author in the last thirty years. I wasn't hoping for forced, obvious stories about the professional discrimination in Fey's history. I wasn't looking forward to insecure ramblings about the long hours she put into Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. And I definitely wasn't expecting all of the above to be sugarcoated by a combination of weak, insecure meta-analysis and self-conscious “oh, I'm really not that great” coverups.
You know why Bossypants bugged me? Tina Fey has nothing for which to apologize. She's smart, she's funny, and she's talented. So I assume this book had some sort of cathartic impact and she needed to get this bile out of her system. Bossypants gets credit for three short, quality sections. First, Fey tackles the “what's that scar on your face?” question right up front and follows with some funny, interesting commentary on how she can gauge people by how they respond to the scar. Second, she answers a few critical emails/blog comments as a “question and answer” chapter. Third, she walks the reader through a detailed analysis of the whole “I look like Sarah Palin” era. I read this book quickly, over two nights, and while Bossypants is well-written, for the most part, the subject matter's dour nature left me cold, oh, 75% of the time.
Listen. I didn't pick this book up whispering, under my breath, “Make me laugh right NOW, Tina Fey! Dance, monkey, dance!” But I feel like Tina Fey wrote this book for 1) young women she's trying to inspire, and 2) all the people who hate her who will never read this book, anyway. Maybe 41 year old white guys weren't her target audience. I can live with that. I'll still watch 30 Rock, though, and not just because she's hot. I just hope next time Fey writes a better book.
What did I expect? Well, it's probably easier to explain what I didn't expect. I wasn't counting on a sour, muddled, defensive screed against anyone who pissed off the author in the last thirty years. I wasn't hoping for forced, obvious stories about the professional discrimination in Fey's history. I wasn't looking forward to insecure ramblings about the long hours she put into Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. And I definitely wasn't expecting all of the above to be sugarcoated by a combination of weak, insecure meta-analysis and self-conscious “oh, I'm really not that great” coverups.
You know why Bossypants bugged me? Tina Fey has nothing for which to apologize. She's smart, she's funny, and she's talented. So I assume this book had some sort of cathartic impact and she needed to get this bile out of her system. Bossypants gets credit for three short, quality sections. First, Fey tackles the “what's that scar on your face?” question right up front and follows with some funny, interesting commentary on how she can gauge people by how they respond to the scar. Second, she answers a few critical emails/blog comments as a “question and answer” chapter. Third, she walks the reader through a detailed analysis of the whole “I look like Sarah Palin” era. I read this book quickly, over two nights, and while Bossypants is well-written, for the most part, the subject matter's dour nature left me cold, oh, 75% of the time.
Listen. I didn't pick this book up whispering, under my breath, “Make me laugh right NOW, Tina Fey! Dance, monkey, dance!” But I feel like Tina Fey wrote this book for 1) young women she's trying to inspire, and 2) all the people who hate her who will never read this book, anyway. Maybe 41 year old white guys weren't her target audience. I can live with that. I'll still watch 30 Rock, though, and not just because she's hot. I just hope next time Fey writes a better book.
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Reading Progress
May 10, 2011
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Started Reading
May 10, 2011
– Shelved
May 13, 2011
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Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 107 (107 new)
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smetchie
(last edited May 13, 2011 08:45AM)
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May 13, 2011 08:44AM
This is why I'm always scared to read the memoirs of people I adore. Can you just tell me about the scar thing so I don't have to read it? (not that I was planning to. that cover is hideous. I cannot abide an ugly cover.)
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Sure, Gretchen...I don't think it's spoiler material or anything. She was in her alley, age five, when a stranger slashed her. That's all the detail she gives of the incident, but she talks a lot about the post-incident reactions of her friends, family, etc.(And yes, I tried not to look at the cover much, or even think of it.)
Ohhh. I think I heard her tell that on a talk show once. It sounds familiar now that you say it.
Yeah, I remember reading an interview where she said that she had dealt with it and moved on, but she couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't go crazy when her own daughter turned five.
Never knew this! Did always wonder! Terrible. Great review, RA. And I know how much you do love her, too!
