Book Review: A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
Publisher: Crown
Publication Date: July 14, 2020
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
If there’s one trait that makes someone well suited to comedy, it’s being able to take a punch—metaphorically and, occasionally, physically.
From growing up in a family of firefighters on Staten Island to commuting three hours a day to high school and “seeing the sights” (like watching a Russian woman throw a stroller off the back of a ferry), to attending Harvard while Facebook was created, Jost shares how he has navigated the world like a slightly smarter Forrest Gump.
You’ll also discover things about Jost that will surprise and confuse you, like how Jimmy Buffett saved his life, how Czech teenagers attacked him with potato salad, how an insect laid eggs inside his legs, and how he competed in a twenty-five-man match at WrestleMania (and almost won). You’ll go behind the scenes at SNL and Weekend Update (where he’s written some of the most memorable sketches and jokes of the past fifteen years). And you’ll experience the life of a touring stand-up comedian—from performing in rural college cafeterias at noon to opening for Dave Chappelle at Radio City Music Hall.
For every accomplishment (hosting the Emmys), there is a setback (hosting the Emmys). And for every absurd moment (watching paramedics give CPR to a raccoon), there is an honest, emotional one (recounting his mother’s experience on the scene of the Twin Towers’ collapse on 9/11). Told with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, A Very Punchable Face reveals the brilliant mind behind some of the dumbest sketches on television, and lays bare the heart and humor of a hardworking guy—with a face you can’t help but want to punch.
If you’re a Saturday Night Live fan, you know that Colin Jost is one of the head writers and co-host of Weekend Update. We all know that I love celebrity memoirs and I originally picked this one up hoping for details on his relationship with his now wife, Scarlett Johansson. I’ll just tell you right up front – there is almost nothing about Johansson in here. But there’s so much other good stuff and it’s so freaking funny that I didn’t even care! A lot of memoirs written by comedians aren’t really that funny unless you listen to them reading it. It’s their delivery that makes it funny. Not so in Jost’s case. I read the print version of this book and was laughing out loud. I read passages out loud to my husband and kids and they laughed out loud too.
One of the funniest chapters is about all the times in his life that he’s pooped his pants. Like, as an adult. And while the way he tells it, it’s hilarious, as someone with Crohn’s disease, I kind of want to have a little chat with him. Pooping your pants once or twice a year is not normal!
Surprisingly, this book also made me teary. Jost’s mother is a physician and was the chief medical officer for the New York Fire Department on 9/11. Reading his account of that day was emotional. And he loves his mom so much, it’s sweet. (She’s still alive but she lost many friends that day.)
Even though he’s only 38, he has a lot of interesting stories to tell. For instance, he almost died surfing with Jimmy Buffet and he was at Harvard at the same time as Mark Zuckerberg and rowed crew with the Winklevoss twins. While there isn’t much about ScarJo included, he does dish on some of the past SNL hosts, which I appreciated. Highly recommended, especially right now when something to laugh about is needed more than ever!
