Michael's Reviews > Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama

I don't read a lot of celebrity memoirs (in fact, I tend to read more about the lives of musicians than TV/movie stars) but I've long admired Bob Odenkirk and have been curious about his shift from Mr. Show to Saul. This book has it all, detailing his career and its myriad shifts along the way, and dropping some great tips about the lessons he learned along the way. You'd probably have to be a fan to enjoy it; a lot of it is backstory and backstage material, but the lessons are balanced with laugh lines that are >almost< frequent enough to keep things interesting even when you don't recognize the shows and skits he's discussing. Happily, I was familiar with most of them.

I walked away from this book impressed and inspired by Odenkirk's work ethic, and now I just feel like I know the guy when I see him on the screen. So something about this book made him feel like a pal. He's honest about himself and the business, and he's such a mentor to others. I like that.

I highlighted a key lesson I learned reading this: when he's talking about the development of Better Call Saul, the writers asked "What kind of problem does Saul Goodman solve?" and then imagined the plot for the character's backstory leading up to Breaking Bad. This line set off a lightbulb for me about not merely prequel writing, but ALL storytelling. It's the link between characterization and plot; all things always come back to conflict, which is where the unknowable heart of drama AND comedy lies. Good Good Good GREAT read for me.