How to Piss Off Men: 109 Things to Say to Shatter the Male Ego

Comedian Prue expands on his popular YouTube series with this chuckle-worthy collection of insults, phrases, and quips designed to deflate men’s egos. Following a setup–punch line structure, the sayings range from the elegantly direct (“no”) to the extremely convoluted (a multipage yarn about serving legal papers). There are moments of sharp observation (“Men hate being discussed because it’s how they get caught”), but the better, more incisive jokes are sometimes undercut by their proximity to what feel like first-thought dispatches from the Notes app on Prue’s iPhone. The barbs aimed at homophobes especially fall flat, routinely relying on stereotypes and the suggestion that perhaps the man on the receiving end should examine his own sexuality. Prue’s punch lines are at their best when they are universal, rather than when situations and characters are invented wholesale for the purpose of landing a joke (how often does one encounter “a man trying to explain the concept of a secret identity”?). Prue may not always hit his mark, but when he does, the comedy is polished and the laughs are authentic. The results are more than satisfying enough to guarantee that Prue’s own ego should escape intact. (Sept.)