A sometimes douchey, somewhat heartwarming, other times infuriating memoir by that deadpan dude on the Parks TV show with the mustache. Nick Offerman seems like a nice fella and his storytelling and heart shines through when he writes about his beloved actor wife Megan Mullally or his love of carving objects out of wood. I agree with his premise that people should get down and dirty more often (both metaphorically and literally) and get outside more and breathe in more sweet fresh air and not stare at their phones. He does come off as a little anti-TV for a guy who we only know who he is because of TV. He has the swagger of a man who built his own house because he could and probably would have if he wasn’t sitting on all that sweet Peacock cash. He uses lots of rich verbiage and words that you might not recognize unless your last name is Merriam or Dictionary.
Offerman comes from a theater background, which I bet most of his fans didn’t know, seeing how he looks like a guy who would menace the heck out of a theater nerd. He professes his love of theater thoroughly throughout the book - it’s like, we get it, you’re a cool jock AND accepting of geeks. Shakespeare, backstage, some other insider terminology, yada yada yada – BORING. I just cannot wrap my meathead around the allure of the THEATRE (you gotta spell it like a British dork if you want people to take you seriously or not seriously, depending on your point of view). I can’t think of anything I would rather do less than go to Hamilton – I would pay $2 grand to NOT go to Hamilton. Everyone pretends when it comes to the theatre – especially the audience being “interested”. I’ve seen some great audience actors – one dude didn’t even check his fantasy football team til intermission.
Offerman is a paradox of a man – tireless woodworker, sensitive theatre geek, obsessed with his wife who’s 11 years older than him and was already Will and Grace-famous when they met. I would urge any Parks and Rec diehards out there to read this book to get the full picture of the man behind the mustache - he’s so much more than a gruff expression painted over a flannel.
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