Wet Hot American Summer is a slice of the Bill Murray’s 80s classic “Meatballs” with a helping of “Porky’s” and a dash of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” While the film is played completely straight, in actuality it’s a parody of these 80s flicks. Director and co-writer David Wain wrote the film with creative partner Michæl Showalter. The two met at NYU in 1988 and the comedy world has never forgiven them. They were a big part of the braintrust behind MTV’s “The State,” a show that featured a bizarre sense of humor appreciated by devoted fans who often compared the troupe to “Monty Python.” Their comedy stylings were clearly not for everyone (the show often received mixed reviews) but for those seeking adventurous comedy beyond television’s clichéd sitcoms, “The State” was a godsend. In addition to co-creating, -writing, -editing and -producing the award-winning and sometimes critically acclaimed MTV series, they also produced a special for CBS, a book for Hyperion Press, an album for Warner Brothers and “The State” also toured the United States, and performed the sketch show “Molt” off-Broadway.
Wain’s directing experience includes the award-winning short film “Aisle Six” (which screened at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival), short films and videos for “The State,” and music videos. The New York resident delved deep into 80s movie lore to deliver an uncommon comedy in Wet Hot American Summer. I interviewed the comedian/actor/writer/director and multi-hyphenate Wain over e-mail in the midst of his cross-country publicity tour…
Get the interview in part two of WET HOT AMERICAN: DIRECTOR DAVID WAIN>>>
