Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever

by Matt Singer

A behind-the-scenes look at the rise (and eventual fall) of the raunchy, blockbuster “Frat Pack” comedy films of the early 2000s—including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Old School, Wedding Crashers, and Knocked Up—and how the seismic reverberations from that era are still felt in the fractured media landscape of today.

If you were a movie-goer in the early aughts, you had a front row seat to what in retrospect is a golden age of comedy. Ben Stiller, Seth Rogan, Will Ferrell, Owen and Luke Wilson, and Vince Vaughn transitioned from supporting roles to the center of the screen, and comedy became Big Business. Suddenly, surprisingly, a band of rowdy wedding crashers, hungover bachelors, and 40-year-old virgins were at the center of the movie industry. For a brief decade (roughly 2001 until 2011), this once-outsider brand of improvisational comedy took Hollywood by storm, ushering in a new kind of star and record-breaking box office returns. Then, seemingly overnight, Frat Pack movies vanished. Or did they?

In Funny Business, award-winning author and film critic Matt Singer traces the path that took these gonzo stars and directors from the fringes of comedy to the mainstream—beginning on tiny stages like Second City and the Groundlings, then infiltrating into talent incubators like SNL, eventually leading to Big Screen domination in Hollywood. Along the way, he offers insider stories of the films that raised a generation, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Zoolander, Borat, Anchorman, Old School, and The Hangover (perhaps the zenith of the “Frat Pack” movie movement). How did these movies and their stars come to dominate a generation of moviemaking? Who won—and who was left out—of this comedy boom? Can studio comedies come back in our digital and streaming era?

A love letter to a bygone era, Funny Business celebrates the legacy of comedies that came before and points the way forward to a (possible) new future for cinema—never forgetting that the audience always gets the last laugh.

Genres: Film

304 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 6, 2026

Reviews

[Mark Lieberman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it's published. Three years ago, I read another book by Matt Singer called Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever, and I enjoyed his style of telling the story of Siskel & Ebert. So, yeah, when I saw this book, and it was about comedy movies and the producers, directors, writers, and actors behind them, I was intrigued.

There was a lot of quick insights to the movies and all the people involved. I had a bunch of LOL moments as I was reading about a particular movie, and could visualize that scene as well. A lot (if not, all of them) of the movies were rated R and there was a lot of sexual situations mentioned throughout the book. Also, they were very manly movies. Very little is discussed about the funny females of comedy (only Bridesmaids was mentioned). Maybe that will be a separate book which is totally deserving and definitely needs to be told.

It was also interesting to read how the players met and what movies they say that influenced them to become an actor. Overall, I really enjoyed the book.

Some of the movies (in no particular order):
Animal House
Dodgeball
There's Something About Mary
The Hangover
Bottle Rocket
Old School
Road Trip
Anchorman
Reality Bites
Meet the Parents
Knocked Up
Talledega Nights
Swingers
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Wedding Crashers
Bridesmaids
Tropic Thunder
Zoolander
The Cable Guy
Stepbrothers
The Ben Stiller Show
Freaks and Geeks

Some of the players (in no particular order):
Ben Stiller
Judd Apatow
Adam McKay
Todd Phillips
Paul Feig
Will Ferrell
John C Reilly
Jon Favreau
Vince Vaughan
Owen and Luke Wilson
Jonah Hill
Seth Rogen
Sasha Baron Cohen
Steve Carrell
Paul Rudd
Michael Cera

[Kristin D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC!

As someone who loves R-rated comedies, this book was truly a gem. The *only* thing I miss about DVDs is the extras! Little did I know when I ripped our hundreds of movies from DVD to a house server, that I was missing the best part of these movies. Not ever having the commentary or blooper reels is truly something that often bums me out.

This book was akin to having the extras for all of my favorite comedies combined with a chart similar to a family tree, with all of the connections between the people that made these movies. This author did such an amazing job researching and putting this book together, it doesn't read like a textbook of great comedy movies. It reads more like having a conversation with fellow comedy movie lovers, except the people I'm talking to have WAY more inside information than I could ever imagine!

This book was such a celebration of all of my favorite movies. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a behind-the-scenes peek into the making of all of the best comedies of the 2000s.

[Allyson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up on the frat pack and love raunchy comedy so this was a fun read for me. I didn’t love the chapter transitions / order but everything else was a fun walk down memory lane. Casting is my favorite behind the scenes tea and this book spilled it alllll. The book is technically 300 pages but the appendix etc is so long it’s more like 225 pages of actual content, so it’s a really fast read. Thanks netgalley!

[Brendan Crowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable look at the Ben Stiller Judd Apatow era of R rated comedies. Lot of interesting anecdotes I never knew. Easy read, entertaining, delivers what it promises.