Pops Read a Book: COMEDY COMEDY COMEDY DRAMA

 I blew through Bob Odenkirk’s COMEDY COMEDY COMEDY DRAMA (Random House, 2022), an eminently readable, often hilarious (of course), sometimes inspiring memoir. Tracing his nascent comedy years in Chicago (an encounter with the legendary Del Close gives fascinating backstory) through his vast comedy résumé into unexpected dramatic turns, Odenkirk’s story is laced with self-deprecation that never feels like the kind of false modesty that defines many Hollywood memoirs. Odenkirk’s literary voice is so strong that you can’t help but hear him while reading (it’s like an audiobook with print!). 

I only have two slight complaints, and they are of omission. I don’t know if Odenkirk finished writing this book before the January 6 insurrection or not, but I’ve been dying to hear some of Jay Johnston’s former coworkers to weigh in on why they think the comedian turned to the dark side. But more importantly, I wish the paperback edition (for which I waited) had included an added postscript about the author’s 2021 heart attack on the set of BETTER CALL SAUL that nearly killed him. In interviews since the event, Odenkirk has said that it was a life-altering event, so one would think he might want to add it to the story of, you know… his LIFE. Maybe at some point. But without that epilogue, as great as this book is, it feels… unfinished. 

originally posted on social media, May 11, 2024