Funny Business by Matt Singer is about the often R-rated frat pack comedies of the early 2000s — the Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Vince Vaughn era. It’s a well-written, genuinely fun pop culture read.
As a millennial, there’s a special place in my heart for Zoolander, Anchorman, Wedding Crashers, and Knocked Up, but I wouldn’t say I’d seen the majority of movies referenced in this book. And it didn’t matter. I still had a great time reading this book. (It did leave me with a very long list of additions to my watch list, though.) For readers who loved all of those movies this will be an even bigger home run than it was for me.
In my opinion, one of the most interesting parts of the book was learning what ultimately killed these movies off. And spoiler alert – it wasn’t just superhero movies.
Recommended for pop culture book lovers and anyone with nostalgia for this era of comedy. I read it but imagine it would be a fun listen on audio, too.
PS: Thank you to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy.
