Sick in the Head: Conversations About Life and Comedy Hardcover – June 16, 2015

Although this book is interviews with comedians, it also has a lot of inspirational words of wisdom for people who are pursuing any career in the arts. It’s also fun for me to hear the inside scoop on how movies get made—the ups and downs and rewrites ordered from non-creative executives, and this book provides ample insider info.

This is definitely a must-read for aspiring comedians, comedic writers, and comedic actors.

Apatow started interviewing comedians when he was just fifteen years old for his high school radio station. He’d call the comedian’s agent and the agent wouldn’t look up what radio station it was and then young Apatow would show up for the interview, and in the stories he shared, the comedians were always gracious despite the fact he was just a kid. It was the most fun for me to read stories where he interviewed the performer back in 1983 and then again thirty years later. For example, he interviewed Seinfeld before his name became synonymous with being one of the best sitcoms on television and then again in 2014. My favorite chapter was on Roseanne Barr—it was so fascinating to read about her personal and professional struggles and successes.
Parts of this read like Apatow’s autobiography—he attributes a tremendous amount of his personal angst at his parents’ divorce and all I can think is: Join the club, buddy, zillions of us are children of divorce and that didn’t cripple us. Other parts read like a self-help book. Apatow is awed by comedians who are actually happy people (like Jimmy Fallon) and don’t turn to comedy as a way to chase the demons away. I was a little disappointed that my favorite comedian wasn’t included—Wanda Sykes—but he included several comedian/writer/actors that I admire and was thrilled to learn more about.

This is not a fast-paced read (it’s 500 pages) and while there are definitely some chuckles, it’s mostly about struggling through failure and continuing to work and not let self-doubt and self-sabotage defeat you. He quotes the amazing and brilliant Chris Rock as saying, "You learn more from f*cking up than you do from success, unfortunately. And failure, if you don't let it defeat you, is what fuels your future success."

When I was a kid I used to get up in front of the class and read sections of romance books. I would do a dramatic reading to be funny. I would start it as a straight reading of what was on the page then I would add things and change things once I got into it. I thought it was impressive improv. I thought I was hilarious and got a ton of laughs in class. I was very much like Judd in that I thought someday I would write for SNL and I would be on TV. Now I write advertising and I am not on TV. I had no idea how to get there. And I was an egotistical kid like I am today at 53 (slightly less egotistical) so I thought it would all just fall in my smart-ass lap. Nothing ever falls in your smart-ass lap. Nothing ever falls in your lap period unless you make it rain in the strip club. (Although there are great comedy moments where the girl falls in some guy's lap because the roof gives or something - I think there is one is Blazing Saddles.) Everything takes incredible work in order to succeed and some obsession as well. I realize that from what it took to get any kind of success at advertising. Crazy crazy work. That is what this book is really about. I wish I had it to read when I was a kid. It tells the story of some of the greatest comedy minds of our time in interviews with a 15-year-old Judd Apatow. The same Judd Apatow who writes and directs the great comedies like the 40 Year-Old Virgin and just recently TRAINWRECK. He was not only obsessed at a young age but immersed himself in comedy and comedy greats to an almost stalkerish insanity. For me this was a joy because I idolized all these people and often wish I could get my sense of humor back at times. I see it sparsely now like a shoe I trip over every once in a while. "Oh crap, I MIGHT have been funny at some point. Look at that. I should pick that up before I start laughing."

The book really took me back to the days of experimentation in comedy. The genius that Albert Brooks was doing on the Tonight Show with his crazy inventions. How Adam Sandler used to do the phony phone calls. I remember I used to entertain Angelica (daughter) when she was young by screwing with the people who would call the house wanting to give me a loan. I would say, "Can I get enough to build something in my backyard? They would say, "Sure". Then I would go, "I want to build a hotel. Not a big one. A boutique hotel. You know the pretentious kind. I want to call it LA CASITA. I'll need about $10 million give or take because I will need a water feature of some kind to bring people in." Amazing how long they would stay on the phone. I had someone on there for 20 minutes or so. Jim Carey and Andy Kaufman would do bits that only made you laugh because you just couldn't figure out what the hell was going on. I LOVED anything like that. Anything that looked new. Anything that was surprising and innovative. I still love that today in advertising. ANYTHING THAT NO ONE HAS DONE AND NO ONE KNOWS HOW TO DO.

Judd and others talk a lot about their parents being divorced and how it might have made them who they are in a way. My parents stayed together. I will blame them for me not getting on SNL. I am already blaming them for a weird mole I have on the back of my ear and my asthma. I think my failure to get on SNL is also their fault. Well there is still time for them to split up.

There is a lot here about standup and how comics work their craft. Some keep refining the same act for a long time like Seinfeld and others go for something new over and over. Chris Rock is probably the hardest working man in comedy. When you watch his act it looks so effortless. There is nothing effortless about Chris Rock. I had no idea how hard he works at it and I love how he browbeats other comics with his work ethic. And, of course, Pryor. Everyone in the comedy business worships Richard Pryor. I love how they talk about his shows when he was sick and how he took his experience and put that in his act. He put the truth about his life in his work. Truth is important in comedy and Judd talks about that in everything he has done. Even in advertising it is the most powerful thing you can have as a brand -- TRUTH.

I think my first concert was Steve Martin in Las Vegas. It was in the Aladdin Center for the Performing Arts. Weird name for a Vegas showroom. Usually they have names like THE COPA ROOM or something that goes with the theme like THE COLOSSEUM AT CAESARS or the BIG TOP at CIRCUS CIRCUS or the WYNN SHOWROOM at WYNN. At WYNN it's all about WYNN. Steve Martin did a bit with a dime that basically made fun of the fact that you couldn't see the dime from where I was sitting. SOOOOOOO GREAT. And of course the catchphrase -- WELL EXCUSE ME. Obviously in advertising we like catchphrases -- like ours -- WHAT HAPPENS HERE, STAYS HERE.

If you love comedy like I do...you will love the book... And if you were ever that guy or girl who thought they were funny...blame your parents for staying together.

I needed a book to clear my mind after reading some good mysteries. I heard Judd Apatow doing an interview on NPR on the Fresh Air program where he was promoting this book. When Judd was in high school, he had a show on his school radio station and was able to convince some high-powered comedians (Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Steve Allen, etc.) to give him interviews even though he was s self-described awkward 14 year old.

He asked good questions for someone of that age and gained some valuable advice from some yet to be superstar comedians and some already established big names.

These early interviews are supplemented with more current interviews with some of the same comedians. This aspect of the book was not as enjoyable as I expected it to be because Apatow has become somewhat self-absorbed at this point in his career and often stepped on the comedians' stories with his own anecdotes from Freaks and Geeks, Knocked Up, the 40 Year-Old Virgin, etc. While Judd's stories were interesting, it would have been better to have him review the advice and insight that they gave him at 14 and see if they still subscribed to the same philosophies.

Overall, it was an enjoyable book if you can get past the insecurity and self-absorption of Apatow in the later interviews.