The celebrity memoir is sometimes intriguing, often unnecessary and, in Tracy Morgan's case, a little premature.
In his new autobiography, "I Am the New Black," Tracy Morgan tells all, but his story only seems to be starting.
Tracy Morgan is one of the stars of "30 Rock," NBC's smash-hit sitcom about the behind-the-scenes action of a sketch comedy/variety show, á la "Saturday Night Live." Morgan plays Tracy Jordan, an exaggerated, insane caricature of himself. Both Morgan and Jordan are black comedians who play on being from the ghetto and have out-of-control public personas. It's easy to imagine that Morgan shows up on set and hardly has to act, aside from remembering to call the other actors by their character names. In "I Am the New Black," Morgan tries to correct this misconception.
The book is generally well written, but much of it probably can't be attributed to Morgan himself. "I Am the New Black" was penned by Morgan with Anthony Bozza, the guy who likely wrote most of the material provided by Morgan. Bozza, a once-acclaimed writer at Rolling Stone, has also penned autobiographies with Artie Lange, Tommy Lee and Slash; compared to those guys (with the possible exception of Lange), the Tracy Morgan book must have been a pleasure to write.
While the story that Morgan weaves — his childhood in a broken family in Brooklyn and the Bronx, his stint as a small-time drug dealer slinging marijuana, cocaine and crack in his neighborhood, his work on "Saturday Night Live," his battle with alcohol and his current job on "30 Rock" — is entertaining, a book doesn't seem like the best outlet for this story. Morgan is mostly known for his public persona — a crazy, absurd egomaniac — but none of that comes off in the book. He dissects his public mask and disowns it, and it should be clear to any half-competent reader that the real Morgan isn't as insane as he had led people to believe.
The book doesn't really hit on any major revelations. No one will read "I Am the New Black" and immediately start worshiping at the altar of Morgan, and it's unlikely that anyone who isn't already a Morgan fan will even bother to pick his book up. While it's interesting to get a peek into the minds of celebrities, Morgan's story isn't exactly unique enough to warrant a book — not yet, at least.
"I Am the New Black" is a quick, fun read, but it often feels as if it was published just to cash in on Morgan's recent success on "30 Rock." It would be a lot more interesting to see this book in 10 or 20 years, after Morgan has done more. Morgan is currently on one of the hottest shows on TV, his film career is just now starting to pick up, and he admits in the book that he believes it could take another 50 years before producers really begin to utilize his talents. That said, this book won't age well at all: There are too many contemporary references that will mean nothing in five years — like jokes about the ShamWow and the Slap Chop and musings on Michael Jackson's recent death.
There's no question about whether or not Morgan is a talented actor or a good comedian. None of Morgan's devoted followers will regret reading his book, but those who aren't big fans may feel a little bored. The tone is engaging and conversational — what one can imagine chatting with Morgan for a few hours would be like — but the story as it stands now would be much better suited as an "E! True Hollywood Story" than a memoir. To Morgan's credit, he wrote a book that pushes everything he believes in: hard work, dedication, commitment and, on nearly every page, a good, hearty laugh.
