In this candid memoir, Grey shares her childhood in the spotlight as the daughter of acclaimed Broadway/Hollywood actor Joel Grey, her wild teen years (which I found a bit shocking, but not to the point of clutching my pearls) and her loves and losses along the way. She was a lost soul as a child and young woman, and I felt bad for how her parents and a certain boyfriend treated her and cringed at some of her choices. I enjoyed how she name drops with abandon and there were several Hollywood connections that I was surprised about as well as an engagement I had completely forgotten about to a popular actor who has been in the news lately.
I enjoy Hollywood memoirs because they give me the behind-the-scenes look at famous TV and films. Grey takes readers to the sets of Red Dawn, a disappointingly small bit about her time on the set of Ferris Bueller and, of course, Dirty Dancing where she gives some clarity on the well-known rift she had with the late Patrick Swayze. I was a bit miffed she didn't dish on her short time on Friends.
Despite her Hollywood pedigree and her roles in iconic movies, Grey's accomplishments have often been overshadowed by her nose. We have all heard of how the tweaking of her sniffer changed her career and she gives a lot of page time to her famous schnoz - a little too much, if you ask me. But for those who want to get to the nitty gritty of her nasal cavity, she details her reasons for going under the knife and the subsequent loss of work because of it.
Grey has a good sense of humour, but her writing sometimes took on a journal vibe (especially the last 'self-helpy' chapter) and generally had a choppy, 'all over the place' feel because she adds bits and pieces that interrupted the flow of her main story. But overall, I enjoyed this candid memoir about this Hollywood actor who I've watched on screen since I was a young teen, and it was nice to see her come out of Hollywood with a better sense of self.
My Rating: 4 stars
Author: Jennifer Grey
Genre: Memoir
Type and Source: Hardcover from public library
Publisher: Ballantine Books
First Published: May 3, 2022
Book Description from GoodReads: A deeply candid and refreshingly spirited memoir of identity lost and found from the star of the iconic film Dirty Dancing
In this beautiful, close-to-the bone account, Jennifer Grey takes readers on a vivid tour of the experiences that have shaped her, from her childhood as the daughter of Broadway and film legend Joel Grey, to the surprise hit with Patrick Swayze that made her America's sweetheart, to her inspiring season eleven win on ABC's Dancing with the Stars.
Throughout this intimate narrative, Grey richly evokes places and times that were defining for a generation--from her preteen days in 1970s Malibu and wild child nights in New York's club scene, to her roles in quintessential movies of the 1980s, including The Cotton Club, Red Dawn, and her breakout performance in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. With self-deprecating humor and frankness, she looks back on her unbridled, romantic adventures in Hollywood. And with enormous bravery, she shares the devastating fallout from a plastic surgery procedure that caused the sudden and stunning loss of her professional identity and career. Grey inspires with her hard-won battle back, reclaiming her sense of self from a culture and business that can impose a narrow and unforgiving definition of female worth. She finds, at last, her own true north and starts a family of her own, just in the nick of time.
Distinctive, moving, and powerful, told with generosity and pluck, Out of the Corner is a memoir about a never-ending personal evolution, a coming-of-age story for women of every age.
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