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Book Review: Born Standing Up September 12, 2008
Note: This is #40 in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge for 2008.
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life is Steve Martin's autobiography about how he broke into stand-up comedy during the 1970s. As you might expect from a biography, it starts off discussing Martin's early family life in Southern California and how he got bitten by the entrainment bug at a young age, performing magic tricks at a Disney World magic emporium and then working his way up to amateur night at local clubs doing a curious mix of stand-up, banjo playing, magic, and fearless idiocy. From there we get to see how Martin worked really hard to develop his act and polish it until he was writing for comedy TV shows, selling out stadiums, and igniting catch phrases on Saturday Night Live.
Oddly, the book has Martin as its secondary focus, with the spotlight on the real star of the tale: his act. Though we do get plenty of autobiographical details, the author's attention is clearly on his stand-up act and how it developed through trial, error (lots of error), experimentation, and good old fashioned play. Martin discusses his philosophical approach to comedy and how he periodically had to step back and re-examine his act to see if it still fit with the cultural zeitgeist of the times (this was the 70s, after all). We also get interesting trivia about some of his iconic props, such as the white suit that he bought simply because it would make easier to see on a large stage. And eventually Martin explains why he got fed up with his own success and why he walked away from it, never to return.
It's not a bad story, but ultimately I found it unsatisfying, feeling as it did like the first segment of a complete biography. I wanted to learn more about Martin's years as a movie star, a producer, a writer, and an SNL regular. I wanted to know more about his personal life in addition to his professional one. Instead Martin just cuts things off at the knees and says "Nope, this book is about my stand-up career. That's all you're getting." I also felt that Martin's attempts at sentimentality were ham fisted and somehow cliche, particularly the whole estranged daddy syndrome that he ultimately comes to terms with on his father's death bed.
But even though his comedy seems a little dated and tame compared to the genetically engineered super comedians that modern science produces these days, the story of Martin's stand-up career is compelling enough to carry a short book like this one, and it's worth a quick read.
Others doing the 52-in-52 thing this week:
- Jeremy reviews Peeps by Scott Westerfield
- Nick reviews Ada, or Ardor: A Family Chronicle by Vladamir Nabakov
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Tags: Biography, Book Review, Born Standing Up, Nonfiction, Steve Martin
