Comedienne Kathy Griffin has many critics who claim she's a humorless and insufferable bore. Unfortunately, her memoir "Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin," which hit bookshelves on Sept. 8 and currently holds the second spot on The New York Times Nonfiction Best-Seller List, probably will not convince them otherwise: it's occasionally unfunny and sometimes even abrasive.
The problem is that Griffin seems to be oblivious to the fact that her hilarity stems from factors that cannot be replicated in writing: impeccable timing, fantastically sarcastic wit and, most importantly, bleeped out expletives. Because let's face it: gratuitous cursing simply isn't as funny if it isn't censored by Bravo, the home network for "Kathy Giffin: My Life on the D-List."
That's not to say that "Official Book Club Selection" doesn't have its charms. Griffin provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of entertainment by revealing many surprising celebrity tidbits. Did you know Thomas Haden Church is a cold-hearted diva? Or that Ellen DeGeneres is a power-hungry dominatrix?
Griffin also places a revealing spotlight on the truly cutthroat nature of Hollywood. An agent really told her she was fat and ugly.
The most fascinating aspect of Griffin's memoir is the rehashing of her rise to quasi-A-list status. In a Hollywood that picks many of its stars with an age-old combination of nepotism and attention-grabbing sex tapes (Kim Kardashian, anyone?), Griffin has truly worked her butt off to make it to the top. Just like many struggling actresses in the United States, Griffin had dreams of celebrity at a very young age. But unlike many of those actresses, who gave up on their dreams once they didn't get "discovered" at that "one magical audition," Griffin kept at it for over 10 years before finally breaking out of the world of TV commercials and improv comedy troupes and landing a supporting role on "Suddenly Susan."
It's Griffin's unusual position in Hollywood as entertainment insider yet A-list outsider that makes her celebrity gossip so fun to read. Unlike Perez Hilton or David Ausiello, who pluck away at their fluffy, pink keyboards and quip superficial "OH NO, SHE DIDN'T" blurbs about Britney Spears flashing her crotch or the next person to die on "Grey's Anatomy," Griffin highlights the hypocrisy and ridiculousness of celebrity-dom with a winningly refreshing amalgamation of intelligence and drollness.
"Official Book Club Selection" also displays a more poignant side of Griffin's personality: the "emotional" Kathy that never shows up in her embittered rants about famous personalities. She openly recounts her ongoing eating disorder, her strained relationship with her older brother, her painful divorce and the loss of her dad with a deadpan tone that borders on tragic.
All in all, Griffin's memoir is an interesting and satisfying read. Although it doesn't always draw chuckles from its readers, her hard-core fans will certainly not feel bereft of salacious A-list scandal. Just one word of precaution, though: make sure to keep a vomit bag handy when you flip to her plastic-surgery-gone-bad pics. You'll never, ever, want to get that boob job that your parents promised you for your 21st birthday.
