Mr. Carolla's boastful and hilarious memoir is a testosterone-saturated romp through the life of a self-made man. The co-creator of The Man Show and the host of one of the world's most downloaded podcasts, he is a wildly successful comedian, but it wasn't always thus. As he details in In 50 Years We'll All Be Chicks, Mr. Carolla grew up poor in 1970s and 1980s Los Angeles, its fame and fortune as unattainable to a career construction worker as the moon. But after taking a series of acting classes, and religiously attending open mic nights, he built a brand of comedy that's carried him to stardom.
But as much as this is a memoir of Mr. Carolla's funny and painful exploits, it's equally a cultural polemic. He decries the "pussification" of American society, digressing into memorable rants against everything from the proliferation of peanut allergies to the pettiness of security guards. But though his literary fire can sometimes seem indiscriminate, his anger has a single source, the softening of masculinity. Considering that, in America, tree women now graduate college for every two men, and in light of the fact that many of the labor-intencive jobs men have traditionally fallen back on for good careers are being mechanized, it seems like he's tapped into a serious, cultural shift.
Mr. Carolla's effort here won't win any awards; it is far too provocative for such niceties. But for guys looking for a laugh at the expense of, well, everyone else, it completely delivers. Conversely, if you're a woman who does not find value, or humor, in aggressive jock talk, this is one to skip. A successful, easy, entertaining read. (3/5 Stars)
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