Some comedians write funny routines. Eddie Sarfaty lives them.
The out comedian recently committed some of his finest misadventures to print with his first book, “Mental: Funny in the Head,” a collection of comical essays that frequently star Sarfaty’s family members — sometimes in a less-than-flattering light. But most of them are OK about appearing in his stories.
“My mother is great about it,” he said. “She tells all her friends. I heard her tell a friend, ‘The book is wonderful. I could do without the language though.’”
Sarfaty added he doesn’t come out smelling like a rose either, but that’s part of the charm.
“There’s a line in the book when I have my breakdown and I worry that people are going to think that I’m crazy, and someone says, ‘Oh sweetie, everybody has their fucked-up shit,’ and that has stayed in my head forever. No matter who someone is, no matter how they look, how handsome they are or what their life appears like, they have some dark, secret, sick, twisted, funny, quirky, weird thing going on. So everyone is kind of mental.”
Before “Mental,” Sarfaty’s stories could only be appreciated in the comedy club or during his appearances on TV shows like Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend” or Logo’s “Wisecrack.” He said he hopes the book will coax readers into catching his live performances.
“I hope people see my standup and think, ‘Oh, I should get this guy’s book,’ or read the book and think, ‘Oh, I should go out and see this guy when he’s performing.’ Gay people in particular are not fans of standup because traditionally in comedy clubs it was OK for the comics to make gay-bashing jokes. So I think a lot of gay people think they’re not going to be comfortable in a comedy-club situation. So hopefully this will get more people out there.”
A piece of “Mental” can also be appreciated on screen. The shortest story in the collection, “Second-Guessing Grandma,” first appeared in the LGBT anthology “When I Knew,” and was recently made into a short film starring Tony-nominee Kathleen Chalfant. The film, which has been screened at film festivals across the U.S. and in Italy, Britain and Brazil, is Sarfaty’s true story about coming out to his grandmother despite her views about gays and pressure from his mother and boyfriend. Though initially harsh about the revelation, Sarfaty’s grandmother eventually comes to accept his sexual orientation.
“It’s an expanded version of the short story,” Sarfaty said of the film. “It was a great experience. My little grandma would be amazed to discover she’s been at film festivals around the world.”
Another story in “Mental” near and dear to Sarfaty’s heart is “My Tale of Two Cities.”
“It’s about me taking my parents to Europe when my dad had dementia. It’s funny, it’s got tension, but it’s real. I think the marvelous bits of my father that I got to see on that trip before he faded away were some of the most wonderful moments of my life. Everyone loses their parent and a lot of people have a parent or loved ones with dementia of one kind or another. And everyone can identify with the stress of being cooped up with their parents for two weeks.”
Sarfaty has spent the better part of the summer promoting “Mental,” which has him doing more readings than comedy shows. But, he said, the more regimented book events are a welcome change from comedy.
“The only problem I have doing readings is that I’ve lost my glasses. I have to squint at the book because I can’t remember it. It’s kind of nice to have the book there because those words are so specifically chosen. I agonize over every sentence.”
“Mental: Funny in the Head” is in stores now. For more information on Eddie Sarfaty, visit www.keeplaughing.com.
Larry Nichols can be reached at [email protected].