If you are anything like the billions of people in the world who love to laugh, you have probably heard of the comedic genius Amy Poehler. She is one of the leading female comedians in Hollywood, and on October 28th, 2014 her book Yes Please was released.
Amy Poehler launched her comedy career on Saturday Night Live in 2001 where she stayed until 2010. Since then, she has been in several comedy movies such as Mean Girls, Blades of Glory, and Baby Mama where she starred alongside fellow SNL star Tina Fey. But her most acclaimed role is for her Golden Globe winning performance as Leslie Knope in the NBC show Parks and Recreation.
Poehler’s book Yes Please contains stories from her days on Saturday Night Live to her children’s birth and everything in between. She brings humor to the sad stories and words of wisdom out to the ridiculous ones. There are chapters titled “Talk to yourself like you’re Ninety” and “The Robots will Kill Us All.” The first page in her book is a picture of her report card from her kindergarten class proclaiming how amazing she was as a seven year old, setting the tone for the entire book. If this alone doesn’t make you want to read this book, I don’t know what will.
A story that really captures Amy Poehler’s character is one of her Saturday Night Live experiences where a mistake caused her years of regret. She was doing a skit as Dakota Fanning and unintentionally made a hurtful joke about a girl with a disability. She received backlash for making this joke and did not apologize until years later because she felt so ashamed and guilty. She did apologize directly to the girl she insulted. “It is never too late to apologize” is one of the many lessons that are learned throughout the book.
Yes Please is incredibly written and will make you laugh at every sentence. Even the sleeve of the book is funnier than most movies I’ve seen. Amy Poehler is an inspiration to young girls aspiring to be comedians themselves. Everyday she is proving to the world that women can be just as funny as men. Yes Please validates why everyone wants to be best friends with Amy Poehler.
“The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are” ~Amy Poehler