Fired

Gurwitch, who was fired from a Woody Allen play, put together this ensemble of 15 performers telling stories of being fired. The material and delivery are generally at the level of competent stand-up and are often amusing, though many performers are too loud and shrill. Sandra Tsing Loh, who caterwauls, and Charlayne Woodard, who is painfully over the top, make the Wicked Witch of the West seem subdued. Some stories don't fit the topic, such as Carl Capotorto's, but are still funny. Performers are listed in sequence only at the end of the audio, not on the packaging, a baffling lack of consideration to performers and listeners alike. One frequently has no idea who's speaking. W.M. 2006 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine

November 28, 2005
Gurwitch's popular Web site (www.firedbyannabellegurwitch.com) entices people to turn in their best tales of their worst firings; the cream of that crop is gathered in this star-studded collection of misery. The book is divided into chapters with titles like "The Job So Terrible You Can Only Hope to Be Fired" and "The Time You Deserved to Be Fired," but mostly it's just tales of horrible things happening to funny people. Gurwitch's own piece—in which she's canned from her role in a play written and directed by an officious Woody Allen, who told her "You look retarded"—is par for the course, with its droll humor and dash of celebrity. Comedians Bill Maher, D.L. Hughley, Bob Saget and Andy Borowitz all get in their zingers, while Illeana Douglas composes a poem that ranges from getting fired as a coat check girl ("How is it/possible to be fired hanging coats?/I have arms. I know what coats are") to high farce with borderline psychotic filmmakers. The few noncelebrities invited to share their woes are generally less funny, though they tend to be more unpredictable, such as the ex–White House chef who provides a nice recipe for seared scallops.