Book review: Bossypants, by Tina Fey

Recently, on the way to Vermont for the Green Mountain Stage Race, I listened to an audiobook of Tina Fey's Bossypants. As a big fan of Fey's since the Weekend Update days, and as a huge 30 Rock fan, I was looking forward to reading the book. After all, if I learned one thing from Steve Martin, it's that comedians can write funny books, in addition to making funny movies.

Also, it was a really long drive, and I figured an entertaining book would make the time go by faster (this was, in fact, true).

But I found the book to be more than a little disappointing, especially in light of the fawning New York Times review. I know it's easy for journalists to get caught up when writing about so-called media darlings, as Fey certainly is (I've been there -- as a journalist, that is, not as a media darling), and the book's meteoric rise up the best sellers list would have made it hard to be a critic. But here's the thing: The book's best jokes were recycled from Saturday Night Live or 30 Rock. They're good jokes -- I mean, Fey's really funny! -- but, they were funnier the first time around.

More to the point, Fey spends a significant portion of the book recounting her life, which is really a fairly normal life, and although I wouldn't have wanted to miss the description of her "boss, bold, bladed motherfucker" father, it's a fairly uninteresting life, and without a few self-deprecating jabs, it wouldn't have been amusing any more than listening to any other stranger's life story. As a memoir, in that regard, the book kind of fails. Maybe it's because Fey's still so young with so much life left to live, but I think it's more because she doesn't teach us a lesson based on her life experience, as a memoir should. (Unless you consider advice to stay away from comedy writing a lesson).

Maybe that's not Fey's purpose. Really, what's interesting about Fey, whether or not she knows it, isn't the famous people she's met and performed with, or experiences she's had in the entertainment industry, but it's her ability to make us laugh. Instead of focusing on making us laugh with her words, Fey seems to use most of the book to recount her career, and I was hoping for more.

The other problem that I had with the book was the Wizard of Oz effect. Because her career is so closely intertwined with public works, the book has the effect of lifting a curtain, which proved not to be a totally comfortable subject, for me at least. You know that creative types love to stay up writing all night, but you don't want to hear about it, it kind of ruins the magic. I don't want to know that Alec Baldwin strung the network along for months before signing on to 30 Rock. That should be in his memoir. Also, the cover is creepy.

Not related to the book itself, but I feel compelled to out that when you search "Bossy Pants" on NYTimes.com, this is the top hit. I'd guess that Fey wouldn't approve.