Gary Janetti's second collection of autobiographical essays, Start Without Me (I'll Be There in a Minute), is as funny as the first (Do You Mind If I Cancel?), but what is unexpected from the writer and producer of Will & Grace and Family Guy is the tender poignancy that laces this one. His memories of the numerous gay restaurants in 1990s Manhattan are wistful and hilarious: "The food was terrible but it was a gay restaurant," he writes, "you didn't go for the food, you went for the gay." His religion also gets some of his best one-liners, including: "The Catholics are the RuPaul's Drag Race of religions. We put on a show, honey."
One chapter details his childhood tradition of watching the once-a-year broadcast of The Wizard of Oz, "the gayest motion picture ever made." What wasn't there to love for a gay kid? Dorothy gets to wear ruby slippers, kill two witches, "gets her hair blown out" and sings. "Do you know how hard it is to learn every line of a movie when you see it only once a year?" he asks. "Kids then had to WORK. No rewinding, no play it again." One gets the feeling Janetti was always wise (and wise-ass) beyond his years. Scamming a high school guidance counselor for an excuse slip to avoid gym class, he keeps her enthralled by inventing drama at home. "Eventually, I just start rehashing plotlines from Knots Landing," he writes.
An abundantly funny and nostalgic collection of memories of growing up gay that leaves a sweet aftertaste. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant