Superstud: Or How I Became a 24-Year-Old Virgin

by Paul Feig

Lost in love and don't know much? Paul Feig knew even less...Like any other red-blooded, straight young man, Paul Feig spent much of his teenage years trying to solve the mystery of women. Unlike most red-blooded, straight teenage boys, however, Paul Feig was sadly at a considerable disadvantage. He was tall and gangly. He had a love for musical theater. And, perhaps the death knell for his burgeoning sex life, Paul was a tap dance student. (And we have the pictures to prove it—see the front cover.)Infused with the same witty and infectiously readable style of his first book, Kick Me, Superstud chronicles the trials and tribulations of Feig’s young dating life with all the same excruciating detail as an on-air gastric bypass—and you just won’t be able to tear yourself away. Feig’s series of shudder-to-think but oddly familiar (come on—we’ve all been dumped by someone we didn’t even like that much) anecdotes his first date, at an REO Speedwagon concert with the most endowed girl in school, who leaves him sitting next to a puddle of puke; his first breakup, accomplished by moving across the country; his mortifying date with his secretly bigoted girlfriend; his discovery of a new self-love technique that almost lands him in the hospital; and his less-than-idealistic “first time,” which he nevertheless elevates to biblical proportions. In Superstud, Paul Feig tells all in a hilarious but true testament to geekdom, love, and growing up.From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Humor, Comedy, Biography Memoir, Biography, Coming Of Age

320 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Paul S. Feig (born September 17, 1962) is an American director, actor and author. Feig directed the Oscar nominated 2011 film Bridesmaids featuring Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy. Feig directed The Heat, also starring McCarthy and Sandra Bullock.

He created the critically acclaimed show Freaks and Geeks and has directed several episodes of The Office and Arrested Development; plus select episodes of 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, Mad Men and other television series.

Feig has been nominated for two Emmy Awards for writing on Freaks and Geeks and three for directing on The Office. He is also known for playing Mr. Eugene Pool, Sabrina's science teacher, on the first season of Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, as well as Tim, a camp counselor, in the film Heavyweights.

Reviews

[Yvonne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't much care for this book. It sat in my gym bag for 3 months and became my desperation book. Like, if I couldn't get a treadmill with a TV or I'd run out of magazines or something.

There were 2 amazing passages that I need to share:

The surrounding tables were filled with large older men who looked like they had all served in some arm of the military during World War II, and i could feel their eyes burning into me as they wondered who the faggy nineteen-year-old guy having dinner with his mother and weeping uncontrollably was" (p. 212).

In reference to the sound of his mother crying: "a high-pitched wail that broke my heart and also made me want to throw her out of the car" (p. 217).

[David Piwinski · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I said I wanted to read more non-fiction this year, an account of the sexual failures of some guy I've never really heard of before wasn't exactly what I had in mind. However, I'm glad I read this one (thanks Julie!) because it's really fucking hilarious.

Paul Feig takes us through his adolescent love life, from first discovering how to masturbate up to losing his virginity at age 24. Most of the stuff in here is so horrifying and embarrassing that most people would never even admit to it, much less publish it in book form, but luckily Mr. Feig seems to have no shame, describing in mortifying detail his first real kiss, first real date, and the time he almost broke his neck trying to fellate himself.

Much of the book's comedy comes from what a tremendous loser this guy was. I mean, everyone's teenage years were full of awkward moments and angst, and I think most guys will find something familiar about these stories, but at the same time Feig takes that element of awkwardness and elevates it into such cringe-worthy lameness that it will make even the dorkiest high school experience seem cool in comparison. Basically, if you had a hard time with your early dating life, read this book and it will make you feel a thousand times better.

This is a very funny book, and while I can't say I really learned anything (at least, anything I wanted to know), it was still definitely worth reading and I recommend checking it out it you're looking for a quick, funny read.

[Giddy Girlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not a fan of Freaks and Geeks (I think I came to it too old, sort of like reading Catcher in the Rye at 30: it's good, but doesn't resonate quite the same), but I like what Paul Feig has done, so I was expecting this book to be a rip-roaring tale of midwest teenagerdom. And it was, except there's no real rip-roaring part. The stories when related are funny, but on the page they're pretty flat. Way too verbose to set up a good punchline delivery, they just sort of meander for 30 pages to ultimately say something sort of small (i.e., "I was too religious/immature/nervous to have sex, so the girl dumped me."). The final chapter, which is the "payoff" to the whole book, is written like the bible which should lend humor except that it goes on too long, once again, so the novelty wears off fast (I ended up skipping something like 10 pages and not missing a single detail).

