Bossypants she was going to call it, and the multitude of fans who admired her rise to fame and had followed her since her days on SNL started their countdowns to the release of what was sure to be an especially saucy how-to on being a successful woman in the biz.
Which it is. Kind of. Later.
Let me start the review by saying this: Tina Fey is funny.
[“Thank you, Nerdbob Obvipants,” say the sassy, know-it-all bitches (on whom I inexplicably tend to develop crushes for having precisely those qualities).
To you I say, “Let me finish!” and, “What’re you doing later?”
And to those who have no qualms with that statement, “Thank you, and that [insert web-browsing attire here] is lovely.”]
When Bossypants begins, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the author is also the brains behind 30 Rock. The passages about awkward pre-pubescent and pubescent experiences, her honeymoon fiasco, college-dating gone array, etc., certainly don’t disappoint. And I hadn’t laughed that obnoxiously while reading since a middle school teacher unwisely assigned my fellow immature, tweenie classmates and me excerpts from Freud.
Her language is dead-on: Throughout the entire thing I was sure she was sitting in my room, reading to me. The insertions of ad lib brain vomit, while seemingly random at first, further ground the style that’s Just Tina.
"I want my daughter to be able to find me in the crowd by spotting my soda-case hips... And if I ever meet Joyce DeWitt, I will first apologize for having immediately punched her in the face, and then I will thank her." (25)
Alas, there comes a point when the reader thinks, "This is hilarious! ...But why is it called Bossypants? When will she tell us how to come by a pair of our own?"
While entertaining, the first half of the book shows no real attachment to its title. Arguably, Fey may have made that choice in order to fully develop her character and to paint a more accurate portrait of her career’s origins; but the message of what it takes to become an influential figure in modern-day comedy gets a bit lost in the mini-stories.
“But don’t give up!” urges your conscience, “Tina never disappoints!”
And later, when the narrative transitions, you thank your conscience and give him/her its well-earned right to say, “I told you so.”
Finally, once the tone of the memoir is cemented, everything pulls together and Fey gets to the meat and potatoes.
She lists how women determined to succeed should view themselves, details loving stories about colleagues who inspired her, and discusses the impact of her work on her life. She’s unafraid of scraping into the nitty gritty and dishing her true feelings about the position of women in comedy, as well as about the industry itself.
"You have to try your hardest to be at the top of your game and improve every joke you can until the last possible second, and then you have to let it go." (123)
And most importantly -- amid all of the badassness that are her uninhibited insight and often self-deprecating revelations -- she sticks by her witty, relatable voice and conveys the central message of the book: she’s human, she’s made mistakes and learned from them, and she’s convinced the industry is changing with the help of other amazing women. To make it, it takes ovaries: the courage to pull an Amy Poehler and make it known that you’re not there to be fucking cute, but to do your very best and prove that you can play with the big boys.
"...[D]on’t waste your energy trying to educate or change opinions. Go “Over! Under! Through!” and opinions will change organically when you’re the boss. Or they won’t. Who cares? Do your thing and don’t care if they like it." (145)
As harsh as that sounds, though, you can’t forget it’s Tina Fey talking. Her manner of writing’s such that she affectionately smiles from behind the bird that’s pointed towards the assh*les in the industry and the naysayers watching. She’s aware of the strife women face, and she has first-hand experience in dealing with the problems within the biz. But she never loses sight of the fact that all eyes are upon her and she can’t afford to succumb to others’ expectations. She’s flipping the industry and the naysayers off while simultaneously, through all of the stories shared in her memoir, telling them that they, too, can and should follow her example.
Tina Fey is, undeniably, a funny, tough-loving bossypants.
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Next time in The Grin Bin: "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" by Mindy Kaling
