To stay true to my goal of reading every comedian’s book ever written, I couldn’t wait for David Spade’s to come out. While I would never say that he is my favorite actor, or comedian, or even past SNL character, he does hold a special place in my heart because he was on SNL in what I, as a Gen Y’er, consider the golden years. It is said, that every generation looks back at the cast that was in place during their core watching years, so probably late junior high – that time where you’re not out at midnight but before you’re in bed by then – and claim that those were the best years of SNL. When I think about what I consider the best, it’s the Chris Farley (David Spade) years 1990-1995, followed directly by the Will Ferrell years 1995-2005. In 1990, I was only 6, but in 1995, when Farley hit his peak, and when Tommy Boy came out, I was 11… just old enough to know that Chris and David were hilarious, but still young enough to only get half of the jokes. On a side note, I have to wonder if Lorne Michaels ever regrets not having Chris Farley and Will Ferrell on at the same time (Chris was fired at the end of the 1994-95 season and Will was brought on in the beginning of the 1995-1996 season). Sounds like comedic heaven to me…
Anyway, somehow I’ve talked more about Chris Farley than David Spade here – something David seems to have a small chip on his shoulder about and address in the book: living in Chris’ shadow. He doesn’t seem overly bitter about it, but accepts it as part of his life, and makes sure to also make clear that he misses him every day. One of my favorite lines in the book is when he mentions meeting the band Nirvana. He says, “I sometimes feel I have a kinship with Dave Grohl, because both of us guys were very close to someone who got very famous quickly and then died, and we both stuck around to field questions about them for the rest of our lives.” Hey quickly followed with, “It is an honor, but not an easy one sometimes.”
I love that line so much for some reason – and it happened to be by far the deepest thought in the book. Which is not surprising…nor disappointing. I didn’t pick up this book thinking I was going to be challenged (I actually read all 200+ pages on my route home from Oregon over the holidays), or inspired, but my goal was to be made to laugh. And that I did. His book is written in his indistinguishable voice – I could actually hear it in my head as I read each line. It was full of funny stories, one liners, and inappropriate jokes that had me almost choking when they’d catch me by surprise. It’s filled with self-deprecation – his shtick – and actually a lot of explanation around why he is the way he is and why he is the type of comedian he is. I found it fascinating.
As I mentioned before, I love to read comedian’s books because one, they’re always funny. Most can write because most comedians write for a living, whether its jokes or TV shows or movies, so they’re usually surprisingly well written (I mean not like Tolstoy good, but definitely better than the Playmate’s Tell-all’s). Second, comedians have some of the most interesting stories of how they came up through the ranks. Most people look at comedians as overnight successes (Louis C.K. excluded), but very few people realize how long and hard they’d been working before they finally hit it big. Spade’s life was no exception. Hearing why he decided to get into comedy, how he went about it and the failures he encountered along the way, make for a very interesting read. He’s also tells it in a hilarious way, which makes it that much more interesting.
In addition to how he came up in comedy, he goes through his 6 seasons on SNL, season by season. LOVE. I’m obsessed with all things SNL past and current. He also tells a number of just funny stories about his life, like his crazy assistant who went stocker on him… I’ll stop there, it’s really one of the best parts of the book.
All and all, I recommend this book. Why not? You know it’s going to be funny. He’s lived an interesting life, and you’re guaranteed some good Chris Farley stories along the way. I give it 2.5 stars out of all books ever written, and I give it 4.25 stars out of books written by comedians. So, pretty good if you’re not Tolstoy.
Buy here: http://amzn.com/0062376977
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