Review: Yes, Please and Bossypants
- tatedecaro
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
4/5 stars - Yes, Please, by Amy Poehler (2014) - re-read
3/5 stars - Bossypants, by Tina Fey (2011)
I read Yes, Please in 2017, and really loved it. This year, after I read Bossypants, I thought it might be interesting to re-read Amy Poehler's book and compare/contrast. And it was; It was interesting!
All in all, Yes, Please was better (for me). Poehler's personality is a bit more fun, a bit more eager-to-please, and her approach to memoir is vulnerable and revealing. Fey's personality on the page is snarky, and more like, "I know I'm funny and I don't care if you understand it." She doesn't reveal much of her true self, and doesn't come across as particularly relatable. I respect the heck out of both of them, but Poehler's book is more my style. She's still got plenty of snark, but it's less biting, and I appreciated the feeling of realness and approachability.
Honestly, this kind of describes my feelings about Parks & Rec vs 30 Rock too, which I guess shouldn't be that surprising. I think both are funny, but I don't binge-watch 30 Rock. I watch clips and laugh hard, and then I'm done, because it's too cynical. Parks & Rec I can and do and have been watching over and over for years, because it has the laughs AND the heart.
To be clear upfront, I did not read, in the traditional sense, either of these books, though I did have physical copies and referenced them now and then (photos, parts of the book that were written like lists or letters). I listened to them - because Poehler and Fey read the books themselves, which is delightful. Also, in Yes, Please there are guest readers - Carol Burnett, Seth Meyers, Michael Schur, Patrick Stewart, Kathleen Turner, Amy’s parents - which adds to the delightfulness.
Yes, Please
After reading this book, do I know more about Amy Poehler, and feel like I have a better sense of who she is and what she stands for? Yes. For sure.
This book consists of sincere, humanizing stories about Poehler's life - her struggles coming up through the comedy circuit in Boston, Chicago, and New York, the pluses and minuses of being a working mom, the heartache of divorce, and the difficulty of writing a book! It's heartfelt and honest. But also, it's Amy Poehler, so it's funny as hell. It doesn't feel like the goal of the book is to be funny, nor is it about comedy. It's just funny because she is so good at honest, storytelling that points out and make fun of the absurdness of life. it's filled with really good advice, and silly stories about her coworkers at Second City, SNL, and Parks & Rec.
"When someone is being rude, abusing their power, or not respecting you, just call them out in a really obvious way. Say, 'I can't understand why you are being rude because you are the concierge and this is the part of the evening where the concierge helps me.' Act like they are an actor who has forgotten what part they are playing. It brings the attention back to them and gives you a minute to calm down so you don't do something silly like burst into tears or break their stupid fucking glasses."
Bossypants
After reading this book, do I know more about Tina Fey, and feel like I have a better sense of who she is and what she stands for? No. Not really.
This book is a sarcasm-laden joke fest, which felt like it was written with the express purpose of telling sarcasm-laden jokes. That doesn't mean it's not legitimately funny. It just doesn't reveal much about Tina Fey herself. Yes, there are stories that mirror Poehler's regarding the hardships faced as a female comedian, and a working mom, but there's definitely no vulnerability. It's a different kind of memoir, that focuses more on trying to inspire other young female comedians/actors and give them advice about how to handle/poke fun at/ignore the men in their way. Nothing wrong with that. It just wasn't advice I felt I needed. I hoped for something more illuminating - information unique to her experience and emotions.
One thing that bothered me throughout the book was the repetitive refrain of "the-world-against-all-females, especially-female-comedians." Not that I disagreed with any of her depictions of said reality, but it lacked any acknowledgement of her upper-middle-class white privilege. (By contrast, I did feel like Poehler addressed this, even if only on a small scale.)
I'm still giving this book a pretty good rating, because I really did enjoy it. But I'll forget it quickly, whereas Yes, Please has and will continue to stick with me.
P.S.
If you like Amy Poehler and her style (or, the style I've described above), you should also check out her podcast, Good Hang! You can listen to it, obviously, but they also video the episodes, and they're really fun to watch - cuz there's so much laughing, and it is so fun to watch people laugh and make goofy faces.
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