Great review, I wholeheartedly agree. The book is wildly inconsistent and seems to consist of some fairly OK stand-alone pieces that are glued together by vastly inferior writing.
I won't be reading this book anytime soon since I'm not a Tina Fey fan. It's not that I dislike her, I just don't know her much beyond SNL. Your review made me think about why I don't care for many of today's celebrities and that's because so many are, in a sense, created to generate money. Have success on a TV show, and then suddenly movies and more movies and endorsements and an autobiography. I'm not saying this is the case with Tina Fey, but when I think about her, I don't know what she would have to say that would be interesting since she hasn’t been around for very long.
Disappointment?! WHAT? I listened to the audio book and I thought it was pretty cool.
You are wrong, Rachel, wrong!:) Thanks, Pi, Lori, Bert, and Michael. You know, Michael, your comment is interesting...I'm not sure why I read this book, although I'm assuming she wrote it in large part because she knew it would make a ton of money. I can't blame her for that.
No, I don't blame anyone for trying to make a ton of money either. What I don't like though is that I think we as consumers wind up getting a lot of less than good stuff hoisted onto us in other people's attempts to make a ton of money. Example: Ben Stiller. In Tina Fey's case I wonder if her agent didn't tell her to write her biography now because in another few years she'll be another Jennifer Aniston and no one will care?
RandomAnthony wrote: "You are wrong, Rachel, wrong!:) Thanks, Pi, Lori, Bert, and Michael. You know, Michael, your comment is interesting...I'm not sure why I read this book, although I'm assuming she wrote it in larg..."NEVA! ~gases RA with happy-juice-
After my exams are over, I shall write a review that's like the evil totally-opposite twin brother of your review. Don't even ask me about the happy-juice or why I'll even bother creating the evil twin because I don't know.
Oh, and Michael... ~dramatic gasp~
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This is the best, most even-handed review I have encountered. Thank Heavens for reviewers like you!
good, i'm not reading it. not sure i even like tina fey but i trust RA's judgement on this
Thanks, Ian and Kevin!
I absolutely agree with your reasons for disliking this book--they are valid. But I still loved the book overall, strangely enough, and I think I love her even more than before I read Bossypants. Maybe this is just the honeymoon stage.
Valid points, Vicky...
Kevin "El Liso Grande" wrote: "good, i'm not reading it. not sure i even like tina fey but i trust RA's judgement on this"What Kevin said. I'm not into "the cash-in big-font-with-pictures essay/memoir...thing" either (except RuPaul's, but I love ruru), but I thought Tina Fey's will be different. Guess not. And that cover is lame.
Anthony, thanks for putting into words why I didn't really like this book. I couldn't quite articulate why I felt vaguely disappointed when I finished it.
I defintiely think you're spot-on about 41 year old white guys, or even men in general, not being the target audience of this book. I thought the book was hilarious though some parts were definitely funnier than others.
Thanks, Anita! I didn't see your post until now, my apologies. Also, I can live with not being the target audience, Stina...I hope the book inspires some teenage girls, though.
Your review is spot-on! It's everything I felt about Bossypants. It could have been so much better, if not for the random stories that don't fit together and her constant put-downs of her looks.
I don't understand how you can appreciate 30 Rock but so completely miss everything funny and meaningful in the book. Much of it is the same style: satiric, Intellectual mixed with the absurd. It's like watching Monty Python and saying "I just can't enjoy it because they are so racist against Belgians." Seriously? Sad that you missed it because it's brilliant.
I think the difference is that in "30 Rock" we are safely cushioned from Tina Fey the person. She is Tina Fey the actress protraying the hyperbolic character Liz Lemon. It's less like your Monty Python analogy and far more like saying "Boy, I love Craig Ferguson as a late night host and fiction writer, but I couldn't stand his autobiography!"
You're a guy. Of course, you didn't find her funny!
But I do on tv!:)
Did you love her on SNL, or just 30 Rock? Because I couldn't stand her on SNL, yet I think she's hilarious on 30 Rock.
Yes, exactly that, Ian. I never watch SNL but I love 30 Rock.
I loved her on SNL. She and Amy Poehler were my favorite Weekend Update team since Jane Curtin and Dan Akroyd.
