In pre-pandemic times, Jost’s memoir, which Crown will publish on July 14, might have come across as a victory lap for an author contemplating new horizons. But now the book reads like his appreciation for a comedy institution that he hopes will come back in its traditional, chaotic form as soon as possible.
An ode to Colin Jost’s A Very Punchable Face: Why would I read this book, isn’t he young for a memoir? It’s well written and quite funny. He has led an interesting life ... But is the book actually funny? It is! He’s got great observations about himself which reminded me of people I know and myself. Some of his SNL stories are hilarious and he’s got oddball footnotes on most pages that are also funny. It’s a smart book, too, and is very much like his Weekend Update newscast ... All in all, I really enjoyed A Very Punchable Face and recommend it to SNL fans.
A Very Punchable Face is a solid read. There are some funny stories, to be sure ... Jost does well in capturing some of the day-to-day reality of life as an “SNL” writer; the behind-the-scenes writers’ room stuff is interesting, albeit with a familiar flavor – other books have gone deeper. And that’s ultimately the biggest issue with the book. It’s not superficiality, per se, but Jost never quite manages to get over the hump and truly let the reader in ... A Very Punchable Face isn’t going to change the celebrity memoir landscape. Jost’s book spends more time skimming the surface than we might like, rarely wading beyond waist-deep waters, but it’s an entertaining enough reading experience. If you’re a fan of Jost or SNL, you’ll enjoy yourself; if not, feel free to find someone else whose face you’d like to punch.
Colin Jost is funny. That shouldn’t be a surprising takeaway from the memoirs of a head writer of one of the most popular comedy shows on television, and it isn’t, necessarily. What comes through, though, in the author’s read is a soft sincerity that adds a layer to his material, and is only imparted in this format ... While fans of Jost will, predictably, get the most from the experience, there’s a lot to enjoy here, and the production and delivery perfectly reflect the material: clean, tight, and straightforward. In a word—charming.
