Book Review: Almost Interesting by David Spade

Almost Interesting by David Spade
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Publication Date: October 27, 2015
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Publisher’s Description:

A hilarious and biting memoir from the actor, comedian and Saturday Night Live alumni David Spade.

David Spade is best known for his harsh “Hollywood” Minute Sketches on SNL, his starring roles in movies like Joe Dirt and Tommy Boy,  and his seven-year stint as Dennis Finch on the series Just Shoot Me. Now, with a wit as dry as the weather in his home state of Arizona, the “comic brat extraordinaire” tells his story in Almost Interesting.

First taking fans back to his childhood as a wannabe cool younger brother and recounting his excruciating road-tour to fame—when he was regularly mistaken for a ten year-old, Spade then dishes about his time crisscrossing the country as a comedian, for low-paying gigs and dragging along his mother’s old suitcase full of props. He also covers his years on SNL during the beloved Rock/Sandler/Farley era of the 1990s, including his close working relationship and friendship with Chris Farley and brags about the ridiculous perks that fame has brought into his life, including the constant fear of being fired, a crazy ex-assistant who attacked him while he was sleeping, a run-in with Eddie Murphy on the mean streets of Beverly Hills, and of course an endless supply of hot chicks.  

Sometimes dirty, always funny, and as sharp as a tack, Almost Interesting reminds you why David Spade is one of our generation’s favorite funny guys.

I’ve always been intrigued by David Spade. His Hollywood Minute bits on Saturday Night Live were hilarious and so well-written. He’s been a scene-stealing supporting cast member in the TV series Just Shoot Me and Rules of Engagement. In both shows, he played a womanizing jerk. However, in his appearance on talk shows, he is self-deprecating to the point where it seems like he really does have low-self-esteem. Yet at the same time, he’s kind of a womanizer like his characters. But then, he dated Heather Locklear?! He’s an enigma. I picked up his book, hoping I could get to the bottom of who the heck is David Spade.

Almost Interesting starts in David’s childhood but the bulk of the book is about his career leading up to and as a cast member of Saturday Night Live. If you want an in-depth look at how an episode of SNL is put together, this is the book for you. I enjoyed learning about how the writer’s room at SNL works. David was there for five years and had imposter syndrome (that’s my diagnosis, not his) basically the whole time. He was always worried that he was going to get fired. I think that the self-deprecating humor he portrays on talk-shows comes from a place of genuine vulnerability that is in this book as well.

There are also some stories about the movies he made with Chris Farley, who was a close friend. He doesn’t go into much detail about Chris’s personal demons but I wouldn’t expect him to. There’s almost nothing about the two TV series he was in. The biggest disappointment is that there is NOTHING about Heather Locklear. I can only hope that he held back some info to include in a second memoir.

Memoirs from comedians can be hit or miss. Often their humor doesn’t translate well to the page. While some of the humor in the book was on the obnoxious, swarmy side, I thought that the sincere parts of the book made up for it. Recommended, especially for SNL fans.