Watermark Books and Cafe

"Bossypants" by Tina Fey (Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown, ISBN 9780316056861, $26.99) 

“I hope that’s not really the cover. That’s really going to hurt sales.” If that quote on the book jacket by Don Fey, Tina’s dad, doesn’t make you want to read the book, then maybe you shouldn’t. But for the rest of us who were left smirking and snickering, Fey’s freewheeling, improvisational pieces provide a dose of Liz Lemonish humor in the guise of a traditional memoir. It’s sketch comedy meets sketch narrative, and it’s laugh-out-loud funny. 

The New York Times has called Tina Fey the Nora Ephron of her generation, and I guess that’s true when you consider the abundance of self-deprecating humor with which both ladies fill their books and the amazing number of shows/movies they have written and produced. While amusing us with anecdotes from her life, Tina Fey also addresses the nature of being a powerful woman in the generally male-dominated world of comedy. She says interviewers will often ask her if it's weird being the boss. "You wouldn't ask Donald Trump that. You wouldn't ask Lee Iacocca if that was weird," she says. "It's not weird." She also tips us off that Amy Poehler, her former Saturday Night Live “Weekend Update” co-host, is also a force to be reckoned with if you try to diminish her--especially her jokes--because of her gender. Just ask Jimmy Fallon. It’s refreshing that these successful women expect to be treated as equals and so they are. 

A funny girl from Upper Darby, PA, Fey acknowledges being what was then called a “change-of-life” baby—her mom was about 40 when she was born (ironically, the same age Tina is now, pregnant with her second child). She admits she was fussed over and doted on and possessed a somewhat inflated sense of self until she entered school, the great leveler. Fey describes her awkward teen years as a “good girl” drama geek (but with a wickedly mean girl streak), her college days, and her early years at Second City in Chicago where she honed her comedic skills. She joined Saturday Night Live in 1997 as a writer and within two years was promoted to head writer, the first woman to hold that position in the show’s then 25-year history. Three years later, she took on the role that originally made her famous—co-host of SNL’s news show parody, “Weekend Update.” In 2006, Fey left SNL to become the star and executive producer of NBC’s Emmy-winning sitcom 30 Rock (with the occasional journey back to SNL to imitate the former governor of Alaska!). 

If you’re looking for a “tell-all” type memoir, know this: Fey is selective about the information she shares while making jokes at her own expense. But the tidbits she gives us are amusingly entertaining. For example, her cruise ship disaster of a honeymoon is humorously recounted as is the yearly trek to visit family at the holidays: “I prefer the retro chic of spending Christmas just like Joseph and Mary did—traveling arduously back to the place of your birth to be counted, with no guarantee of a bed when you get there. You may end up sleeping on an old wicker couch with a dog licking your face while an Ab Rocket infomercial plays in the background. It’s a modern-day manger” (245).  

When Fey gives advice on how to be successful at improvisational comedy, she’s also giving some pretty good advice on how to live one’s life. Improv, she explains, is all about saying yes to the person you're acting with because if you don't say yes, the sketch is over. That “yes” approach seems to have shaped her worldview, breeding the positivity and energy that ooze from every page—in spite of the sarcastic wit! 

Review by Shirley Wells