Rating: 
Summary: Behind the Scene look at SNL
Review: A two year autobiography of Jay Mohr's life during his SNL days. Being an autobiography, don't expect a laugh out loud read with lots of bits and jokes. You'll find the drive, hard work, and insecure moments that go into creating the weekly show on the fly. You'll also see the antics resulting in keeping the cast and crew loose. Sometimes it seems amazing they put shows together at all. It definitely is a fast entertaining read with humorous moments and anixous times where you feel for him.
Not being one of the stars of the show makes this book more interesting. Struggles and small victories are detailed. He doesn't whine... in fact he states there was no conspiracy to limit his airtime, and one had it in for him. He details what bits made the shows and why. There's politics and ego's involved, but no personal affronts designed to limit him personally.
Jay's has a soft spot for Chris Farley and expresses it well. Showing Chris's raucus side and the man's demons.
Rating: 
Summary: A breezy read for the SNL fan
Review: Even though this book clocks in at 293 pages, most readers will cruise right through this book in an afternoon thanks to its large typeface along with its relatively breezy and 'easy to digest,' writing style. Unless you're a die-hard Jay Mohr fan, you're probablly picking this one up because you're interested in the behind the scenes dish and dirt at SNL which this book does indeed offer albeit in somewhat small doses. The most interesting portions of this book aren't necessarily the celebrity and SNL cast gossip but rather the creative process that take place prior to the live broadcasts of the show - the sketch pitch sessions, the collaboration between writers, the rehearsal and walk-through process that would ultimately flesh out the show, etc. The chief complaint of this book would be its lack of structure as Jay will start a chapter seemingly on a specific subject and then suddenly drift into tangents that drift all over the place. By the end of it all you will be slightly entertained but left wishing for better overall editing to keep the book's focus intact.
Rating: 
Summary: Shallow but amusing
Review: Extremely fast read and it kept me hooked. The inner workings of how SNL functions on a weekly basis are fascinating; however, after a while Mohr's stories felt more like random celebrity name-droppings than meaningful content. Mohr's short two-year stint on the show wasn't nearly enough time for an in-depth perspective on the show's meaning and changing casts. Entertaining nonetheless, and provides some good cocktail party anecdotes.
Rating:
Summary: SNL? No SN-HELL!
Review: I always thought it would be cool to be on Saturday Night Live, be on T.V., be known across america. Now HELL NO! not anymore after reading Jay's book i have a new respect for the people ever on that show. it's good from the "i'm going to be on SNL" to "when people ask me what i'm up to i don't say SNL" find out why. It's not the best book, but it is the only book about the real SNL as a comic could only tell it.
Rating:
Summary: Willy Wonka for the SNL fanatic
Review: I am so glad that someone who was lucky enough to be a part of this institution finally gave us a real "play by play" of how it gets done every week. Jay's account is detailed account makes you feel like you are in the building at 30 Rock Plaza with him. The best part is he writes it that way, from the access of a cast member, but through the eyes of a fan.
It's more fascinating then funny, but there are parts of the book that will make you laugh out loud.
The aspect of his battle with panic disorder is the other half of this compelling book. If you have dealt with it first hand, then you will relate, if you have spent time around it and didn't know it, it will explain a lot.
The only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars was that he was only on for 2 years and not in many sketches, so it left me a wanting more.
As you see Jay now, you wonder if SNL didn't blow it by not having utilized him more.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but only for SNL fans
Review: I bought this book because SNL intrigues me. I read the book Live from New York and was highly entertained. I don't know much about Jay Mohr, but I have seen him in some movies and recently on Last Comic Standing. I have watched SNL since I can remember, and unfortunately, I think Mr. Mohr was on the show at one of its really low points. He should be grateful that he has a career at all, since the time was was on SNL is forgettable.His book varies between self involved whining and mildly entertaining tidbits about the show. I think the complaining far outweighs the tidbits. It is obvious that he is not over the pain of the show and the fact that his skits were seldomly selected to air. I really could have done without his insistance on remembering those skits word for word and telling me all about it. They didn't get on air for a reason, and writing them in a book (without the visuals), was annoying. It did take guts to admit to stealing someone else's work, but even that left me a bit cold. The man he stole from was known in New York... why didn't any of the other castmembers, producers, writers, etc., recognize what he did before it went as far as it did? That seemed somewhat odd to me. The book was definitely interesting, even if I did have some problems with it. I just can't seem to decide if Jay Mohr is a cry baby, or a man with talent desperate to make people laugh.
Rating:
Summary: A Quick and Enjoyable Read for the SNL Fan...
