The first time Colin Jost appeared at the Weekend Update desk, I hated him. I hated his delivery of jokes, I hated his Kermit the Frog voice, I hated his face. I’m a long-time SNL fan and he was someone new, someone unknown. Then, a few months later, by the time the new season rolled around, my feelings had changed. Someone I followed on twitter had retweeted him and whatever it was he said made me laugh so hard that I cried. I started following him on twitter and found that his comedy voice was hilarious. Then, I opened up my mind and started to love his delivery of jokes on Update. Then I saw him live a few times, and the rest is history.
I was given the opportunity to review Colin’s upcoming memoir/collection of essays, due April 14th, 2020. Titled “A Very Punchable Face”, this collection follows Colin from his silent childhood to his chubby teenage years to his success as a head writer of SNL. Along the way, there is puke, there is blood, there is poop. It’s guy humor, except written in a hilarious way that doesn’t make pooping ones pants on a golf course THAT embarrassing.
It’s very clear that Colin is very intelligent, I mean….he DID go to Harvard. But at the same time, he is very open and honest. He writes from his heart. The chapter on his mother is nothing short of a love letter to a woman who should be hailed as a national hero. Colin is open and honest about his anxieties and bouts of depression, and that’s refreshing. While many memoirs talk about depression, Colin is able to talk about it and make it relatable and brings the reader into the cold, lonely room in Russia.
Peppered throughout the book are photos - from a chubby teenage Colin in a bathing suit to a photo of Colin’s infected and gross leg full of botfly eggs. One of the standout chapters - at least to me, was the essay about the ‘worst ever’ Emmy Awards, confirming my suspicion that it wasn’t Colin or Che’s fault. :) There’s also an excellent chapter of some of his sketches from SNL - even though he left out my all time favorite - Baby Toupées.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. And thanks to Colin for all the laughs. I don’t entirely hate you anymore.