Rating: 
Summary: Good read...
Review: Jay Mohr is a funny guy. When Opie and Anthony were on the radio and Jay would be a frequent guest, he was hilarious. I was hoping for a laugh out loud book. This is not what you get.....although not a bad book, it has many interesting tid bits, but dont buy this if you expect to laugh.
This book shines when he talks about Saturday Night Live. How the writers struggle to have their scetches make it to the air, and the actors struggles to make it on T.V. I didnt realize how much went into making the show. When Jay talks about Rosanne Barr, Marisa Tomei and other guest host it is a very fun read. Where the book dissapoints is when Jay talks about his personal life, his panic attacks, his family. This is where I thought he would be much more funnier, but he wasn't. Although he doesnt talk personal a whole lot, I found myself waiting for him to get back to talking about SNL.
Please dont think I am bashing this book, cause I'm not. I thought it was very insightful, and talks about behind the scenes stuff that "LIVE FROM NEW YORK", the only other SNL book out there worth reading, dosent. So if you are a fan of SNL, you should read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Mohr Succeeds Without Sucking Up
Review: Saturday Night Live is easily one of the most interesting experiments in TV history. And it's had ups and downs. Author Jay Mohr was hired as a featured player and writer for SNL during the decline of the great early 90's show and worked teh 1994-1995 season, which is easily the worst since the '81-'82 season. And his book gives a pretty good picture about why the show goes through a cycle of great to awful so often.Mohr doesn't waste much time in his book. He starts out by recalling a return visit to SNL to watch from backstage after he left. He's brutally honest about his feelings and about the peple he worked for, and you get the feel for how the book is gonna go right off the bat, as he describes a cordial but somewhat tense conversation he had with Lorne Michaels after Mohr became big in "Jerry Maguire". Mohr doesn't kiss Lorne's ass in the retelling, except to say that without him the show would never work, and that is enough to destiguish him from the sycophantic treatment Michaels recieved in Tom Shales "SNL: An Oral History". Mohr has an axe to grind, with cast members, writers, hosts, and often himself. This honesty keeps his book from being a generic tell all. Mohr's caustic personality comes through the writing, but he does a terrific job of quickly setting up how SNL comes together each week. It seems like an emmensely frustrating process, and Mohr's descent into Panic-attack hell because of his own misgivings and the backstabbing nature of the process seems like a natural progression. Mohr dishes about everyone-Al Franken is an arogant blowhard, Rob Schneider can be a jerk or your best friend, the Harvard writers are snobs. He also describes how he would steal bits just to get on TV, and when the disasterous 1994-1995 season comes around, he pulls no punches. I won't reveal too much of the fun, because it's great reading about how the wheels fell off. I never really cared much for Jay Mohr on the show, but his honesty keept me intriguied in his struggle. How many SNL folk are willing to say they didn't think the early, classic years weren't funny? I disagree with him on this, especially considering his rational for it(The skits were repetitive. Yeah, unlike now. Right, Jay), but he SAYS it, right up front, which really solidifies his credentials as an honest broker. In the end, any true SNL fan would love to read this book, because it's a first in it's portrail of how the show REALLY comes together. And you can find out what goes wrong when so many egos come crashing together. If Shales' book kissed Lorne's butt and beat up on Chevy Chase a lot, Mohr's kisses no one's backside and slams everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Enough Meat
Review: The first time I noticed Jay Mohr was in Jerry McGwire. He played a back-stabbing agent who double crosses the hero in the movie. I thought he played that rather well. Based on his book, it's because he is that guy.
I didn't find Jay Mohr to be a "warm fella". His writing is matter-of-fact and well...cool. There is no emotion to his writing nor does he remember anyone fondly with the exception of Farley, but only highlights his "manic" stages.
On one hand, I can't blame the guy. He was at a rough period (a decade or so) where the show had lost its steam. Mohr was coming in the SNL train as young guys like him: Sandler, Farley and Spade were getting noticed with the best sketches and that must have been tough.
But he wussed out. He was in the same school as newcomers Molly Shannon, Norm Macdonald (who Jay discloses too much detail on his bout with food poisoning), Rob Scheidner (who Jay hates), and didn't graduate from the SNL Academy with honors.
His revenge: this book.
Rating:
Summary: A fast read but very light on gosippy details
Review: This book has two sides to it. First, the side about Jay Mohr and the stuff that happened to him on SNL. This was interesting, and makes me watch SNL with a new perspective on how the show comes together. The second side is his dish about guests and other cast members. All the good stories are short--three paragraphs or so. As such, the pace of the book is brisk. But I kept hoping for a little more.
At any rate, this is a good, light read for the beach, a flight, or anywhere that you want to get entertained without a lot of thought on your part.
Rating:
Summary: Panic on the streets of New York
Review: This book makes me think I wouldn't like Jay Mohr very much if I knew him. He comes off as a vain, desperately whining and immature crybaby who finds disgusting things funny. Though he is at least refreshingly honest about his own shortcomings,and does have some telling observations about the SNL schedule.
But I couldn't shake the feeling that this book was born because Mohr heard about the Live From New York project and rather than cooperating with its authors decided to try to cash in on his own.
Rating: 
Summary: Ok! Terrific!
Review: This is a fantastic read! Jay Mohr, as we all know, is a comedy god and this book is if anything too short. I wish (and hope) Jay writes a follow up to this book on the rest of career so far... O&A, Action, the movies he made etc.. He must have more stories. It's written in a very loose conversational style.. You feel like Jay is just sitting down talking to you and man you cannot put it down. If you are at all interested in SNL, Jay Mohr or panic disorders get this book. It's VERY funny. The thing that's so disturbing about SNL is how insane the week is before the show. They have this ridiculous self imposed BS deadlines that seem to hamper creativity and increase tension. Maybe that's the way Lorne wants it? Jay has some GREAT stories about Chris Farley.. Al Franken's temper and the other cast members at the time (like Sandler). There is this great story about him and the whole cast, Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger that is all at once scary, tense and funny. Jay you are the man!.. and this book leaves me wanting more. Great read!
Rating:
Summary: Good for it's nitch
Review: With elements of "Dry" (Augusten Burroughs) and "My Fractured Life" (Rikki Travolta), "Gasping for Airtime" is a quirky disection of a small fraction of the lesser known years of a now known entertainer. If you like this nitch type writing, it's a good one.
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