A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost is a memoir about growing up on Staten Island, New York, and eventually making it to Saturday Night Live.
The memoir focuses more on Colin’s childhood and early life than his years at SNL. The stories are consistently funny, and he is willing to expose a lot of vulnerability while also having absolutely no shame about certain topics. He talks multiple times about pooping his pants, and some of those stories are genuinely hilarious.
What the book does cover about SNL includes how he got hired, how he landed the permanent Weekend Update desk alongside Michael Che, helping create sketches like Drunk Uncle and Every Girl You Meet at a Party, the Trump episode, the Dave Chappelle episode after Trump won the election, and eventually becoming head writer.
Jost is now married to Scarlett Johansson and has children, but at the time of writing the memoir they were only dating. She appears briefly throughout the book, including a funny story in France where children throw tomatoes at them and the two get revenge.
The most compelling material in the memoir is not actually about Colin, but about his mother. She worked as an EMT assisting firefighters and victims during 9/11. The fear and worry he felt for her during that time comes through strongly in the writing.
The thing I found most relatable was Colin’s fear of saying the wrong thing. He talks about rehearsing phone calls in advance, something I also do. He did not speak until he was four years old, so words carry a lot of weight for him.
A Very Punchable Face was first published on July 14, 2020, by Crown.
Why did I read A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost?
I am a huge SNL nerd. I love behind the scenes stories and insider knowledge about the show. One of my earliest dreams was to work on SNL.
I also realized I have accidentally read a memoir or biography connected to SNL every year for the past three years. First was Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama by Bob Odenkirk, who wrote for the show. Then I read Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan Morrison. Now I have read A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost.
This was also a spontaneous read because I wanted something quick and light. he was in my mind because of his spot on Pete Hegseth impression.
What I Learned:
You have to be incredibly persistent to join the Harvard Lampoon. Colin submitted pieces every week, sometimes two at a time. The submissions were anonymous, but writers earned points for clever pen names. It took him a year and a half before he was accepted, and he eventually became president of the club.
He studied Finance and Russian Literature at Harvard.
He did not speak in full sentences until he was four years old.
He comes from a family of firefighters.
He has pooped his pants nine times and somehow has stories for all of them.
He has a very strong friendship with Leslie Jones. In Lorne by Susan Morrison, Jones was sometimes portrayed as difficult, so it was nice seeing a different perspective that highlighted their friendship and her warmth.
Recommendations:
A Very Punchable Face is a very funny memoir with a few meaningful life lessons mixed in. The book is packed with entertaining anecdotes and memorable stories. Jost avoids badmouthing people, though he does lightly hint that Russell Crowe was not the warmest SNL host.
Readers looking specifically for behind the scenes SNL stories may come away slightly disappointed because only about 30 to 35 percent of the memoir focuses on the show itself. The larger focus is on Jost’s upbringing and personal life. Even so, I thought the memoir delivered plenty of laughs, though I still wanted a little more SNL lore.
Rating:
A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
4 out of 5
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