Neither parent ever denied that Hart’s birth was the result
of his father’s broken promise. Hart knew he was “a
mistake,” and that nobody was happy. Still, his parents
stayed together awhile – long enough for him to note his
father’s unusual parenting style and his mother’s strength
in raising two sons, mostly alone.
The older boy eventually sold crack and went into the
military to avoid jail.
The younger son, well, he wrote this book.
Throughout his life, Hart paid attention to the lessons he
got from keen observations; Number One was that things
change. Number Two was that shrugging one’s shoulders and
moving on is the best way to deal with Number One.
There was no shoulder-shrugging, though, when Hart got a
post-high-school job selling athletic shoes. He set a goal
of being the store’s best salesman, and found a mentor who
encouraged him and a group of people who showed him what
being a grown-up was like. He worked long hours and made the
job fun – so fun, that his co-workers encouraged him to try
an open mic night for amateur comedians in the Philadelphia
area.
And people laughed.
Hearing their laughter was like being on fire. Hart created
a fake-stage name for himself and begged for as many gigs as
he could get; the first ones were performed for free, then
he started making enough to pay the bills and quit his
day-job. He met someone who taught him the fundamentals of
being a comedian, and he became a husband and father on his
way up the fame ladder. On his (temporary) way down, he
never lost sight of his career or his strongest lesson:
Always be your best. Somebody might be watching.
While, obviously, as evidenced from comedy performances and
TV shows, author Kevin Hart is a talented writer, I Can’t
Make This Up is a little clunky at the outset. It takes
a few pages to settle in and get comfortable – and you will.
You might expect to LOL while you’re reading – and, again,
you will – but remember, this isn’t a comedy club. There are
chuckles here, but you probably won’t find doubled-over
belly-laughs. Instead, taking advice that he was given all
those years ago, Hart tells his own personal story with
humor, just the right touch of embellishment, and a full
dose of the flip-side of funny without forcing anything.
That’s good comedy, as he says… and it makes for a wonderful
memoir.
Pay close attention to the chapter titles here. Read the
introduction (it’s “mandatory”). Look for the “lessons” and
laugh. I Can’t Make This Up is a treat, for real.
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