leanniefae's review against another edition
4.0
This was enjoyable. I'm so glad Chris Kattan is back!
soulkissed2003's review against another edition
4.0
I love Saturday Night Live, and while there have been seasons and skits that I've missed over the years, I always felt that Chris Kattan was one of the talented players that never got enough credit. I enjoyed reading his heartfelt and honest memoir about his own life and about his time on SNL. I was saddened and shocked to learn that a bad fall on a live skit caused permanent injury to his neck and will affect him for the rest of his life!
Like the rest of us, he is not a perfect person or a hero, just a guy trying to do what he loves, in his case, comedy. His stories of portraying a character that represented his dad, while his dad laughed hysterically from the audience, warmed my heart.
Like the rest of us, he is not a perfect person or a hero, just a guy trying to do what he loves, in his case, comedy. His stories of portraying a character that represented his dad, while his dad laughed hysterically from the audience, warmed my heart.
heyt's review against another edition
4.0
I can honestly say I didn't really ever think about Chris Kattan much until he was listed as a cast member for Celebrity Big Brother (US) 3. As someone who is part of the Big Brother Twitter community I was intrigued when I heard about how he broke his neck on live tv and still has residual complications from that injury. I found this to be an interesting look into his early influences and unorthodox childhood as well as his drive to get onto SNL and what it was like for him when he finally made it. Towards the end of the book he states that really his story is one of two acts before and after SNL. I found this well worth the read and nicely balanced between humor and the harsher realities of his life.
horrorghoul's review
3.0
Have you ever read a book about a person you really look up to and then learn about them only to be disappointed by them has a human being? That's me reading this book. I was so excited to get this book. I have always been a fan of Chris Kattan. This book give me a totally different perspective to who he was as a person and quite frankly I'm very disappointed. First off I hated the double spaced writing of this book. I felt like I was reading a report from when I was in high school and they would make you double line everything. Why why make a book like this it's difficult to read and it makes the book appear longer than it really is. Second it really bothered me that he didn't address Tracy Morgan's book about how he treated him so terribly. Actually Tracy Morgan was barely mentioned in this book to spite them working together for years. I know that he's a famous person and so he works around famous people but it felt like every paragraph included a quote from someone famous about how he was a good person. So quite frankly that was weird and came off a little bit pretentious. I guess I just expected so much more and that's the sad part about going into an autobiography of a person's life. We just see this fraction of them as a human, these characters they put out for us and we assume they're upstanding people because they're in Hollywood and there's someone for us to look up to. Unfortunately we read a book like this that proves otherwise it shows us their demons and their Shadows who they really are as a person, and it's always such a let-down. I really wanted to give this book a higher rating. I really wanted to love this book. I just can't. For me Chris Kattan didn't come off a very good person. He never believed in himself so I guess it's obvious that I don't have to believe in him anymore.
Thanks to Netgalley and my library for this book.
Thanks to Netgalley and my library for this book.
aimeeaimeeelise's review
4.0
Spoiler alert: I love Chris Kattan. I loved him on SNL, I loved A Night at the Roxbury, I loved Corky. I have always been a fan or his humor and style. So when I saw he wrote a book, I jumped in with both feet.
He has struggled. I don’t think he was ever fully appreciated next to his mega-huge costars, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, etc etc. But I do believe he’s making a comeback in the stand up world, and I think he finally has his confidence, something I don’t think he’s ever fully had before. His story was sad, and the bit about his father dying made me want to call my dad.
This isn’t meant to be a funny book. It has funny elements (like his obsession with meeting Tom Cruise), but it’s definitely more memoir. He tells his raw and honest story, and I liked that. Also, wow, what a horn dog he was
He has struggled. I don’t think he was ever fully appreciated next to his mega-huge costars, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, etc etc. But I do believe he’s making a comeback in the stand up world, and I think he finally has his confidence, something I don’t think he’s ever fully had before. His story was sad, and the bit about his father dying made me want to call my dad.
This isn’t meant to be a funny book. It has funny elements (like his obsession with meeting Tom Cruise), but it’s definitely more memoir. He tells his raw and honest story, and I liked that. Also, wow, what a horn dog he was
breccan's review against another edition
2.0
I'm weirdly obsessed with behind the scenes stories from SNL. Chris Kattan wasn't particularly an actor I followed but Seth Meyers, who I like, wrote the forward and recommended the book so I gave it a try.
The book made me feel...sad for Kattan. There were definitely two voices, the ghost writer and Katan, which I wish was less obvious. After finishing the book you're left with the impression that Kattan has a lot of hurt and anger about his career and the ways he was treated and manipulated. His injury and his feeling that he couldn't be truthful about it was sad, but his telling of stories about x actor "who I won't identify" just felt gross. Either tell the story, or don't, don't dance around it.
The book made me feel...sad for Kattan. There were definitely two voices, the ghost writer and Katan, which I wish was less obvious. After finishing the book you're left with the impression that Kattan has a lot of hurt and anger about his career and the ways he was treated and manipulated. His injury and his feeling that he couldn't be truthful about it was sad, but his telling of stories about x actor "who I won't identify" just felt gross. Either tell the story, or don't, don't dance around it.
nkrajnovich's review against another edition
5.0
I love Chris Kattan...his book definitely delivered. Torn between 4 and 5 stars, gave him 5 cause he seems like a pretty good guy.
cssquared's review against another edition
3.0
I read Chris Kattan's Baby Don't Hurt Me. It is a stunning book. There are all the things you want in a book about a comedian that the world knows from SNL. There are personal anecdotes, the story for how he got on SNL, his characters, why he left and where he is now. The writing (not done by Kattan alone) is amazing. The descriptions took me to a moment as if it was part of my own memory; I could hear the songs in the book enough to start singing along. (I didn't put together a playlist, but the book is deserving of one.) While it's not a book filled with laughter, it is filled with beautiful honesty. I recommend this book to anyone that likes SNL, comedy, and a some people that don't.