As the subtitle proclaims, this is “Not a Memoir.” What it is, exactly, is harder to pin down. Purporting to be a book written by comedian Norm Macdonald to pay off his gambling debts, it centers on a comedian named Norm Macdonald trying to pay off his gambling debts. At times, Based on a True Story approaches the truth of it’s subject’s life, but never for long. Like its author, the book’s version of Norm was born in Canada, went into stand-up, got on SNL and was later fired. However, at every turn Macdonald eschews memoir for his idiosyncratic sense of humor.
Norm clearly isn’t for everyone, but I was always a fan of his work on Weekend Update and his standup. Norm’s principal gift always seemed to be that he didn’t particularly care if anyone else thought what he was saying was funny. His self-assuredness and confidence in his material could often make something funny that the audience initially resisted. I’m thinking now of the many times he would pause after making a joke on Update and turn groans into laughter.
That’s a little harder to pull off on the page. While there certainly are moments of comedic brilliance within this curious book the overall effect can be a little exhausting. The premises wear out their welcome through constant repetition. For instance, the book includes several interludes supposedly written by the book’s ghostwriter, an idea that seems delightfully meta on first blush but just gets progressively less interesting as the book goes along. The same goes for a bit about him falling desperately in love with fellow SNL writer Sarah Silverman.
The book’s principle “bit” is its constant humiliation of Norm’s friend Adam Eget, who in real life was his podcast co-host and the manager of the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. In the book Adam Eget, who is always referred to by his full name, is a weak-willed simpleton and coward who would be nowhere without the help of Norm Macdonald.
Essentially, Based on a True Story is a book-length joke by Norm Macdonald in which the very idea that he would write a memoir is the premise.
