Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches at Saturday Night Live

Rating:
Summary: Good, but only for SNL fans
Review: I bought this book because SNL intrigues me. I read the book Live from New York and was highly entertained. I don't know much about Jay Mohr, but I have seen him in some movies and recently on Last Comic Standing. I have watched SNL since I can remember, and unfortunately, I think Mr. Mohr was on the show at one of its really low points. He should be grateful that he has a career at all, since the time was was on SNL is forgettable.

His book varies between self involved whining and mildly entertaining tidbits about the show. I think the complaining far outweighs the tidbits. It is obvious that he is not over the pain of the show and the fact that his skits were seldomly selected to air. I really could have done without his insistance on remembering those skits word for word and telling me all about it. They didn't get on air for a reason, and writing them in a book (without the visuals), was annoying.

It did take guts to admit to stealing someone else's work, but even that left me a bit cold. The man he stole from was known in New York... why didn't any of the other castmembers, producers, writers, etc., recognize what he did before it went as far as it did? That seemed somewhat odd to me.

The book was definitely interesting, even if I did have some problems with it. I just can't seem to decide if Jay Mohr is a cry baby, or a man with talent desperate to make people laugh.

Rating:
Summary: WaldenBooks Reader
Review: Jay Mohr - One of the funniest comics of the early 90's and today. That's right! Jay Mohr is the guy that hosts Last Comic Standing. He was on Saturday Night Live! Yes, Jay was a great talent along with those other great comics: Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade, Tim Medows, Ellen Cleghorn and Rob Snider just to name a few. Gasping for Air time is his journey through the halls of the prestigious 30 Rockefeller Plaza. This book is one hilarious ride through the mind of Jay Mohr during his best and worst times as a comedian in the 90's. I've been a long time fan of the show since I saw Eddie Murphy play Mr. Robinson and this book was a must read for me. Plus I loved Jay Mohr on the show. That's right I actually remember him on the show. I have never seen a better Christopher Walken (an actor who I love) or Dick Vitale (I admit I didn't know who Dick was but loved the character. Then when I actually saw him on a sports news cast - I laughed out loud and thought that Jay had him down! He was a genius). And I will never forget Rock and Roll Real Estate the answer to that bugging question - Whatever happened to those Rockers of the 80's with the big Aqua Net Hair? During the time he was on the show, I never understood why he was used so infrequently. I found out why in the book. And let's just say that it is true what they say in life - it is who you know, or who knows you. Insightful, funny, laugh out loud - this book is a must for Jay Mohr fans (he is hard not to love), SNL fans and humorist the world over. It's a book of history and a comedic look into one of the funniest men in the business.

Rating:
Summary: Good for it's nitch
Review: With elements of "Dry" (Augusten Burroughs) and "My Fractured Life" (Rikki Travolta), "Gasping for Airtime" is a quirky disection of a small fraction of the lesser known years of a now known entertainer. If you like this nitch type writing, it's a good one.