One-night stands, drunken debacles and downright vulgar accounts of socially deviant acts are stories usually left to be told among a close group of friends at a bar or in the presence of a therapist, but comedian Chelsea Handler prefers a large crowd and a microphone.
Handler breaks into the predominantly male world of comedy with her own brand of raw humor. Her act is
center stage this weekend at the Tempe Improv on
University Drive and Rural Road.
Handler, 32, has been making a name for herself in other facets of media as well by breaking into television last year with her show on E! Entertainment - "The Chelsea Handler Show" and also through her debut book, "My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands."
Her second book, "Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea," a collaboration of short stories that follows a similar model to her first, will be out this summer.
However, another author is not thrilled about the idea of sharing a bookshelf with Handler.
Tucker Max, a New York Times best-selling author for "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell," writes stories involving heavy alcohol abuse, unusual sexual encounters, womanizing, and patronizing (many times all at once).
He doesn't believe that a female author could share that form of storytelling.
"What is the female counterpart? That assumes that there is a woman out there who can write that style well enough to sell books," Max said. "It's not a female counter until someone actually cares enough to listen."
Handler, although not familiar with Max, does not share his beliefs.
"There is [a counterpart]," she said. "And one with much less STDs than he probably has."
Handler will be at The Improv through Sunday. Tickets are $20.
Reach the reporter at: daniel.oconnor@asu.edu.
