The title: Rick Mercer Report: the BookThe author: Rick Mercer
Publication: Doubleday Canada, 2007
Got it from: La Bibliotheque
I think I realized I was humourously/intellectually in love with Rick Mercer when I was about thirteen. That winter, I came down with a whopper of a cold and was forced to spend several days in bed. I was deluged with Canadian culture because a) I had to read The Cremation of Sam McGee for English class and b) my TV only got the CBC, leaving me to watch reruns of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, which remains to this day one of my favourite shows. The reason I know anything about anything in politics is through 22 Minutes and Rick Mercer in particular was always my favourite satirist.
Who could forget him taking then-prime minister Jean Chretien to Harvey's? Or how he got a million signatures to change Stockwell Day's name to Doris? (Think about that one if you have to). Or his signature rants? When Rick started Made in Canada, I watched it because I knew if Rick was involved, it would be hysterical. And it was. When he left 22 Minutes, I followed him to The Rick Mercer Report, his current show. The man is a Canadian icon. If he ran for prime minister, he would win.
This book is basically a collection of his rants from the show's past four years. As always they are short, razor sharp and absolutely on target. No politician or party is sacred. He's gone skinny-dipping with a Liberal, had the Conservative prime minister tuck him in bed and ridden a tandem bike with the leader of the NDP. And they all get skewered - deservedly, but never with malice. The only thing I wish about the book is that there had been more new material. For someone like me who had practically memorized the rants, it felt more like a reread. Doesn't matter. A for Awesome.
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