Mustache Shenanigans: Making Super Troopers and Other Adventures in Comedy

by Jay Chandrasekhar

Director, writer, and actor Jay Chandrasekhar tells the hilarious stories behind his films Super Troopers and Super Troopers 2 (out on 4/20/2018!), the history of his comedy group, Broken Lizard, and everything in between.

Jay Chandrasekhar has spent the past two decades writing, directing, and acting in film and TV. With his comedy group, Broken Lizard, he has produced and directed beloved movies such as Super Troopers , Beer­fest , and Club Dread . Now, with the upcoming release of the long-awaited Super Troopers 2 , Jay is ready to tell the ridiculous, madcap, dead-honest story of how he built his career, how he formed Broken Lizard, and, ultimately, how he made Super Troopers .

Jay grew up Indian American in the lily-white sub­urbs of Chicago, and he had an outsider’s perspective from the beginning. Instead of taking the traditional acting path, he formed his own troupe, wrote his own scripts, and made movies his own way. And he had an incredibly good time doing so as readers will learn in this hilarious story about making it in Hollywood and directing, cowriting, and costarring in one of the best-loved and most-watched comedies of all time. Part humorous memoir, part film study, this book will inform, entertain, and tell readers what drinking mul­tiple bottles of maple syrup is really like.

Genres: Nonfiction, Audiobook, Humor, Memoir, Biography, Autobiography, Film

312 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 2017

About the author

Jayanth Jambulingam "Jay" Chandrasekhar (born is an American film and television actor, comedian, writer, and director best known for his work with the sketch comedy group Broken Lizard and for directing and starring in the Broken Lizard films Super Troopers, Club Dread, and Beerfest. He has also had several successes in directing feature films and television shows–notably Arrested Development–apart from the Broken Lizard troupe.

Reviews

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t as funny as I expected it to be, and didn’t delve too deeply for an autobiographical book. I LOVE Beerfest; my husband and I watch it about once a month. I enjoy Super Troopers as well, and Club Dread, but not to the same extent.

Ultimately Jay had a fairly normal childhood. I think the book’s biggest draw is learning about how Broken Lizard (eventually) made it big, through lots of schmoozing and phone calls at Sundance and the like. It gave a glimpse into a world I know absolutely nothing about, so it was fascinating to learn something new.

Personally, the best parts were when he mentioned all the alcohol and drug-infused nights with friends. I have also had those nights, and I wholeheartedly agree with his sentiment: know your limit. If you know it, and maintain it, drugs and alcohol can be fun and amazing bonding experiences.

I also learned that Jay is a righty, but wanks off with this left hand, so. Win win.

[E.Y.E.-D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super Troopers is one of my all time favorite movies so this book was a must for me. I have to say though it was more straightforward and less funny than I anticipated, but that did not hinder my enjoyment of it at all. It was fun reading about how the movies I love came into existence.

For some reason I don't really have much to say about this book other than the stories it told made me laugh and a little sad about how difficult it is for independent movies to be made at times. It made me want to watch all the movies I read about again and I will probably enjoy them a little more due to knowing so many fun facts.

If you are not a fan of the Broken Lizard movies this book is probably not for you. I however thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Robyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

A laundry list of the women he's slept with and the celebrities he's worked with. Disappointing.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book for Broken Lizard fans! Can't wait for Supertroopers 2!

[Marise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't as bad as some other reviews made it out to be. Yes there was a lot of sex mentioned in the first half of the book, and lots of drugs and alcohol, but I feel it was necessary. Getting Jay's perspective on directing and learning to do so on his own was eye opening to say the least.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but wish it had more to say.

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a let down really. Not a lot of depth to this at all. There is some brief chapters on Jay’s childhood and he was kind of an asshole. Despite being an autobiography and Jay being in charge, he doesn’t paint himself in the best light. Now you could take this as him being brutally honest about himself, but Chandrasekhar just comes across as an unlikable narcissist. I wonder if he was going for comedy and just missed the mark.

That said, I legit enjoy Chandrasekhar’s and the rest of Broken Lizard’s work. I donated a fair amount to their indiegogo for Super Troopers 2. So surely there are some juicy bits of trivia behind the scenes right? Well, kinda but not really. There are chapters regarding some of his movies and TV directing gigs but there really isn’t a lot of substance here either. There is more in-depth discussion on his imdb page or a commentary track on one of the Blu-ray discs . Half the time he literally just summarizes the movie plot in a very general way. This seems like a very odd decision. If we are reading your autobiography, we probably have seen a good chunk of your work. Why are you just outlining your movie for me?

In summary, this is kind of the old cliche of “don’t meet your hero’s” but in book form.

[Drucilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was excited for this book and it mostly lived up to my expectations. It strikes a good balance between Chandrasekhar's life, funny stories, and behind the scenes stuff. It's written in a way that, even if you don't know anything about film-making (like me), you can still follow along. The book has a very conversational tone. All the drug mentions did get repetitive, though. I know that's his shtick, but it got old really fast. He also knows where his bread is buttered because there's a chapter solely dedicated to Super Troopers and its history/fun anecdotes. Though, as a backer for Super Troopers 2, I'm kind of disappointed that there wasn't really any information about it. I don't know at what point in the ST2 timeline this book was written, but it would have been nice to have had more about it. Like, maybe the crowdfunding campaign and everything leading up to it?

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend got this for me as a gift because she's knows how much I love the guys from Broken Lizard. I'm always a little hesitant to read "behind the scenes" accounts of movies that I love, they can end up being very disappointing and can give you an entirely different view of the person that you thought you loved. However, this didn't disappoint, in any way. Jay walks you through his whole journey, soup to nuts. If you seen the Broken Lizard movies and shows as I have, you can hear Jay's voice as though he's in the room telling you these stories. It was fantastic to hear (and yes I say hear) these accounts of Jay's time before getting into showbiz, during and after. I was fantastic, and fan of Broken Lizard or movie making in general should read this.

[Tom Harley · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a big fan of Broken Lizard, I was excited to read this book. While some would say Jay Chandrasekhar just simply tells stories of partying, drug use and name dropping anyone he can who he's worked with, "Mustache Shenanigans" does much more than that. It is a good story of the ups and downs of a cut throat industry and the intense amount of persistence it takes to succeed.

It is full of great stories guaranteed to make you laugh. Jay's writing style is genuine and easy to read. This is a great book to read if you're looking to just take a break and have some lighthearted entertainment. Definitely recommend.

[nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a Supertroopers super fan but wasn't really into this. I didn't really care to know his sexual escapades, or have him try to convince me Club Dread was anything other than dreadful. I appreciated the behind the sneak peeks for the films I enjoyed and was surprised to know he directed two of my all time favorite comedies. But I have a some complicated feelings about the sequel (and how the ending of this book felt like a commercial) and found the tirade against the film industry at this moment in time a little obnoxious.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't make it through - I finally quit on page 183 so you can't say I didn't give it a fair shake. The book is little more than a listing out of what Jay and/or the Broken Lizard drank, smoked, or snorted, and with whom. No interesting or funny stories from any of those encounters - presumably because he can't remember them. No real advice about how to make it in show business except to go to boarding school, make lots of rich, well-connected friends, and get lucky.

[Brett Van Gaasbeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Broken Lizard's movies (Super Troopers, Club Dredd, etc.), you will like this book. If you have no idea who these guys are, you may not find this interesting at all. The book is from the perspective of Jay Chandrasekhar, who is one of the writers, actors and the director of most of Broken Lizard's productions. It was interesting to read about how the comedy troop formed, how the indie movie process works (or doesn't), and some of the stories about the people he has worked with are very intriguing. But, this volume reads like a poor man's version of "An Evening with Kevin Smith" if you are looking for good "back stage" stories about Hollywood or the truth behind the movie industry leaders and moneyed interests. It was a quick read, as the biography is chopped up into very brief glimpses of the films and the other actors, so it is not too taxing and some of the stories are page turning. I won't give this the full 5, but I also won't sell it short because this book is written in a style that knows it isn't too serious. Good summer read.

[Azure · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what happens when a famous guy comes to town. All of this- Jay, Super Troopers, Broken Lizard, etc. were not in my experience but once my curiosity was peaked I had to know more. I found Jay's writing style to be open and authentic. He had a way of describing his life of drugs in a manner that didn't just shut me down. The next step was to watch Super Trooper and lucky for me it's on YouTube. No surprise - this form of humor and heavy drug use is just not my cup of tea. I didn't make it to the end, but then - only because I appreciated Jay's writing - I went back to the book. While I skimmed more than I read in the last half, I still found what I read interesting. He has a fresh and funny way of describing his world.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable read by Jay Chandrasekhar in which he recounts his path to indie comedy success. The best behind the scenes movie memoir is Bruce Campbell's "If Chins Could Kill." Nobody can beat it, but I enjoyed every page of Mustache Shenanigans.

I believe any fan of the Broken Lizard films will enjoy this behind the scenes account of the difficulties and successes of navigating the movie industry to get his movies made.

I wish we could have original comedies like the ones Broken Lizard makes, but these films are dying out. As Jay mentions in the book, they don't turn enough of a profit for the big studios anymore. Thanks, superhero movies.

Still, reading this book was like discovering a new Broken Lizard movie. Excellent read. Check it out.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Super Troopers and really enjoyed all the behind-the-scenes stories about not only that movie, but the rest of Jay and Broken Lizard's projects. I had no idea things were such a struggle to get green-lit. I think I have found a greater appreciation for the jokes and comedy in each of the films knowing how much work went into each joke and each decision.