Review: I bought this book not because I am particularly a fan of Mohr's, but because I love SNL. While Live From New York was certainly a more comprehensive, informative book on the show, this book has it's own advantages. It was very interesting to get one man's personal experiences from the show, however anguishing and difficult as they were. In telling his story, Mohr also gives us a lot of insight into the actual grueling, day-to-day process of putting this great show together. I now watch the show with a new sense of awe--how does all that chaos end up in such a great final product? I would recommend this to any die-hard SNL fan, as well as to the merely curious!
Rating:
Summary: BETTER than the book
Review: I read the book of the same name, but then I found out that there is an audio CD of the book that Jay Mohr recorded. Since the book was very conversational anyways I decided to pick up the CD as well. I found it to be even BETTER than the book! There are a few things that come across a lot better when you actually hear him saying the words rather than reading the words off of a page. Occasionally, (I actually wish it was much more often) his emotion comes through when he's talking on the recording. There's no way to pick up that emotion when you're reading the book.
Rating:
Summary: Whining, Bitterness, & Much Much Mohr
Review: I remember first seeing Jay Mohr when he was the host of "Lip Service" on MTV in the early 90s. When that was cancelled, he popped up on a TGIF ABC sitcom called "Camp Wilder" that lasted a full-season if I remember correctly. After that was cancelled, I was happy to see that he was a new featured player on SNL. I guess I was happy because it was good to see a young comic actor staying busy and finding work on TV. However, long before I read "Gasping for Airtime," I always thought that Jay Mohr was a comedian/actor who never really made that breakthrough to A-list, even though he had one great opportunity after another. MTV, ABC, SNL, "Jerry Maguire," a string of costarring roles in major motion pictures, FOX's critical hit "Action,"--all great opportunities that didn't last or lead to something bigger. Even his most recent sorta sad, but temporarily very popular, "Last Comic Standing" fizzled out before getting cancelled a few months ago by NBC. With all this in mind, I wasn't surprised to find a very bitter Mohr writing about his brief stint on SNL.
First and foremost, this is a very interesing and quick read. It's essential reading for any big fan of SNL. Reading about how the show works and stories about the best players in the show's history (Meyers, Sandler, Farley, Hartman, etc.) was very entertaining. It's especially interesting considering that Mohr was on the show during one of the most interesting period in SNL's history, when seasoned players like Sandler, Meyers, Hartman, and Farley were on their way out, and it often seemed like the show was creatively suffering perhaps because of the glut of SNL movies that were coming out one after another in the early/mid 90s. However, Mohr seemed to come to the show expecting to be on every week and be at the same level of the regular cast members right off the bat. When this didn't happen, Mohr discusses his series of panic attacks stemming from the frustration of working in a very tense, hectic, insecure environment.
In the end, the only person Mohr has to blame for his frustration with his time on SNL is himself. However, since he was just 23 when he was on the show, it's understandable how such a young person would react to the frustration. Mohr talks about how certain hosts, writers, and cast members basically caused many of his ideas to never see the light of day. It's unfortunate at the time that he didn't realize that nearly ALL new "featured players" on SNL do not begin to see serious airtime until their 2nd, 3rd, or even 4th years. But, as he states himself towards the end of the book, he didn't do the show to "eventually" become a star. Ironically, I bet Will Ferrell didn't come to SNL at *all* to be a star--he probably just joined to showcase his comedic ability and work in a creative environment. And look what happened. That's the difference between Mohr and someone like Ferrell--and that's why their in totally different positions today.
Mohr seems also intent on dissing the easy targets (from David Spade to Crash Test Dummies) and fawning over the "hip" (from Farley to Nirvana). He also amazingly leaves a story that made my jaw drop to the very end of the book--something I had never heard before, but made me think that Lorne Michaels must've really liked Mohr to keep him around for as long as he did.
All in all, this is a great, quick read that all SNL fans, and Mohr fans, would enjoy. As much as I think he comes across smarmy, I think Mohr is funny and I truly hope he finds that one project that takes him to the next level.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting look inside
Review: I saw Jay Mohr's stand-up special on Comedy Central and thought he was hilarious, so, when this book came out I immediately bought it expecting many laughs. It didn't really deliver that, which was disapointing. But, as you go through the book it becomes clear that it is an interesting story that is really raw and truthful. This book lays to rest all of the so-called glamour of one of the funniest shows ever created, SNL. It's a really interesting read, especially for anyone who is a fan of Jay or SNL. It is also refreshing to read about an actor and comedian's struggles in the business. I would wait for paper-back though:)
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