Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Based On A True Story by Norm Macdonald

29937870
2 Stars

Man was I looking forward to reading this book. In case I haven’t made it really flippin’ crystal clear already, I’m a HUUUUGE fan of all things SNL. While others complain about bad seasons and bad casts, I am a constant defender and only acknowledge bad skits or bad reoccurring characters rather than opting to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I also believe Norm Macdonald is one of comedy’s most untapped resources. His dry delivery and “guy you’d like to have a beer with” approachability have made him a favorite of mine. Not to mention how well he did behind the news desk on the Weekend Update – that is, until jokes about a certain someone got to be too much and he ended up shitcanned . . . .



When it comes to reading books about SNL folks (or comedians in general, for that matter) I expect there to be a lot of funny ha-ha. While there was a blip about how a certain someone came to fruition . . .



And while there is obviously way more material to work with during this current election cycle . . .



There was a notable void in discussion of another pretty memorable candidate . . . .



Or even how the ever rotating casting of this character came to be . . . .



In fact, there was practically nothing mentioned about anything. Instead, Norm’s “biography” read a little like a long, strange acid trip or a road trip similar to another I’ve read about before . . . .



Basically, Norm’s book is nothing but bullshit. He spins yarns of a high-functioning morphine addiction, doing hard time in the joint (as well as butt-rape, natch), and running up a million dollar all-or-nothing marker in Vegas. Out of 200+ pages the only things that seemed to be real rather than “based on a true story” were Norm’s unending appreciation for Adam Sandler’s friendship and all he has done in order to keep enough cash in Norm’s pocket to keep purchasing his Wild Turkey 101 . . .





And a story of “Old Jack,” a hired hand who lived on his family’s farm for ages and one day took an 8 year old Norm to see his pet squirrel . . . .

“He closed the door and the inside of the shed went black. Then I heard the bolt. I forget what happened next.”

Needless to say that little tidbit threw me for a bit of a loop . . . .



I have no idea if this book will work for others. All I can say it is different from any other biography I’ve ever read.

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