Drew Carey: Uncut & Uncensored

Cleveland native Drew Carey (no relation to me....as far as I know!) is a well- known stand up comic and actor/star of the television comedy series "The Drew Carey Show" and host of the variety show "Whose Line is it, Anyway". Carey wrote this book, "Dirty Jokes and Beer", by using the names of two of his favorite things in life: comedy and brew.

Basic Contents of This Book:

Drew spends most of this book discussing a diverse range of topics like dating; tabloid gossip; Las Vegas; and his love of the Cleveland Browns. With each topic, he discusses the good and the bad, while offering up his own humorous anecdote to the subject at hand.

In another part of the book, called FAQ.COM, Drew provides answers to several common questions that he is asked on a constant basis. Questions like "Are those your real glasses?", "What's your work schedule like?", and "What's Mimi like in person?". Drew answers each one in his own witty, insightful way.

There's another section where Drew exposes some interesting informational tidbits about his TV show. He points out how his comedy pushes the limits of censorship as often as possible. Much of the censorship is idiotic and silly, but the "powers that be" insist on it, for politically correct reasons. For example, on one episode, the script had to be changed from saying "dwarf" to "little people", in order not to offend people of small stature. And in another show, they were not allowed to say "butt wipe" and instead, they had to substitute "butt weasel". Does butt weasel sound any better then butt wipe? I don't think so, either, but the network censors insisted on the change to the script.

In another chapter, Drew Carey drops the humor and gets more serious. He talks about how he was sexually molested at age nine, and how he tried to commit suicide two times, by taking sleeping pills. He doesn't say how these things happened, or why they happened. He merely points them out and explains how these traumatic events have made him a stronger person today.

The last part of the book contains five short stories that Drew wrote himself. These "Stories of the Unrefined" include titles like "Mi Pelea", "The Christmas Story", "A Friend in Need", "The Royal", and "Tackling Jim Brown". Each story is about 20 pages in length, with some unusual, but interesting humor. I would have preferred if Carey had stuck with humor, rather than write these short stories, but the stories are still fairly good.

Final Thoughts:

Drew Carey has come a long way since his dysfunctional childhood. He has now acheived the ranks of a Hollywood star and his life has made a full turnaround.

This book is worth a look, especially if you are a fan of his show and/or his stand-up comedy. There are six pages of pictures included in the book, and many of them will surprise you because they look nothing like the Drew Carey of today.

Drew's writing style doesn't always flow very well, and it's not going to win him the Pulitzer Prize. Also, many of the pages in the book include profanity, so beware of that, if you consider yourself a sensitive reader.

Overall, this a pretty good book, with some good humor and some good insight. Much of it will leave you wanting to know more, in particular, the part about his personal life. He hasn't written a sequel, but there is a biography written about Drew's life, called "Home Brewed". If you want to know more about Drew Carey, I recommend reading that book. But if you're looking for humor, then read "Dirty Jokes and Beer". Drew's views might not agree with everyone, but they are honest and insightful.