Book review: Bob Odenkirk sketches a showbiz life in memoir

'œComedy Comedy Comedy Drama: A Memoir'ť by Bob Odenkirk (Random House):

Perseverance with a heavy dose of luck has propelled Bob Odenkirk's ascent from fringe sketch comic (HBO's 'œMr. Show'ť) to fringe leading man (AMC's 'œBetter Call Saul'ť). While that may not seem a long trip, his mainstream pit stops as a writer for 'œSaturday Night Live'ť and as an actor in movies like 'œLittle Women'ť and 'œThe Post'ť provide sufficiently familiar mileposts for everyone to enjoy his amusing showbiz memoir.

Odenkirk's journey to semi-stardom seemed to follow the arc of a sketch: Small-town guy in the big city pinballs between minor successes and disappointments, hits high notes with hijinks, then delivers the twist of becoming a serious actor. Along the way, he surveys America's comedy landscape over the last five decades from the outside in.

Growing up in middling Naperville, Illinois, Odenkirk was the jokester in a large family dominated, then deserted, much to his relief, by his father. Greatly inspired by those supremely silly Brits of 'œMonty Python's Flying Circus,'ť he left college early to rattle around Chicago working odd jobs, continuously writing sketch and stand-up ideas, attending improv theater groups, and earning a few bucks at dive-bars telling jokes.

He came of age during what he calls 'œThe Stand-Up Boom'ť in which opportunities abounded but were also constrained. Observational comedy, he says, was 'œwhat the mob clamored for, and if you were anything but that exact thing '¦ Get outta town, ya jerk!'ť His preference for less structured, less predictable humor was at odds with those expectations. Still, improv connections helped him reach TV's sketch Olympus, 'œSaturday Night Live.'ť His best-remembered bit featured a motivational speaker, played by Chris Farley, who 'œlives in a van down by the river.'ť

But the heights had their lows, and in his few years as an 'œSNL'ť writer Odenkirk could not shake feeling the show's original integrity had been lost. Switching coasts, he discovered in Los Angeles a new vein of stand-up, 'œalternative comedy,'ť defined by his later sketch partner David Cross as 'œcomedy without the cadence.'ť

Together, Odenkirk and Cross accomplished their mutual goal, a trip to 'œthe fringe of the fringe,'ť with their low-budget sketch series, 'œMr. Show'ť (1995-98), which Rolling Stone dubbed 'œan American Monty Python.'ť After four seasons and a black market VHS audience, 'œMr. Show'ť achieved cult status via impressive DVD sales.

During a decade in 'œdevelopment heck'ť Odenkirk occasionally worked as a character actor. Ironically, his career bloomed when he was offered the role of shady lawyer Saul Goodman in the gritty drug-drama 'œBreaking Bad.'ť In his first scene, Odenkirk nailed the character so completely that a crew member blurted, 'œCan I have a job on the spinoff?'ť

Only in Hollywood could an offhand joke come true. 'œBetter Call Saul'ť has been nominated for the best drama series Emmy each of its five seasons with Odenkirk nominated four times as best dramatic actor. Season six debuts this spring.

Then came 'œNobody'ť (2021), an ultra-violent revenge flick in which Odenkirk kills scores of bad guys in a choreographed bloodfest. Is it an homage to action films or a parody? True to his best 'œMr. Show'ť instincts, Odenkirk plays it straight to blur the line.

The challenge facing 'œComedy Comedy Comedy Drama'ť is telling a compelling story about telling jokes when the biggest laughs are in the work, not about the working. But Odenkirk's chummy tone succeeds in bringing us into his showbiz dream: being one of 'œa bunch of funny people goofing off, professionally.'ť

Who says goof-offs can't be serious, too?

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Douglass K. Daniel is the author of 'œAnne Bancroft: A Life'ť (University Press of Kentucky)