Mock Stars: Indie Comedy & the Dangerously Funny Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was really looking forward to this book. Key word was. I normally wait to buy books until they are under $5.00 used, but when I saw this book I made an exception. I love stand up comedy, so much so that I wish there was some way to better articulate it to you. I SIMPLY LOVE IT- There, I resorted to all-caps. I own all of Patton Oswalt's CDs, same for David Cross. I even have multiple bootlegs for both. I bought Live in Nerd Rage and own every thing Zach Galifianakis has ever done. I own every Comedians of Comedy thing produced. So when I saw that a book was being made about the very thing that I love I bought it instantly.
With all of this in mind, here I am with $12 less in my pocket and disappointed. One of the old adages of writing is to show the audience, not tell it. The author should take this in mind. The book is 300 some odd pages of him telling us how funny, interesting and creative the people involved are, and then retelling their standup bits and sketch ideas. Here's a tip, instead of telling us (mostly in his old words) about a certain sketch or routine, show us how it came about. He brings up Patton's disappointment with MadTV, but then tells us that it wasn't the producers who were to blame but rather the network for cutting down sketch ideas. What were these sketch ideas? I feel that if you decide to write a book about someone and they felt creatively hampered; why not tell what they wanted to do differently then the network? A sketch idea that got cut would have been far more interesting then simply reciting his IMDB profile over 5 pages (which the author routinely does.)
Instead of simply telling us that Patton Oswalt found a like minded person in David Cross, show us why they are like minded. There has to be some interesting story about when they both realized that they could form a bond. The author obviously went through intensive interviews with the comedians (how else would anyone know who the head of a comedy labels inspiration and mentor was) he should have told stories about the behind the scenes stuff. I'm pretty sure that at one time most of the comedians were roommates, why not tell stories about that experience? Almost anything would have been better then simply the author retelling his favorite routines.
I guess I am just disappointed that a book that should have been a behind the scenes look at an upcoming art scene seemed like it was simply a generic and bloated college newspaper piece, and a poorly written one at that. A good 1/3 of this book is simply worthless information that seems to be written only for the author's ego.


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Overpriced two-drink minimums and potato skins, bad Clinton jokes on late night these used to be the hallmarks of comedy, an art relegated to the controlled environs of comedy clubs and network TV. Fortunately, in the late 90s, a daring breed of comedians began rejecting the status quo altogether and, by taking cues from the indie-music world, started reviving comedy as a savvy and groundbreaking art form. Mock Stars delves headfirst into this revolutionary scene, tracing the evolution of indie comedy as part of the underground music circuit and into mainstream America. Through candid interviews with the major players, including David Cross, Patton Oswalt, Neil Hamburger, Maria Bamford, Fred Armisen, Aziz Ansari, Jon Wurster, Aimee Mann, and dozens of others, Wenzel reveals how comedy is becoming relevant and dangerously funny again.

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