Nailing It

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The first half is grampa throwing slippers at the TV. Angry American-British-centric rants. It’s an attempt to explain to Brits that they don’t really have any problems compared with what’s going on in America. This is pantomime. America is on the edge of the apocalypse. Britain is this ongoing shuffling of weird ghoulish political figures who are around for a while and then … next! They move on and somebody else comes out on stage. The second half of the show is very improvisational and very musical. It’s my favourite part and it’s way more interactive with the audience. My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette Book Group for an advanced copy of this memoir and recollections of a life spent being funny. His honesty makes me think Diogenes the original Cynic must have been like this, or an Old Testament prophet: they were probably performers too.

Well written, funny and occasionally quite somber (that last chapter hits hard man) I’m going to pour myself a bundy and coke and continue marvelling at the gorgeous cover drawn by the supernaturally talented Andrew Smith Last year there were rumours of a UK version of Saturday Night Live in the works. You were an SNL cast member for the 1984-85 season. Do you think the format would work with a British audience? A collection of hilarious and often absurd epiphanies in the legendary comedian's life that defined him—more in a for worse than for better kind of way—and all delivered in his unique deadpan style. Hall says: ‘There are only two kinds of good comedy: smart stupid and stupid smart. With Nailing It, I strived for the latter, but I can live with the former.’It’s rare for comedians to be as funny on paper as they are on stage, but Rich Hall nails it ‘– CARL HIAASEN

Rich the mouthy cowboy and Rich the erudite writer might be notions you find hard to reconcile at times, but I get it, it keeps you paying attention and for a comic that’s pretty much nirvana. The format works if the people in the show are willing to put in the work. I’m not sure they understand how long the work week is for SNL, and how much money is involved. I can’t see anyone forking out the kind of budget that they have in America. If you’re not willing to go in there 12 hours a day, six days a week – that includes the writing crew, the cast, everyone – then no it’s not going to work. Because even after all that, most of the stuff on SNL doesn’t work anyway. People remember all the great sketches, and those get tons of re-exposure on YouTube, but there is a lot of forgettable stuff, and it took a week to do that. I don’t think it’s the British television mindset to produce something like that. I don’t think they’re willing to put that much manpower, studio space, production value and effort into it. Meryl bookclub 2024 maybe ✅ …. American comedian Rich Hall recalls moments in his comedy career when he nailed it, gleefully hamming up his moments of triumph, hilariously accompanied by humiliation, unexpected failure and many, many teachable moments. Hall's genius, on the spot lyrical rhyming is raucously entertaining and very clever' (Spears magazine)The account of the Frenchman is telling: Rich is as funny and honest about country music as about anything else, but the message is the same- ‘A valuable culture and tradition has been sold out by others.’

It's rare for comedians to be as funny on paper as they are on stage, but Rich Hall nails it. He is clearly a writer at heart, and his true tales about life on the stand-up comedy circuit are hilarious, touching, and bravely personal. I selfishly wish he had his own TV show here in the States, but this book will fill the void nicely until he does * Carl Hiaasen *A collection of hilarious and often absurd epiphanies in the legendary comedian's life that defined him - more in a for worse than for better kind of way - and all delivered in his unique deadpan style. All-in-all, I enjoyed this collection of anecdotes from the perspective of a somewhat more working-man celebrity... And not just because: Yes! There is a chapter featuring Otis Lee Crenshaw (a surreal moment of real life/performance art colliding at a funeral service in Scotland). It's more witty fun than roll on the floor hilarious but I found NAILING IT! by Rich Hall to be an entertaining read. I was doing this long before I met you’ may have been one of his best lines: I think of Joseph Hayden’s wife using the composer’s manuscripts for wrapping vegetables: ‘Behind every great man…’.