blurbs

David Sedaris: “If you don’t know who Mike Sacks is, well, you should. His writing is funnier than just about anyone’s and now he has a podcast that is excellent. I say Hooray for Mike Sacks and everything he stands for.”

Andy Richter: “He’s the best kind of comedy writer; a bona fide weirdo with virtually no interest in satisfying anything other than his own personal obsessions.”

Splitsider (on Stinker Lets Loose): “One of the Best Comedy Releases of the year.”

New York’s Vulture (on Stinker): “Top ten comedy release of 2018.”

Nathan Rabin, Nathan Rabin’s Happy Place (on The Life and Times of Randy): “Randy! is a hilariously, unexpectedly poignant and eminently worthy addition to Sacks’ sociological/anthropological exploration of the American Jackass and his curious ways. Audacious and inspired.”

Vice (on Randy): “The Year’s Best Memoir Is About a Man Who Shot a Porno in a Baskin-Robbins.”

John Colapinto, The New Yorker (on Randy): “The Citizen Kane of audiobooks … “RANDY” does more to explain certain unexpected turns in this nation’s political fate over the last couple of years than a bazillion think-pieces in the Times, Atlantic, NYer, MSNBC.”

Mike Pesca (Slate’s the Gist, on Passable in Pink): “It just might be the rare unacknowledged work of comedic genius, or bold comedic ambition that used to always exist as undiscovered but now rarely seems to. What I’m saying is we mass market cult products such that there is never a chance for true potential cult items to exist. But I think Passable in Pink may be such an item.”

Vulture (on Passable in Pink): “From the mind of writer Mike Sacks (Stinker Lets Loose!) comes Passable in Pink, a five-hour-plus Audible audio project that takes the piss out of John Hughes’s filmography…. In addition to the spot-on character parody, the language playfully mocks the popular parlance of typical teen movies from the ’80s, while an original soundtrack takes the music scenes to task in a way that still allows for earworms. Join in on the joke today, and be sure to stick around until the end, as Sacks has some tricks up his sleeve regarding casting and more.”

The Onion’s AV Club (on Passable): “Hey, remember the ’80s? Audible certainly does, as it’s once again teamed up with author Mike Sacks (Stinker Lets Loose!) to bring to life his satirical take on the John Hughes extended universe. Featuring an all-star cast that includes Gillian Jacobs (Community) and Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Passable In Pink is like if a VHS copy of Sixteen Candles had spent the last 30 years warping inside of a hot car. Set in 1983, this funhouse mirror reflection of ’80s excess concerns high schooler Addie Stevens, whose thoughtless yuppie parents have forgotten that it’s the anniversary of her first period. This is the least of her problems, as she has also fallen head over heels for dreamboat Roland McDough, but their relationship could never work because Roland is rich and Addie’s family is only upper-middle-class. Sacks gleefully handles the tropes and problematic tendencies of Hughes’ adolescent operas and takes a particular delight in inventing increasingly bizarre teen lingo that wouldn’t feel out of place in a sci-fi novel. The dreamy synth soundtrack and pristine production immerse listeners in this hysterically over-the-top ode to the holy trinity of ’80s teendom: fashion, hormones, and prom.”

Scott Hull: “Passable In Pink is irreverent, so don’t expect it to be cute and rosy like the films it targets. Imagine if Doug Kenny (National Lampoon) had made Ferris Buellers Day Off or The Breakfast Club. Those listeners expecting a loyal tribute to those films will probably be disappointed. This is a satire. And it’s razor sharp. Mike Sacks has paid attention to every detail and trope that those films used. . . Again, just as he did with the “bandit” “trucker” movies of the late 70s in Stinker. This is a masterclass in comedy right here. The writing is sharp and I can tell it’s meant to read well. But goddamit the performances are brilliant. Gillian Jacobs’ delivery is amazing, understating a lot of the writing’s sharp left turns. Odenkirk’s nerdy borderline embarrassing dad, Rhea Seehorn’s suspiciously older closest friend, and Moynihan’s Grimer are all perfectly painted characters. The entire cast is really fantastic. People looking for a little more earnest representations of 80s teen comedies might be allergic, because the pacing is much faster. And there’s a lot more packed in. Monty Python and Mr Show were the same way. As were Nichols & May. There’s more here than just content. There’s real invention here, which I believe to be exceptional.”