This book would make for great party banter and there are a lot of pieces that are familiar from the Freaks & Geeks (and Undeclared) series are funny, but on the whole it was a little windy.

Sorry, Paul Feig. Maybe you should turn some of this fodder into a stand-up act or a one-man show. THAT could be hilarious.

[Christopher Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who started to experience sexual intimacy at a later date this was a charming and relatable read! Intimacy is weird but it's fun! Like life! Cute book!

[M.J. · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading Feig's first work, I was eager for more;however, after reading the first few essays, my enthusiasm was drastically dampened.In fact, I found this book so un-enjoyable that I'm hesitant to read anything else he may write.

The major problem with this book is that it's masturbatory. Feig's memoir about his adolescent dating experiences does not invite the reader to commiserate with the author, and unlike it's predecessor it does not make any particularly witty or funny observations about this awkward period. instead, it appears as if Feig wrote this book only for his own pleasure. Time and time again, Superstud makes the reader squirm as the author reveals personal skeletons that were best left in the back of his closet. Although Feig attempts to portray himself as an affable geek, he comes across as a pathetic case of raging hormones.

The author's previous work in books and television (Kick Me and Freaks & Geeks) proves that he can write and entertain an audience, so don't write him off altogether. But spare yourself the discomfort (and possible nausea) an steer clear of this book.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having spent a hell of a lot of money on books and exhausted my Paperbackswap.com credits (join that, BTW), I turned to the library for the first time since I moved here and picked this up on my way out. Basically, always having something to read on the subway is of utmost importance to me, even moreso than having batteries for my headphones.

Anyway -- holy shit. More than once on the subway while reading this, I:

a) gasped for air from laughing so hard
b) inadvertently cried out things like "oh NO, Paul!"
c) said stuff like "oh my god, there is no way...there is absolutely no way" while covering my mouth too late to assuage concerns from fellow riders that I was not, in fact, crazy

Um. This is amazing. This is hilarious. Feig reveals EVERYTHING about his embarrassing past - almost (but not quite) uncomfortably so. I am not using hyperbole when I say this is probably the best read I've come across in the past year. It came out a few years ago and isn't new, so if you're a hardcore Freaks & Geeks Feig superfan, you've probably come across this already, but if not, go find and read this immediately.

Too bad I have to return this. I'm finding a copy of my own stat.

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew of Paul Feig through his role as Mr. Poole in Sabrina the Teenage Witch and then later as a writer for Freaks and Geeks. When I discovered that many of the situations in Freaks and Geeks were based on Feig's life experiences, I wanted to read this book.

While he mentioned a few things that conjure memories of the show, this book is a bit racier, filled with sex anecdotes (many of them involving only Feig). His sense of humor permeates the stories, and his penchant for self-humiliation knows no bounds. He even offers transcripts of some of his diaries and comments on them.

I really enjoyed the honesty of this book, and it gave me a lot of laughs.

[sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

good if you like nerds, leisure suits, and being disappointed by books you think are going to be hilarious.

[Mediaman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Waste of time. I think this is supposed to be a funny story of a teen's growing interest in sex, but instead it's just a whole bunch of exaggerated hyperbolic nothing. Plain, simplistic, uninteresting, and way over-written. Most of the stories could have been told in a few paragraphs instead of dozens of pages. The author tries to tie things to popular culture but he gets some facts and dates wrong.

Then there's the weird religious parallel that the author doesn't fully connect to the main story. He was raised Christian Scientist, which isn't known to be a strict fundamentalist God-fearing religion, yet Feig claims that he had conversations with God and didn't want to give up his virginity due to his faith. In a bizarre final chapter he writes his "losing my virginity at 24" story in Bible-like chapters and verses. Why? All of it seems like cheap humor and very fake--I doubt that much of this is actually true, but that Feig wants to turn it into a screenplay.

While some of it is relatable, it all lacks credibility. It's hard to believe that a guy can remember such childhood details from over 20 years ago. Then during college when he does have to keep a journal, the book gets worse by quoting nonsense from it in extra-long chapters laid out in double columns like scripture that are about his inabilities with girls. Yawn.

