Mr. Funny Pants

Michael Showalter, the brain (and face) behind (and in front) of Michael & Michael Have Issues, The State, Wet Hot American Summer, The Baxter, and Stella, brings readers his uniquely absurd, hilarious first book.

Michael's brainy, hysterical literary debut combines funny anecdotes, stories, jokes, humor pieces, observations, lists, and personal memoir into a remarkably cohesive narrative. Mr. Funny Pants is an adventurous journey into the deep, and not-so-deep, recesses of Showalter's creative mind. The end result is a new kind of comic memoir, with the ultimate goal to entertain, and on a deeper level, to tell Showalter's story. His obsessions, creative and otherwise, successes, and many failings make for an uproarious read. Mr. Funny Pants will bring insight to those cult followers who have been devoted fans since The State, as well as readers discovering Showalter's odd charm for the first time.

"Brooklyn-based comedian-screenwriter Showalter (The Baxter) offers a witty 'comic memoir,' in which he has chosen to deconstruct the concept of books with lengthy satires on the front matter and closing pages usually found in books. After 'About the Author' and 'Aboot the Author (For Canadian Edition),' he follows with 'About Bea Arthur.' Then he finally gets going with the 'Acknowledgments' ('I acknowledge that I am writing a book') and 'Preface': 'Being that I haven't started to write this book yet, I think it's irresponsible of me to write the preface first.' Spewing forth short essays illustrated with gags, doodles, diagrams, and charts, Showalter draws the reader in with strange questions ('Would it be weird if cats were as small as mice?') and self-deprecating spoofing. Much of his humor pivots around convoluted paradoxes, quirky didactic tactics, literal truths, and stating the obvious, such as his 'Holiday Recipes': 'Gravy. Go to your local supermarket and ask the guy where the canned gravy is.' Showalter can be funny, but at times his puns are simply predictable. (Feb. 24)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

I was at my wit's end. I'd had enough of this job, this life, and my relationship had broken up. Should I eat chocolate, or go to India, or fall in love? Then I had a revelation: Why not do all three, in that order? And so it was that I embarked on a journey that was segmented into three parts and was then made into a major motion picture. Later, I woke up on an airplane with a hole in my face and a really bad hangover. I was ushered brusquely off the plane by my parents who took me to a rehab where I tested positive for coke, classic coke, special k (the drug), Special K (the cereal), mushrooms, pepperoni, and Restless Leg Syndrome. It was there that I first began painting with my feet.

But rewind...the year was 1914. I was just a young German soldier serving in the trenches while simultaneously trying to destroy an evil ring with some help from an elf, a troll, and a giant sorcerer, all while cooking every recipe out of a Julia Child cookbook. What I'm trying to say is that there was a secret code hidden in a painting and I was looking for it with this girl who had a tattoo of a dragon Let me clarify, it was the 1930s and a bunch of us were migrating out of Oklahoma, and I was this teenage wizard/CIA operative, okay? And, um then I floated off into the meta-verse as a ball of invisible energy that had no outer edge...

Ugh, okay. None of this is true. I'm just kind of a normal guy from New Jersey who moved to New York, got into comedy, wrote this book about trying to write this book, and then moved to Alaska, became the mayor of a small town, spent $30,000 on underwear, and now I'm going to rule the world

Michael Showalter is a writer/director/comedian living with his fiance and their cats in Brooklyn, NY. He was an original member of the seminal MTV sketch troupe The State. He co-wrote and co-starred in the cult film Wet Hot American Summer and is one-third of the comedy trio Stella which had a critically acclaimed TV series on Comedy Central and tours nationally. He wrote, directed and co-starred with Michelle Williams and Elizabeth Banks in the romantic comedy The Baxter. In November of 2008 he released his first stand-up comedy album Sandwiches & Cats. He recently completed a Comedy Central series Michael & Michael Have Issues with collaborator Michael Black. He has appeared in many TV shows and movies including Sex & the City, Law & Order, and Signs. Right now he teaches screenwriting at NYU Graduate Film School, writes a monthly column for the Chicago Tribune, and is working on a one-man show about his love of theater.