About book It's Not Easy Bein' Me: A Lifetime Of No Respect But Plenty Of Sex And Drugs (2005)
The best comedic autobiography I've ever read. You get the sense that Rodney was an average Joe, a person more comfortable getting high with the limo drivers than hanging out with royalty and celebrities. He tapped into a universal human experience and was able to articulate it and express it on stage perhaps better than any other human. I loved the afterword by Roseanne Barr, very insightful into the character and life philosophy of Rodney and it gives me hope and encouragement to get back into comedy, Rodney knew what it was all about it and never forgot who he was and how lucky he was to be able to make people laugh and forget their problems, he could be a very depressed, dark, but sensitive and caring soul, these are the traits the best comics possess from my research. Of course, you get some the of the greatest one-liners or all time, he talks about how he came up with the "I don't get no respect" hook, how we writes jokes, he name drops a ton, and is quite open and revealing in just plain, common language. Great, great book!
Overall the writing of the book was average; Rodney tends to go off on stream of cosciousness tangents, and the book takes several diversions as a result. But Rodney's dark sense of humor is intact each time, so most of these are welcome. And for a figure with this much experience who is simply fun to listen talk about most anything, the weaknesses in structure are easily excused. Starting with his younger years to his first days in comedy, then to his days as an aluminum siding salesman and back to the comedy days that made him a legend, Rodney's story is a pretty remarkable one, and Rodney keeps it candid and revealing. His commentary on other contemporary talents such as Sam Kinison, Jim Carrey, and even Mike Tyson is also amusing. People who aren't fans of comedy might not enjoy it as much, but if you even have a casual interest in the craft its a solid read.
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What can you say about Rodney Dangerfield!?! He is one of the greatest old school stand up comics to ever perform. I loved this book! It's all the Rodney you love in the club or on screen in ink no holds barred. Tons of great stories and one liners written by a legend. Rodney's humor is the quickest, hardest one second laugh you'll ever experience! So sad we lost him several years ago, but the people he helped along the way are still ripping it up thanks to Rodney! If I was ever rich, I always wanted to be like Rodney in Caddyshack @ the Country Club playing golf, "Hey kid, here's $100 bucks now go get a haircut!" This is a funny book and careful if you read it in public because you'll be laughing out loud on the plane and scaring the captain.
—Michael Fischer
