Today's Comedy Does Not a Memoir Make... Just My Personal Opinion Of Course...

English: President Barack Obama tapes an interview for the Daily Show with Jon Stewart at the Harman Center for the Arts in Washington, D.C., October 27, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) 

Will Not Attend:
Lively Stories of Detachment
  and Isolation

By Adam Resnick

Having just reviewed a wonderful humorous children's book yesterday, I apologize for having it followed by this book...coincident? Not Quite...I was, though, amazed as to my reaction to both of them--polar opposites would be a kind way of phrasing it. Contrary to one of the reviewers listed below, I did force myself to finish the book--I had to. When Dave Letterman, whose show I've never watched, Jon Stewart and others judged the book to be wonderful, according to the back cover, surely one of them "could" be trusted...

No, that's not the reason because I'm fully aware that this man has written a contemporary memoir filled with today's humor... For me, I'd be embarrassed to have it called a memoir, except that it is indeed about his life... And if his parents appreciate what he says--hey, who am I to judge...

Moments later, I overheard her tell my father in a
low but excited voice, "I think he's finally turned
the corner...mentally." He advised her not to get
her copes up...
~~~

Take his father... According to Resnick, it should be followed with a "please do..."

Fortunately, being groggy was usually a blessing when you were in his presence. Merv was a take-no-shit kind of guy. He was tall, built like a block of concrete, and had three basic settings: angry, brooding and would-righter-that-a-gnat's-ass. So it was imperative that you remained perfectly still and quiet in his presence. One errant sneeze would send his shoulders into a startled hunch, followed by an explosive "Jesus Christ! What the fuck's wrong with you?" And lord help the boy who got a case of the giggles, the kind that couldn't be stifled no matter how hard you tried. For this, Merv always offered up the same riddle, delivered in the soothing timbre of a nursery school teacher: "You know what happens to people who laugh too much, don't you?" Heavy beat. "They end up crying.": It was a clever little saying and a useful learning tool. It taught me to equate laughter with violence, and permanently wired me to distrust even the slightest flicker of pleasure.

~~~

One of the things I got bugged about was the title/subtitle. As you know there are many individuals who feel detachment and isolation... I did not plan on laughing at those individuals when I selected the book. Does today's world demand that everybody's feelings be digested to a point where they can then be regurgitated into obtaining laughter by those who enjoy today's type of humor? Is this what all those reality shows thrive on? Oh well, once in awhile I make a mistake in selection. If you, however, feel like many others that recommend this book, hey, it's your decision too...But remind me if we ever meet that I'll not enjoy talking with you over lunch if this is the type of small talk you enjoy...LOL... What can I say, it IS my personal opinion, after all...

The thing you will see if you checked on Amazon is that it is not ranked 1 or 2...because I recognize that it will be enjoyed by many of you. I just don't want to be among those that will recommend you read it...'Nuf said?

10-9-06 riding & horse pics 022 

And then there was the horse incident... At an Easter egg party, he had met a little girl who was also not too thrill to be there, so they went out on their own and soon wound up in the child's home, looking through anywhere there could be eggs hidden, including in the father's office...

Instead, my fingers inadvertently latched onto a loose document. It slid out with only minor resistance and was now in my hand. It wasn't an invoice though. Or a brochure, or a card of fabric samples.

It was a photograph of a woman sucking off a horse.

Everything stopped. Over and over I tried to get myself to see something different, but the image remained true; as valid as the sound of Karen's measured breathing behind my back. I turned around. She was gazing at the photograph with locked eyes, as if forced to contemplate something she'd always dreaded. Wordlessly, I quickly jammed the picture back in the filing cabinet. As I shut the drawer, I became aware of movement in the room. I peered over my shoulder just in time to catch a glimpse of Karen's white ankle sock passing through the doorframe.

Fucking parties...

I was still in a fog the next morning. Even as I tried to eat my cereal, the air around me felt damp and murky. It had not been a dream: for a brief moment, on the anniversary of Christ's resurrection, I held in my hand a photograph of a woman...

I now viewed my life in two segments: before the horse picture and after. The more I tried to forget the image, the more I obsessed over it. It was a bell that could nt be unrung, and I fixated on every horrific details: the muddy field, the chubby woman with her bare kneeds lodged in the muck, and the weary look on the horse's face as he gazed slightly off camera...

~~~

So, here's my dilemma, either this writer was a born loser and lived his life, barely making it as he couldn't get or hold a job...or the whole book is a bunch of lies; i.e., a collection of his stand-up skits that may have never been used before... Or else, the individuals with whom he worked in insurance are just as corrupt as many of us think they are...  Come on, he didn't like Disney world as a kid!

Or else, I am one of the few individuals in America who does not like to hear what was once called "curse words" for which you got your mouth washed with soap--or more importantly, was taught by a wonderful parent to do onto others... So, to me, that means that the language of America continues to move further into the gutter...

And it also means that scenes bordering on pornography should not even be mentioned, little on discussed with such alacrity in this type of book, posing as a memoir...

Or else, this emmy-award winner and writer is so well known that anybody who accepts reading a book written by a man of such stature in the comedy club should be gratified to have an opportunity to confirm exactly what today's audience expects...

But mainly, I just have to say that only one interaction between the boy and girl at the Easter Party (before the horse fiasco) even brought one small smile and the rest was boring, stereotypical discrimination jokes...

One incident to close...two of the brothers see an African American man walking along the road and mistakenly think it is their friend and school custodian. Once they pick him up, they realize he is not. They are too frightened of their father to admit they made a simple mistake and by doing so allowed a potential killer to enter their car...Ahhh, what crap...

I don't care what you do on this one...Your opinion is just as valid as mine...or is it?


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About the Author

Adam Resnick is an Emmy Award-winning writer who began his career at Late Night with David Letterman. He went on to co-create Fox’s Get a Life, starring Chris Elliott, and has written several screenplays, including cult favorites Cabin Boy and Death to Smoochy. Resnick has written for Saturday Night Live, was a co-executive producer and writer for HBO’s The Larry Sanders Show, and created the HBO series The High Life, which was produced by David Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants. He lives in New York City.

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