52 Quotes by Michael Showalter

There are comedians that I like. I think a lot of it, you just figure out on your own. It's definitely one of those things that you get good at by doing it a lot. But I like Jim Gaffigan. Patton Oswalt. Janeane Garofalo.

She's sweet and she's nice, she's just not Andie MacDowell. God forbid, you're not Andie MacDowell. You're just a person, ... I'm playing with that whole idea that the characters have these quirks about their personalities that we've been conditioned to believe equal wrongness.

Cats aren't cooperative in the same way that other animals are. You can train a dog to act, but you can't train a cat in the same way.

Baxters overdo it. The Baxter is the guy who's going to take a girl to the best restaurant in town, having no clue if it's appropriate for her. All that matters is, it's the best. Anything recommended as the most romantic place, that's where you'll find the Baxter.

I have a theory. You were supposed to ask her to dance. She was content, not happy. Ultimately the problem is that you're not willing to take risks. You've got to be willing to take risks. Are you going to act or are you just going to sit there and let possibly the biggest decision of your life pass you by?

Given the current state of publishing, I think it helps to have a brand name on the cover of your book. Comedians are proven commodities with built-in audiences. They may not have the writing chops of a Dave Eggers, but they're salacious and funny and self-reflective.

He'll cook too complicated a dinner, and it backfires. Or, he'll plan the whole night out minute by minute.

I went to college thinking of maybe pursuing a career in film criticism.

Jeff Van Gundy is a Baxter. Derek Jeter? So not a Baxter. Howard Stern is not a Baxter. And Bernie Kerik is not a Baxter.