I Still Have It. . . I Just Can't Remember Where I Put It

May 12, 2008
Rudner's best known as a comedienne, appearing in films such as Peter's Friends, and performing nightly in Vegas. It's no surprise, then, that the crucial element missing from her latest (after Turning the Tables) is the little-girl-lost delivery she's famous for. As it is, the actress-screenwriter-author scribes an intermittently hilarious hodge-podge on the joys of aging, and other preoccupations. Among four dozen semi-related short pieces-comprised of anecdotes, comedy routines, lists, questions and touching vignettes-some is pure filler: a chapter on her Oscar gift basket, a tedious anecdote about a mean dad at her daughter's preschool class, "Future Reality Shows." When she hits, however, she hits big, landing absurdist gems like her chapter on getting ready to leave the house: "Being a woman is difficult... It's like being a female impersonator every single day." Though she deploys a refreshingly dry eye about the aging process, some readers will find her shtick a bit too rarified, based as it is on a distinctly privileged lifestyle.

May 15, 2008
Although this title purports to be about aging, it contains witty pieces on a number of other subjects. Rudner's ("Naked Beneath My Clothes") trademark delivery in her role as stand-up comedian translates well into print; she genially targets herself in such chapters as "Superficial Nightmares of the Overprivileged Woman." Though the book is sure to invite comparisons to Nora Ephron's "I Feel Bad About My Neck", there are differences. Ephron is a proud New Yorker, for instance, while Rudner moved to Las Vegas to headline her own show; Ephron's title contains essays, while Rudner's offers short, snappy vignettes and one-liners. This is not to say that Rudner's book is superficial; on the contrary, it has moments of surprisingly sentimental (though not maudlin) candor. This June, PBS will be broadcasting Rudner's 2000th Las Vegas showthe network's first-ever airing of a stand-up comedy special. This book comes out just in time to be snapped up by both old and new fans, making it an excellent choice for public collections.Audrey Snowden, Cleveland P.L.

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