Book: A Very Punchable Face

Author: Colin Jost

Full disclosure: I, personally, have never wanted to punch Colin Jost in the face. Based on my limited exposure to his presence via Saturday Night Live clips on YouTube, he has appeared too bland and unexceptional to warrant such a visceral response. But apparently there is something about his work, image, and – clearly – face, that rubs some people the wrong way. He addresses all this and more in A Very Punchable Face, a charmingly self-deprecating memoir that just might make you want to punch him a little bit less.

For those unfamiliar with the bearer of this fist-clench-inspiring mug, Jost is a comedian who joined SNL as a writer in 2005, before eventually becoming one of the show’s co-head writers and the co-anchor of the Weekend Update segment. He is also the latest husband of Scarlett Johansson. Which means he has the seal of approval of one of the most gorgeous and successful actresses on Earth. And when you read his book, you can kind of see why ScarJo fell for him.

Jost has, of course, joined a long list of comedians who have written memoirs. But the thing about actor/comedian books by the likes of Amy Schumer, Mindy Kaling, and Anna Kendrick (to name a few), have often come in the form of essay collections and can be quite underwhelming, and even, at times, read like a random set of lazy blog posts the celebrities typed on their phone in their downtime.

To Jost’s credit, A Very Punchable Face actually reads like a book, and a fairly good one at that, at least as far as celebrity memoirs go. The comedian covers a range of topics – his childhood in Staten Island; his Irish Catholic upbringing (and its many side effects); not being able to speak until he was four years old; his accident-prone nature; attending Harvard (with the likes of Pete Buttigieg and Mark Zuckerberg) and graduating with a (very practical) degree in The History and Literature of Russia and Britain after abandoning his stated major: Economics; and many other (often humorous) life experiences – in the amusing volume.

But his focus remains, primarily, on his comedy career. Jost charts his career trajectory, from writing for the Harvard Lampoon, trying to find a job at late night shows, and writing for an animation company, to finally submitting a sketch packet to SNL and subsequently landing his dream job, which he has now held for fifteen years.

A fairly large chunk of the book sees Jost talking about his SNL experiences. As he recounts his successes and failures at the television series, shares behind-the-scenes titbits, and lists the standout sketches that he penned, you would have to be fairly interested in the long-running Lorne Michaels sketch show to really appreciate and enjoy his recollections on the topic.

Ultimately, Jost’s main strength here is that he knows how to tell a story and connect with readers. His prose is often funny, and a couple of his tales – particularly the essay about his mother, who worked as the chief medical officer in New York for more than two decades, including during 9/11 – are quite affecting. Plus his self-deprecation is instantly disarming. And even if the book does not completely change your opinion of him, his self-awareness and wit will at least leave you with the sense that behind this supposedly punchable face is a rather intelligent guy.