I really also enjoyed learning the origins of Broken Lizard and that these guys have been together since college and didn't all have aspirations of fame and glory. Overall, this book was a really really wonderful read. I would love to read another by Jay in a few years updating us on how things that he is currently working on went!

[Roddy Pimentel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just to combat some of the awful reviews since i thought it was a rather good book. I may be biased since I was always a big fan of Beerfest and Super Troopers and I donated to Super Troopers 2. It was a hilarious insight into the beginnings of Broken Lizard and their methodology. It was great to see all the hard work and mistakes they made along the way. Yes there were woman and yes there were famous people, but that is par for the course for this story.

If you are a fan you will enjoy this book and their progression and how they lives they lived loosely translated into the movies they made.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

As funny as their best films, this book chronicles the life of Jay and his career with (and without Broken Lizard). From his childhood puberty stories to getting assaulted by, and then photographed with, Neo Nazis after 9/11.

And then there's the stories about making the films. I laughed at every behind the scenes tale. He even talks about movies he's directed (Dukes of Hazzard - great Burt Reynolds stuff) and cameo'd in (Jackass 2).

Any fan of his work has to read this. Audiobook was outstanding. The guy just has a smooth operator of a voice. 100/5

[C. Goodbread · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember enjoying this book, though I can’t recall any specifics, stories of how the group met, their different adventures, failures, and at the time their upcoming movie Super Troopers 2, and what they had to go through to get it made, and why it was important that people went out and saw it.

It inspired me to go out and see the movie in the theatre on it’s opening weekend, which is not something I normally do.

The movie... didn’t really do it for me. Or maybe part of it was the atmosphere, I’m not really a movie theatre fan, and plan it give it another watch at home.

[Chad E Lensert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honest, insightful, and funny

This was a quick and easy read for me. I liked the background and inside stories about the movies, which adds to my admiration of them. The brutal honesty that Jay uses throughout the book stood out to me the most. Being apologetic, humble, and admitting mistakes throughout his career is not something you see everyday, and I appreciated it. Can't wait to see Super Troopers 2!

[Jim Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good book about acknowledging challenges and moving forward anyway, about taking some calculated (or not-so-calculated) risks, and having an generally open-mind. The few political comments were intended to be humorous, but they must only be funny to the politics to which they are aligned. Overall, the messages or life examples, such that one might interpret them that way, were really good and it was great to see behind the curtain of movie/tv show making a little bit.

[Mike Siegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a fan of Super Troopers and Beerfest prior to reading this book. I have also seen Jay do standup live and was generally a fan.

Jay gives a solid inside take of life in show business. From the struggles he experienced as a kid growing up Indian, to the struggles of making an independent film, to stories about partying and success.

Jay shares his honest opinions of celebrities like Willie Nelson and Bert Reynolds which are amazing.

Good book to learn more about show biz and laugh.

[Christian Digby · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Go to school, learn, do your homework and become as smart as you can. The most successful comedians and writers are well read and learned how to write. Acting like a stoned goofball is fun and sometimes funny but it wont help you make it in show business long term"

This book was Damn funny and it provided a unique perspective on the film/tv industry.

[Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great recount of Jay's life and what it took to make Super Troopers independently. It's also really funny. I think what makes this different than other comedy memoirs I've read is he'll write directly about what aspiring comedians who want to make comedy need to do. He also explained how the business works, and why small budget movies aren't made anymore. I really enjoyed it.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice behind the scenes look at his life, progressing through indie-film then onto regular work in Holywood.

We heard about Super Troopers, Club Dread, But I wanted to hear about Slammin' Salmon, I guess not enough happened there. But I guess the Beerfest run through was worth it.

[Brenda Robinson Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved hearing the behind the scenes info on my favorite movies. My husband and I are big fans. Slammin Salmon and Beerfest are our favorites. This book has got me pumped and ready for Super Troopers 2 and anything else they throw at me. Thanks for a fun honest book.

[Jim Zubricky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Jay has an awesome writing style -- it always made me feel like I'm having a beer with him and he's telling me the stories in the book - it's a very conversational-style book.

[Cora · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a fan of Jay’s work, you will enjoy this book. It tells the back story of how his career came about. Some stories have been told in interviews but the book goes more in depth. It’s written like a friend telling you a story and sometimes the timeline isn’t clear.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great stories about the hows and whys of the BL movies. More on Super Troopers than the others - and that's fine, really - but would have liked more about ST2. Still a fun read, though hearing the stories about their time at Colgate made me jealous. :)

[Logan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the insights into how independent movies get made and how the movie business works generally. I also really appreciated his POV as an actor/director of color. Absolutely a must read for Broken Lizard fans, and highly recommended for anyone curious about filmmaking.