Book Review – Tina Fey’s Bossypants

Bossypants is an autobiographical comedy book written by Tina Fey, an American actress, comedian, writer and producer, known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live (SNL), the NBC comedy series 30 Rock, and films such as Mean Girls (2004), Baby Mama (2008), and Date Night (2010).

Rachel is a big fan of Tina Fey and 30 Rock. She was the one who bought Bossypants and recommended it to me after reading.

There’s a healthy dose of irrelevant, witty humour mixed in the book which will appeal to not just female readers, but male readers alike.

It is not easy being a comedian, much less a FEMALE comedian. Try naming a few famous funny women who are a brand name of their own who are not sidekicks to leading male comedians and you will marvel at how much Tina Fey has accomplished.

Tina Fey’s greatest height of fame was when she performed a series of parodies of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, back in 2008. This sketch video below with Fey imitating Palin alongside Amy Poehler as Hillary Clinton is NBC.com’s most-watched viral video ever:

[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdDqSvJ6aHc”]

In Bossypants, Fey is candid about her awkward childhood, how improv theatrical performances gave her a head start in the show business, her struggle to prove to the world that female comedians are comedian first and female second, right up to parenting tips for working mums. No stones are left unturned. Nothing is too intimate that can’t be poked fun of, husband and colleagues included.

The book received rave reviews from many critics, including the New York Times. I did somewhat enjoy reading the book, but not as much as Rachel seems to enjoy it. Maybe it will help more if I was a Tina Fey fan or 30 Rock. I absolutely love the “advance praise for Bossypants” which she chose to put at the back cover of her book though. They are very good indicators of what to expect:

“I hope that’s not really the cover. That’s really going to hurt sales” – Don Fey, Father of Tina Fey

“Absolutely delicious!” – A guy who eats book

“Totally worth it!” – Trees