What could be better than growing up in the 1980s? How about growing up in 1980s Newfoundland, which as Mark Critch will tell you, was more like the 1960s. Critch takes us to where it all began in this tremendously funny and warm look back on his formative years. A "recovering Catholic," he recalls his many misadventures growing up on the outskirts of a small town. And when your radio-star dad is the talk of the town and your mom can't stop talking at all, life at home is always entertaining.
Best known as the "roving reporter" for CBC's "This Hour Has 22 Minutes", Mark Critch has photo-bombed Justin Trudeau, interviewed Great Big Sea's Alan Doyle (while impersonating Alan Doyle), offered Pamela Anderson a million dollars to stop acting, and crashed White House briefings. But in this hilarious debut, we learn that Critch has been causing trouble his whole life. Son of a Critch will have you longing for life in Canada's most unique province - even if you've never been there - and marvelling at how one person's childhood could be so ridiculously funny.
Mark Critch is a Canadian comedian, actor and writer. He is best known for his work on the CBC comedy series, This Hour Has 22 Minutes. I must admit that I've never watched This Hour Has 22 Minutes but I do know who Mark Critch is ... he was in The Grand Seduction, a fun movie I've seen quite a few times.
I like reading bios/autobios, he's Canadian and I grew up in the Atlantic provinces so that's why it caught my eye.
This book focuses on Mark's childhood. His stories about growing up in Newfoundland, being in a Catholic school, living on the outskirts of town, having a dad who was who was on the radio (the station was next door), being a weird naïve kid (someone put a condom in his sandwich and he had no idea what it was) and more were amusing. There are lots of pictures of him and his family over the years.
I liked this book ... I found it funny and I liked the writing style. Fans of Critch and This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Newfoundlanders will probably really enjoy it.
I remember him from pre-22 Minutes fame. He used to be (and likely this is mentioned in the book - I haven't read it yet), in a comedy group called Cat Fud. They had a bunch of posters that were hilarious. I had one of them where they spoofed the old Calvin Klein ads, shirtless, not exactly in the greatest physiques, and wearing Yves Martin (a Walmart brand) underwear.
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