As I mentioned in my last post, I recently bought Steve Martin’s: Born Standing Up, an autobiography about his life in stand up comedy.  As promised, I am going to write a brief review of the book.  As a bonus, I will also be sharing my thoughts on my most most recent trip to the movies….(500) Days of Summer.

Comedy is a distortion of what is happening, and there will always be something happening. -Steve Martin

Born Standing Up was a quick and enjoyable read.  I read it over a 10 days span, which really means 3 days of actual reading.  I’d wager that I took no more than 4 hours to read it (maybe that’s quick?  it’s a 204 page book, make your own assumptions).  It’s evident that Steve Martin is a writer, which is why the book was so easy to read.  It’s written in a natural voice, making his childhood stories even more appealing.  Naturally, the book is written in chronological order, beginning with his childhood and rocky relationship with his father and ending with him walking away from stand up at what some would consider the apex of his career.

I know Steve Martin as the movie star, The Jerk, Sgt. Bilko, Father of the Bride, Shopgirl.  I did not know him as the stand up comedian.  Born Standing Up comes off as an aging entertainer’s fond memories of his journey to stardom.  Martin reminisces how he started working at Knotts Berry Farm selling guidebooks, to getting introduced to magic, which transformed into a stand up act.  Did you know Steve Martin’s act was a largely visual, prop enhanced act?  Neither did I, but it was fascinating reading about how his simple childhood magic infatuation helped separate him from other comedians as an adult.  The underlying theme in the books is hard work.  An entertainer’s success does not come overnight.  Before you’ve heard about them, they’ve been trolling away for years, perfecting their craft in front of audiences of 3, building their routine from 4 minutes to 1 hour.  Martin acknowledged this with his near manic schedule of duties and activities throughout the years. Steve Martin was a television show writer while he simultaneously performed stand up.  He was always working, improving his skills and gaining exposure for himself.  It’s entirely clear that his success was not overnight success, but the culmination of his persistence.  As Steve puts it, “I did stand up for 18 years.  Ten of those years were spent learning, four were spent refining and four were spent in wild success.”

Steve Martin’s Born Standing Up is well worth the $15 cover price.  It was a nice break from business blogs, journals, and books.  Reading about another man’s journey and how the dots of his life connected was uplifting and brought hope to a confused twenty-something boy man.  I would recommend taking the time one Sunday afternoon to find yourself a copy and indulge.

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This is a story of boy meets girl. The boy, Tom Hansen of Margate, New Jersey, grew up believing that he’d never truly be happy until the day he met the one. This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total mis-reading of the movie ‘The Graduate’. The girl, Summer Finn of Shinnecock, Michigan, did not share this belief. Since the disintegration of her parent’s marriage she’d only love two things. The first was her long dark hair. The second was how easily she could cut it off and not feel a thing. Tom meets Summer on January 8th. He knows almost immediately she is who he has been searching for. This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story.

(500) Days of Summer was on my list of movies to see right from the start.  Perhaps it was the irresistible Zooey Deschanel, or perhaps I was in a particular emo state that lead to this desire, either way, I had no problem forking over some cash to see this movie at the theater.

The story is simple.  Boy meets girl, boy falls in love, girl breaks boy’s heart.  The attraction to so many movie goers?  Anyone can connect with the main characters.  We’ve all dated or known a beautiful, free spirited Summer Fin or a confused, and largely ordinary Tom Hansen.  Their ups and downs are the same as we’ve felt.  From the simple joys of your relationship that no one else understands (playing in Ikea) to the confusion of labeling your relationship.  Half of the movie is spent paying attention to the storyline while the other half is reeling in empathy for Tom and remembering your own failed relationships.

After 90 minutes of  this emotional roller coaster, with the end seemingly pushing half the audience to the ledge, writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber talk everyone down with a timeless life lesson and the glimmer of hope.  All things considered, this is an enjoyable movie that will make you laugh, possibly cry, and remind you how great your relationship is or give you hope that love is just around the corner.  

Summer Fin: I named my cat after Springsteen.
Tom Hansen: Cool… what was his name?
Summer Fin: Bruce.