Yeah, you're definitely not the audience for this book.
How dare you compare the workwoman-like Fey & Poehler duo to the GLORIOUS PERFECTION of Curtin & Akroyd!
I wonder what would happen if we could sort reviews by gender.
That's a fair and interesting question, LR...
Liked this review a lot, RA. I haven't read Bossypants and probably never will. But I think a similar (although perhaps better written) book might be Are You Hungry, Dear? by the actress who got uber-famous playing Marie Barone, the mother-in-law from heck.
I agree. Much of this book was unexpected. I hoped you would talk about her consistent tangents into feminism, which -- for me -- stopped the giggles cold.
I have to agree for the most part...i was a bit disappointed too. I'll add, what irked me most was I felt like the non-linear (for the most part) writing of the book was suppose to add to the funny but as a reader it just irritated me. I felt like I was drunk and listening to someone talk about themselves while attempting to give you their life history from birth to present but they were drunk too, so it was a little all over the place. In the end I think it would have been an awesome 6 hour conversation over some drinks but as a book? Not so much. Still love Tina fey not digging her editor so much.
Christine wrote: "I have to agree for the most part...i was a bit disappointed too. I'll add, what irked me most was I felt like the non-linear (for the most part) writing of the book was suppose to add to the funny..."This struck me as true, but only after reading your comment. Nice post.
Christine wrote: "I have to agree for the most part...i was a bit disappointed too. I'll add, what irked me most was I felt like the non-linear (for the most part) writing of the book was suppose to add to the funny..."Yes, this is an excellent point, well-said...I agree with Brian. Thanks, Christine.
Great review. You took the words right out of my mouth(while also making my review look like a pile of hot garbage...)
"I wasn't counting on a sour, muddled, defensive screed against anyone who pissed off the author in the last thirty years. I wasn't hoping for forced, obvious stories about the professional discrimination in Fey's history"That is the sort of comment anti-feminists say when a woman dares to speak out about injustices against women in the workplace. She is just sour and complaining. I didn't read it that way at all.
...Just because you disagree on the nature of the text, that doesn't make them an "anti-feminist". That sort of invective is just a way of derailing a conversation and dismissing their views and interpretations without engaging them on any substantive level.
Yes, what Ian said. Comments like yours discredit feminism by making it sound dumb and illogical.
I agree with Jane. Why do you hate women, RandomAnthony?
Christine wrote: "I have to agree for the most part...i was a bit disappointed too. I'll add, what irked me most was I felt like the non-linear (for the most part) writing of the book was suppose to add to the funny..."Christina - I agree with you. I felt thrown by the non-linear storytelling. And your "drunken" comments do speak to the tone of the book. It was two stars for me right up until the last few chapters, but then I found myself laughing aloud and gave it 3 stars for that reason. Perhaps it was because I too have driven 80 West frequently from one family gathering to another and could relate. Put me in the 30-something working liberal female with angst demographic for the final tally.
David wrote: "I agree with Jane. Why do you hate women, RandomAnthony?"Because they're so pretty and never talk to me.
I agree. It was so full of snark and sarcasm that there wasn't room for much else.
Thank you for your review! I couldnt make it past Page 81! Your review sums up how I feel about the book!
I was even more harsh in my review of this book, but glad to know that I wasn't the only one disappointed by Bossypants. Looking back again, it wasn't even a memoir or an autobiography. It was like reading a teen girl's blog. It's also interesting to note how men and women differ so much in both their expectations and reactions to this book.
Zahir wrote: "...Looking back again, it wasn't even a memoir or an autobiography. It was like reading a teen girl's blog..."That's probably the best summary of the experience I've encountered so far.
I didn't find her bitter at all! I find it disappointing you say her stories of discrimination are "forced" - as a man, how could you know? Whether you want to admit it or not, being a woman is hard work and this is something that needs to be discussed. I felt she was fair in talking about things she was upset about - this is HER memoir after all. It's a shame you couldn't find the humor in this book, i thought she owned up to her bitterness when she had to and was pretty graceful the rest of the time.
Yes, that must be it:)
