Melissa Joan HartRezensionen

There's a story early in the book (more interesting than many of he stories), describing her encounter with William Hurt. She comes off vapid, anti-intellectual, petty and materialistic. This attitude colors the whole book, even though she seems to be mostly a pleasant and decent person.

She takes snotty shots at people on occasion, though, including one at Cloris Leachman. Compare their accounts of being on "Dancing with the Stars" and judge for yourself who the better person is. MJH seems to approach her career, and the acting craft, with all the joy and creative vigor of a middle-upper manager in a cubicle farm.

Wow, just wow! I am not one to follow celebrities in gossip magazines, so I know very little of their lives until, one day, I see a memoir and think "okay, I'll take a glimpse..." I had no idea that MJH was such a party animal!

For the first little bit of the book, I wasn't surprised that MJH was precocious. I understood it, having it to a lesser degree as I spent years hanging out at my single mother's workplace (with adults) than with kids my own age, something MJH had working with adults. However, she quickly gets to her partying twenties and I almost went into shock. It is like she regressed and had to have that "wild child" phase she missed - even if she was slightly more responsible than others, in calling it early on work nights. I was just astounded.

I was especially astounded by a story involving a racy photograph, but I won't spoil it.

Just a warning: there's not a lot on Clarissa and Sabrina. I didn't expect there to be - not only was it years ago (memory fades) but to most actors it is just a job, where the weeks fade into each other and people, for the most part, are there to work. It is between the lines that, after describing what her week was like on the show, everything was relatively the same on set. Unless it is contentious, a lot of actors don't have a lot of stories to tell. Yeah, boring for us, but better for them (the sets with a story of the week just sound like hell to be on).

To be honest, since the book jumps from her twenties (and there is even some craziness the weekend she meets her husband) to her doing a 180 when she meets her husband, because that's suppose to be who she really is, I actually had a hard time making the leap. It felt like she was one-day a party animal and the next a good girl wife and mother. Actually, given the stories of that weekend, it was the next day!

After reading the book, I came to enter my review and saw others. I actually think they were too critical and it sounds like people skimmed, so they missed context of a lot of events and name dropping. First, MJH says specifically that she is going to name-drop, because that's what everybody asks and her people usually want from celebrity memoirs; so it was no surprise and expected. Second, as I said, I think they were skimming and missed the context that made the name-drop significant. For example, if you ask Ryan Reynolds, she admits he just says he made out with her once, but to her, she cheated on a boyfriend and felt horrible - so of course she remembers it was him vividly! James Van der Beek was a tale of him not living down to her expectations but voicing something she felt - that's not actually an insult! There is a lot to insult her on (and I had no idea how much) but that criticism is undeserved.

Overall, it was an interesting read. She's not some particularly good writer, but she's okay. It's a silly little book that will break your expectations of MJH. However, I must admit that by the end, I was looking forward to the end. I was done with the ups-and-downs and the minutia. Get it cheap, like I did.

Wow, just wow! I am not one to follow celebrities in gossip magazines, so I know very little of their lives until, one day, I see a memoir and think "okay, I'll take a glimpse..." I had no idea that MJH was such a party animal!

For the first little bit of the book, I wasn't surprised that MJH was precocious. I understood it, having it to a lesser degree as I spent years hanging out at my single mother's workplace (with adults) than with kids my own age, something MJH had working with adults. However, she quickly gets to her partying twenties and I almost went into shock. It is like she regressed and had to have that "wild child" phase she missed - even if she was slightly more responsible than others, in calling it early on work nights. I was just astounded.

I was especially astounded by a story involving a racy photograph, but I won't spoil it.

Just a warning: there's not a lot on Clarissa and Sabrina. I didn't expect there to be - not only was it years ago (memory fades) but to most actors it is just a job, where the weeks fade into each other and people, for the most part, are there to work. It is between the lines that, after describing what her week was like on the show, everything was relatively the same on set. Unless it is contentious, a lot of actors don't have a lot of stories to tell. Yeah, boring for us, but better for them (the sets with a story of the week just sound like hell to be on).

To be honest, since the book jumps from her twenties (and there is even some craziness the weekend she meets her husband) to her doing a 180 when she meets her husband, because that's suppose to be who she really is, I actually had a hard time making the leap. It felt like she was one-day a party animal and the next a good girl wife and mother. Actually, given the stories of that weekend, it was the next day!

After reading the book, I came to enter my review and saw others. I actually think they were too critical and it sounds like people skimmed, so they missed context of a lot of events and name dropping. First, MJH says specifically that she is going to name-drop, because that's what everybody asks and her people usually want from celebrity memoirs; so it was no surprise and expected. Second, as I said, I think they were skimming and missed the context that made the name-drop significant. For example, if you ask Ryan Reynolds, she admits he just says he made out with her once, but to her, she cheated on a boyfriend and felt horrible - so of course she remembers it was him vividly! James Van der Beek was a tale of him not living down to her expectations but voicing something she felt - that's not actually an insult! There is a lot to insult her on (and I had no idea how much) but that criticism is undeserved.

Overall, it was an interesting read. She's not some particularly good writer, but she's okay. It's a silly little book that will break your expectations of MJH. However, I must admit that by the end, I was looking forward to the end. I was done with the ups-and-downs and the minutia. Get it cheap, like I did.

Melissa Explains it All

I Picked Up This Book Because: I’ve grown up with Melissa/Clarissa/Sabrina/Mel, have had this on my TBR for quite some time.

The Story:

I enjoyed learning about Melissa’s life and hearing the behind the scenes secrets on some of my favorite shows.

The Random Thoughts:

3.5 Stars½

2.5 stars

Could not finish this. I like Melissa Joan Hart but her memoir was very boring and she came across as a bit pretentious..

I had issues with this book from the very beginning, as far as how it was written. Some autobiographies read like the person is talking directly to you, but this one came across as Melissa talking above the reader. She continually refers to her "normal" life, but then never misses an opportunity to tell us how wonderful she is or how great of an actress she has always been. I hated the way she trashed certain celebrities, really for no reason at all. She could have handled those situations so much differently and might not have come off as such a pretentious snob. I was never a die-hard fan of Melissa Joan Hart, but I pre-ordered her book so that I could learn more about her. Now I wish I could have my time and my money back. If I wanted someone to exaggerate their incredible life and make me feel badly about myself, I would have attended my last high school reunion.

I am a huge fan of most 90s shows including Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I thought this would a fun read. There were parts I enjoyed and others I found boring. I liked hearing about her career and hearing stories that included several other 90 stars you most likely are familiar with. But, there was also things that were just plan boring and I was ready for it to be over.

I was surprised on how disappointed with Hart's biography. She has achieved a lot, and I will give credit when it's due, but she was very self-congratulatory. It became tiresome very fast. Also, her name dropping got very annoying. Some people she named that she didn't really know. Hart named them because of the caché of their name.

I've read many memoirs but this one made me cringed. She does or did drink a lot and experiment with different drugs. How professional is it to be high on a photoshoot? That was ridiculous and it could have cost her so much if she had gotten caught. It wasn't because she was clever but because Hart's trangressions bappened just so that they were missed. They were like ticks between a clock.

Also, for a book that generally follows sequential order, it felt very disjointed. I always have liked Melissa Joan Hart but when I saw her during a signing at a bookstore, I found her unlikable. This was how her memoir was: unlikable and insincere. That was a letdown.

It was a cute read for a memoir. I've been a fan of Melissa's acting for years since her early days as Clarissa and I liked reading about all her hijinks when she wasn't on camera.