• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Lieff Ink

TELL YOUR STORY

  • About
  • Services
    • Writing • Editing
    • PR
    • Writing Tutor
  • Words
  • Press
  • Blog
  • Clients
    • Client List
    • Testimonials
  • Contact
  • Book
    • Accolades
    • Reviews

Busy Philipps: This Will Only Hurt A Little

April 18, 2022

I have to admit that I bought Busy Philipps’ book because I was looking for something light to read. Something that would make me laugh and juxtapose some of the tough content I have to read for work. Also, I had a feeling that This Will Only Hurt A Little would be written in such a way that I could hear the author talking as I read and that’s definitely true.

But to say that I’m a Busy Philipps fan is a bit of a stretch. She was great in Freaks and Geeks, I sort of remember her being on Dawson’s Creek, and she was hilarious in Cougar Town. Her guest appearance on How I Met Your Mother was memorable as well. But she seems to play different versions of the same character in everything – kind of like Sandra Bullock – so I like her, but she’s not the first person I think of when someone asks me to name my favorite actress. That being said, her book is (and I don’t love this phrase but it’s accurate) a page-turner.

In fact, her book is exactly what I thought it would be. Several times throughout the narrative she admits that she is “a lot” – which is exactly right – but she’s also very real and I appreciate that.  One minute she’s intelligently discussing the acting industry: “Sometimes people on TV shows get fooled into thinking that the very thing that made them to begin with is the thing that’s now holding them back.” And the next she is saying things like: “I was trying to convince him it was okay for me to like, give him a hand job or whatever.” Maybe she writes like that to be more relatable. Philipps is four years older than me, so I also appreciate her name-checking Delia’s and 90210, as well as her many music references. In fact, each chapter is named after a song by artists such as Kanye West, Nirvana, Juliana Hatfield, Hole, Stone Temple Pilots, Joan Jett, Tom Petty, etc.

On a more serious note, she provides a ton of detail about her sexual experiences with men (some consensual and some, sadly, nonconsensual), as well as sporadic stories about the “low-grade sexual harassment” she dealt with as a teen. All these stories are horrible, and she is brave for talking about what happened, but as a reader it’s difficult to reconcile serious topics that are immediately followed with her saying “whatever” and “or something” a lot.

Additionally, there’s a fine line between keeping it real and lazy writing and Philipps walks that line throughout the entire book. Speaking of which, she repeatedly uses “weird” to describe everyone and everything – to the point where if a Busy Philipps drinking game existed, and the rule was that someone had to drink every time they read the word “weird,” they would pass out. On one page she uses the word four times. She also addresses the reader like we are buddies: “I know, I know. You hate it. I get it.” or “As you can probably imagine.” or “You guessed it.” or even “I know. This is a lot. I’m sorry. But I am. I am a lot.” Philipps also uses caps WAY TOO OFTEN.

As for her family, there are lots of stories about, quotes from, and conversations with her mom, which makes sense because the book is dedicated to her. While Philipps’ mother is clearly the backbone of the narrative, her dad is barely mentioned and she kind of throws her sister under the bus. Conversely, she’s kinder when talking about the family she’s created with her husband Marc and two daughters but is very candid when describing her and Marc’s relationship after they had their first kid. I could definitely relate to a lot of what she said.

Another running theme throughout her book – besides many situations beginning and ending with her crying – is that there’s a fine line between honesty and scores to settle. And she has a lot of scores to settle – especially the Blades of Glory debacle, her antagonistic relationship with James Franco, people on the set of Dawson’s Creek who were only interested in Katie Holmes, and several male counterparts who treated her badly. She calls them all out. Every single one of them.

I wonder if I’d be friends with Philipps or if she would be “too much” for me. One minute she’s talking about how she’s always felt left out, judged, and undervalued and the next she’s describing herself as the best in the business. She’s human and I acknowledge the struggle it takes to exist sometimes, but she is definitely a series of contradictions. At least she knows it. Philipps is also tough as nails. She’s been through more than her fair share of humiliation and has been given a hard time for not being a size two in land of size zeroes. It’s gross and I hate that people have consistently made her feel that way.

It’s also interesting that the book starts and ends with Instagram. I follow her on Instagram but didn’t realize she has such a powerful presence. In fact, Marisa Meltzer of The New Yorker wrote an article in 2017 about Philipps that says: “Every social-media platform has an early adopter who defines its potential. For Instagram Stories, the actor Busy Philipps fills that role.” Who knew?

Here is what else I learned:

  • She got her start by working toy fairs – something I had never heard of but from her descriptions sound like trade shows for kids and teens.
  • Philipps talks a lot about the male domination of Hollywood and how she had several encounters with Harvey Weinstein that (thankfully) didn’t cross the line.
  • She despises James Franco (“he was a fucking bully”) and calls out any male (or female) person in show business who underestimated her.
  • She met her best friend Michelle Williams on the set of Dawson’s Creek.
  • The movie Blades of Glory was her idea and she was one of the writers. But she was blindsided by the two brothers she wrote it with when they took her name off the project without discussing it with her.

Quotes:

  • Her mother describing two-year-old Busy Philipps as being “aced out in her nudes” might be the funniest nonsensical phrase I’ve ever read.
  • “Unstoppable. Headstrong. Defiant. And I probably am all of those things. But when I look at who I was then and who I’ve become, I think it might be a little deeper.”
  • Busy’s mom to Busy about her daughter Birdie: “You’re going to breathe, honey. And then go hug her. And you’re going to do better than we did.”
  • “The truth is my mother is who you want in your corner when shit goes down.” Mine too.
  • “Sometimes family presents itself in ways you aren’t expecting.”
  • Her descriptions of 9/11 sound like Covid: “It’s hard to explain to millennials and younger kids what was such a fundamental shift in the world.”
  • “It’s always fucking amazing to me what people say to you when you’re pregnant.” I hear you Busy. I hear you.
  • “I love acting…It’s impossible to overstate what being an actor has meant to me. How it’s saved me again and again.”
  • “There are more than a few sliding doors in my past.”

Laura

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Blog Archive

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010

Footer

Laura Lieff was named Colorado Mountain College’s 2017-2018 Part Time Staff Member of the Year for her work as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.
Laura Lieff was named Colorado Mountain College’s 2017-2018 Part Time Staff Member of the Year for her work as a writing tutor and teaching assistant.

Work With Me

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
lieff-ink-logo_updated-2
  • About
  • Services
  • Words
  • Blog
  • Client List
  • Contact

Copyright © 2023 · PO Box 1228 Edwards CO 81632 · info@lauralieff.com