Tina Fey: Wish List BFF

In case you were wondering, I did not wake up at 4:45 a.m. to watch the Royal Wedding. I did not buy Kate and William memorabilia, like “KaTEA” bags or vomit bags. The early wakeup just seemed too … uncivilized. Instead, I’m going to a friend’s house tonight to watch the recorded ceremony—bedecked in a smoking jacket, an ascot, and some spats whilst drinking Beefeater. All very civilized. Is there such a thing as a manly tiara?

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Tina Fey is on my celebrity list. Not the list of celebrities you’re allowed to have sex with even if you were in a relationship—as popularized by Friends. (Ten points for that timely and relevant reference.) Nor the list of famous people whose fame you would take away—everyone’s looking at you, Dr. Phil. No, I mean the list of celebrities you want as your friend. Like Amy Poehler. Or Neil Patrick Harris. Or Brett Michaels.

Upper Darbian Tina Fey is my #1. From Mean Girls to SNL to 30 Rock, she and her slightly off-kilter humor make me laugh. As I assume she would do at all times for me. Just imagine how killer my dinner parties would be with her there (especially when cooked by another besty, Eric Ripert)! Oh Tina, you’re too, too much! Eric, why are you out of the kitchen?

Bossypants, her first book, is filled with many, many hilarious anecdotes and one-liners, like these:
• The ridiculousness of magazine photo shoots: “The moment the wind machine stops, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and wonder, ‘Why is the mother from Coal Miner’s Daughter here?’”
• Her opinion on Photoshop: “I saw Madonna’s Louis Vuitton ad and honestly, at first glance, I thought it was Gwen Stefani’s baby.”
• Her experience working at a summer theater: “Playing Celebrity Boff with two half-closeted gay guys, two lesbians, and one straight girl made for an easy game. Jodie Foster’s name was always in there four times.”

But beyond the jokes and endless self-deprecation, we learn little about Fey. Though she writes in the first-person, the narrator always feels very distant, very guarded—which is odd for a biographical book. Nonetheless, there are sections in here that merit comparisons to Nora Ephron and David Sedaris. In one beautiful story, she recalls her time working at the YMCA in Evanston, Illinois. It is often funny, but with underlying desolation. Describing her coworker going into an interview, she writes: “Poor Donna had been at the front desk too long. You could smell other people’s grimness on her, like my roommate’s BO wafting out of the blue suit.”

The unfocused Bossypants doesn’t break new ground in autobiography/memoir. But it is an enjoyable, oftentimes hilarious work from one of our most talented comedians. Just make sure you remove the cover before you start reading. There’s something really disconcerting about those fleshy, hairy man arms. My Grade: B-

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THIS WEEKEND
Parisian Street Fair: This Saturday, April 30th, from 11 a.m. until 8:30 p.m., Broad Street (from Chestnut to Lombard) will become a Parisian street fair. Look for a Ferris wheel, food vendors, a public garden, street performers, musical performances and much, much more.

Filmed during a Broadway performance, Memphis—2010’s Best Musical Tony Award winner—will be shown in movie theaters throughout the area. Philadelphia audiences will get to see the production months before the tour arrives here. Here’s a list of participating theaters and movie times.

Last Chance: Hitchcock. 150 characters. 4 actors. Don’t miss the zany 39 Steps at Walnut Street.

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