Mr Funny Pants, indeed

So. I walk into a Borders to buy some books of music for an audition I had coming up. If you're curious, keep reading. If not, skip to the second paragraph... I had to assemble an array of POP and ROCK music, for this audition, and I had none. Borders, as we all know, is going out of business, and coincidentally so are my pockets. Perfect match-up.  (Though my personal preference would have been to put a bunch of Poprock candies in my mouth, stand there, jaw agape, and motion to the auditors to shut the muck up for a second so they could realize my talent.) But, alas, music books at Borders it was destined to be. ... That felt like a Yoda sentence.

What Destiny! I walked in, and the first table I saw had a big green sign on it marked 30% off Non-Fiction! (Which isn't THAT exciting...but then...) A BUNCH OF BOOKS SENATOR'S MEMOIRS! A MEMOIR ABOUT A GUY WHO HAD A SUPER RELIGIOUS MOM AND A DRUNK DAD IN TEJAS?!?! AAAA....Michael. Showalter. NO. Michael Showalter wrote a memoir?! .... about.... writing.... a ... memoir.

Genius.

Mr. Funny Pants, by Michael Showalter. It was the only copy on the table, and I realized I was glancing around while making the decision to buy it, because I felt like I was depriving someone else of what would surely be a whirlwind of a book.

Duh, I took it. And by ''took'' I mean paid for it like a law-abiding citizen.

If you don't know this, I love Michael Showalter. I think he is absolutely brilliant (intellectually and artistically.) The best way I can describe the kind of humour without making it sound like it's all fart and penis jokes, is that it is like a slight-of-hand trick* --- you're following along on one track, and somehow it's evolved into something else and you're not sure how you got there, and you may be left going "Whaaat the hell?!" but boy, is it great! Even that dumbs it down. It is because of Showalter's intellect that his silly humour is endearing and just makes me downright giggle. If it doesn't make you giggle, then you're probably one of the many folk who write it off as, "This isn't funny. It's just weird." Which is okay! To each his/her/its own.

* I know nothing of Slight-of-Hand tricks, or Magic, or Magik, for that matter.

But you should ask...Will this review be biased? Yes. Do I care? No. Should you? Yes. Probably.

Why on Earth wouldn't you want to read something that'll make you guffaw, snort, even chortle, out loud. Not a question. At 300 pages, filled mostly creative repetitions and turns like the first three chapters entitled, "About the Author," "Aboot the Author (Canadian Version)" and "About Bea Arthur," it is a super fast read.

If you don't like silliness. Don't read this book. If you don't like penis jokes. Don't read this book. If you read things with a monotonous little reader voice in your head. That must be very boring for you, aaaand you probably shouldn't read this book.

Conversely, If you've ever felt like a bit of a nerd or down on yourself, read this book. If you've ever written an angry letter to someone and you've never had the nerve to send it, definitely read this book. And if you love tactful penis jokes, well, you're just awesome.

A little about Mr. Showalter. He's 1/3 of the comedy group STELLA (he's the one in the middle in this clip) and writes screenplays/sketches and also creates/stars in shows that eventually get cancelled (because they're too good...A David Crossim on "good" TV.) He co-wrote and was in Wet Hot American Summer. Also, If you frequent Collegehumour.com, he's got The Michael Showalter Showalter, where he "interviews" celebs.

Mr. Funny Pants deals with the difficult task of writing a memoir. The reason why he's chosen this topic, is because the dude doesn't think he leads enough of an interesting life to just write a straight up non-fiction. So, his approach is to write out everything that comes to his mind. The end product is getting a glimpse inside this self-deprecating, sweater-loving, OCD/anxiety ridden, cat-keeping, quietly raging, comedian's mind through his stream-of-consciousness/associative writing. (Not like super heavy handed, artsy freakin fartsy, stream-of-consciousness...that'd kill it.)

Though this description can make any ''Memoir" seem Seinfeldian, between the silliness in Mr. Funny Pants, the reader is given information on Showalter's recollection of his past; the OCD is real, and there are sections about memories of his childhood, awkward adolescence, failed relationships, the desire to always belong, and how he didn't fully outgrow that in his adulthood.

It is satirical in the way that it is poking fun at "Memoirs" in general. (That is to say, even Didion and Eggers use their creative licences, so no memoir is 100% fact.) Often Showalter demonstrates this by blatantly exaggerating real-life occurrences, or capturing a certain feeling then digressing completely. Both approaches are equally engaging and hilarious.


So pick it up. Or just go to Borders and find something else you want to read, because I think it all has to go by April.



NEXT UP: SWAMPLANDIA! By Karen Russel

OK, bye!

-Lady Atra