Michael Showalter is known for his work on the influential sketch show “The State” and as one of the brains behind “Wet Hot American Summer,” in which he also stars. But recently, he’s begun to make a name for himself as a feature film director with a sharp eye for the dramedy, a difficult art that relatively few have ever mastered.
In last year’s “Hello, My Name Is Doris” and again in “The Big Sick,” opening June 23, Showalter’s delicate touch interweaves broad comedy and stark emotional drama in a fashion that recalls the work of James L. Brooks or Judd Apatow (a producer here).
“The Big Sick” is scripted by actor-comedian Kumail Nanjiani and his wife Emily Gordon, and is based on their real-life relationship. Nanjiani plays himself, Zoe Kazan is Emily and Holly Hunter and Ray Romano co-star as her parents. amNY spoke with Showalter.
This is a very personal project for Kumail and Emily. How would you define your role as a director in shaping their vision?
I’ve known them for awhile. We’re friends. I have a shorthand with them on that level. When I first read the script a couple years ago, I felt like it was a very inspiring story and a great script. It was a little bit of like everything but the kitchen sink. It was every idea, every possible strain of it was in the script, and when I read it what I felt was, and part of this came from knowing them really well, I felt like I knew what they wanted the movie to be.
What’s the key to balancing the comic and dramatic tones here and as a filmmaker in general?
That’s kind of my approach, that there’s really no differentiation between the two. Life is that way. To put one or the other in the box has never seemed to fully make sense to me. … For me, it’s just sort of organic.
This Ray Romano performance is really great, even by his usual standards.
We all are fans of Ray Romano obviously from his show and we know how brilliantly funny he is, but also have seen him pursue this kind of dramatic acting career. He could have taken his career in any direction he wanted to and he’s chosen I think to really focus on these more serious acting roles with “Vinyl” and “Men of a Certain Age” and “Parenthood.” I now know him well enough to know that he really takes acting very seriously and I think he’s a beautiful actor. He’s so natural. He’s naturalistic and he’s very soulful and I think he’s very instinctual about it.
What can we expect from “Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later” when it comes out on Netflix?
My understanding is that the second season of “Wet Hot American Summer” is going to air in August. We’re done. We finished it. And now it’s just about whenever they decide — I’m pretty sure it’s in August. And, essentially, it’s 10 years later, it’s 1991, and our counselors are in their mid 20s. They’re reuniting at Camp Firewood to see what kind of people they’ve blossomed into and antics ensue. I think that’s about what I can offer.
