review - a portrait of yo mama as a young man
“A Portrait of Yo Mama as a Young Man”
By Andrew Barlow and Kent Roberts
(Three Rivers Press)
Remember those “yo mama” jokes that peaked in popularity in the early 1990s? Now, remember dreading the inevitable college course that had as required reading the James Joyce classic “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”? Humor scribes Andrew Barlow and Kent Roberts apparently remember both all too well, and have consequently teamed to produce this book, which claims to “demonstrate…in unprecedented detail” the fact that “yo mama sucks.”
Taking the form of an intense ethnological study crossed with comprehensive trash bin digging, “A Portrait of Yo Mama as a Young Man” offers Yo Mama specific chapters such as Yo Mama’s Résumé, E-mails Yo Mama Wrote, even the YMAT (Yo Mama Assessment Test). It also offers various pictures, diagrams, even a cut-out “craft.” Mostly, though, the book’s foundation rests on new series of one liners – after all, isn’t that what a yo mama joke is all about? But by the forty fifth “field note” (as they’re dubbed here) the theme starts to feel a little tiresome. For every winning gem like “Yo daddy won yo mama when they couldn’t find the statue to give out for Best Adapted Screenplay,” there’s a brow-furrowing “Yo mama smiled warmly and said ‘God, I love this city,’ immediately after finding out that her best friend died in a bizarre accident.”
It’s a fitting book for a generation schooled in the self-aware ironic humor of “The Daily Show” and satiric weekly The Onion (which, not coincidentally, Roberts contributes to). It’s certainly aimed at intellectuals, those who are culturally aware enough to catch the most obscure in jokes, but in the same sense, its random invented references may leave readers feeling like they missed the punchline. (Why is “Darryl Chickatel” so amusing?) The simple theme becomes old quickly – by the time you reach the end, it’s painfully obvious that the authors are trying really, really hard to be funny, sometimes overshooting the mark entirely.
Still, considering the limited source material the authors had to work with, this 192 page ode to Yo Mama is an impressive feat. “Yo Mama” has many laugh out loud moments, making it worth a healthy browse, but this is a book best kept on the back of the toilet seat for short perusal, not one to be consumed in one sitting.
Kind of like Yo Mama, who’s so fat that it would take a dozen truckers 72 hours to consume her, and they’d still need doggy bags for the leftovers.
By Andrew Barlow and Kent Roberts
(Three Rivers Press)
Remember those “yo mama” jokes that peaked in popularity in the early 1990s? Now, remember dreading the inevitable college course that had as required reading the James Joyce classic “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”? Humor scribes Andrew Barlow and Kent Roberts apparently remember both all too well, and have consequently teamed to produce this book, which claims to “demonstrate…in unprecedented detail” the fact that “yo mama sucks.”
Taking the form of an intense ethnological study crossed with comprehensive trash bin digging, “A Portrait of Yo Mama as a Young Man” offers Yo Mama specific chapters such as Yo Mama’s Résumé, E-mails Yo Mama Wrote, even the YMAT (Yo Mama Assessment Test). It also offers various pictures, diagrams, even a cut-out “craft.” Mostly, though, the book’s foundation rests on new series of one liners – after all, isn’t that what a yo mama joke is all about? But by the forty fifth “field note” (as they’re dubbed here) the theme starts to feel a little tiresome. For every winning gem like “Yo daddy won yo mama when they couldn’t find the statue to give out for Best Adapted Screenplay,” there’s a brow-furrowing “Yo mama smiled warmly and said ‘God, I love this city,’ immediately after finding out that her best friend died in a bizarre accident.”
It’s a fitting book for a generation schooled in the self-aware ironic humor of “The Daily Show” and satiric weekly The Onion (which, not coincidentally, Roberts contributes to). It’s certainly aimed at intellectuals, those who are culturally aware enough to catch the most obscure in jokes, but in the same sense, its random invented references may leave readers feeling like they missed the punchline. (Why is “Darryl Chickatel” so amusing?) The simple theme becomes old quickly – by the time you reach the end, it’s painfully obvious that the authors are trying really, really hard to be funny, sometimes overshooting the mark entirely.
Still, considering the limited source material the authors had to work with, this 192 page ode to Yo Mama is an impressive feat. “Yo Mama” has many laugh out loud moments, making it worth a healthy browse, but this is a book best kept on the back of the toilet seat for short perusal, not one to be consumed in one sitting.
Kind of like Yo Mama, who’s so fat that it would take a dozen truckers 72 hours to consume her, and they’d still need doggy bags for the leftovers.
posted by Ann at 7:47 AM
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