Superstud? Nope. This is a Superdud.

[Malcolm Frawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this coming of age memoir, by film-maker, Paul Feig, extremely enjoyable. His vignettes have a universal appeal as I believe many, if not most of, us have endured similar experiences. He is refreshingly candid about his own shortcomings & his wit & eye for comedy are obvious throughout. A lot of fun that is occasionally tempered by tender moments.

[Clint · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writer/director Paul Feig follows up a 2002 memoir of growing up as a geek with a 2005 second memoir of his misadventures trying to find a girlfriend. Those who had regular libidos but felt limited by their faith (and their "game" with the opposite sex) will relate to Feig.

[Nancy Dunham · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet, coming of age book. The author’s voice is incredibly compelling and his honesty ... wow! Loved it.

[chi · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.6

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, not as funny as Kick Me, but just as painfully real.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dire.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Kick Me, but still pretty funny. There is some outdated language used.

[LikestheFunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny. Great stories and lots of gray areas. Some people don't have a sense of humor so they should avoid this book

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

So if you've read the first one then you know just how funny Paul Feig is as a writer. He can make you laugh with the most embarrassing situations around. If you thought the first book was hilarious then you will love his second book. It does have a few of the same stories from the first but now copied and pasted into this one, just written with more information and detail.

I'm not sure if I could have handled living the life he did growing up. I mean he experienced it all that most people don't want to remember about their years in school. It wasn't just the periods of not knowing what to do in some situations, which turned out to be a lot, but I think it also shows that if you really make your kids believe all these religions dos and don'ts, they will go crazy trying to figure out everything and every encounter they have in life. Just look at Paul Feig, every situation he encountered he always went back to his faith to figure out what to do, and each and every time, he was let down about what to do.

If you had a rough childhood growing up because it was hard to relate to other kids then you need to read this book because nothing could be as bad as what he went through. I think because of all that pain and sorrow that he experienced he was able to give us a TV show that so many can relate to and for what we thank him.

If you've never seen his shows, "Freaks and Geeks," it is a show you need to watch. If you have kids in high school, get it for them and let them enjoy it. It really is a great show and it shows that without experience and failure to teach you what you need to know in life, you won't be able to give back to others what you've learned. So if you don't have time to read his books, which you should make time, go and watch the show, it's basically his life on TV.

Enjoy! I know I did and laughed very hard in the process.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superstud is super entertaining. Loved it. Summary: Lost in love and don't know much? Paul Feig knew even less...

Like any other red-blooded, straight young man, Paul Feig spent much of his teenage years trying to solve the mystery of women. Unlike most red-blooded, straight teenage boys, however, Paul Feig was sadly at a considerable disadvantage. He was tall and gangly. He had a love for musical theater. And, perhaps the death knell for his burgeoning sex life, Paul was a tap dance student. (And we have the pictures to prove it—see the front cover.)

Infused with the same witty and infectiously readable style of his first book, Kick Me, Superstud chronicles the trials and tribulations of Feig’s young dating life with all the same excruciating detail as an on-air gastric bypass—and you just won’t be able to tear yourself away. Feig’s series of shudder-to-think but oddly familiar (come on—we’ve all been dumped by someone we didn’t even like that much) anecdotes include: his first date, at an REO Speedwagon concert with the most endowed girl in school, who leaves him sitting next to a puddle of puke; his first breakup, accomplished by moving across the country; his mortifying date with his secretly bigoted girlfriend; his discovery of a new self-love technique that almost lands him in the hospital; and his less-than-idealistic “first time,” which he nevertheless elevates to biblical proportions.

In Superstud, Paul Feig tells all in a hilarious but true testament to geekdom, love, and growing up.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Superstud by Paul Feig, is a painful book to read. Much like the series he created, "Freaks and Geeks", there were a lot of thigns that resonated with me. But they won't resonate with a lot of people, so I realize this book isn't for everyone.
The story is mainly about the dating life, or lack thereof, of a geek. It's a nonfiction book, so Feig tells the story from his point of view, from his own painful (sometimes literally so) experience. It's really hard to describe the book any more than that, if only for the fact that so much of the content would be not work-safe. I did enjoy it, because a lot of it felt familiar, not only for the fact that he's a geek, but because he grew up in Michigan, where most of the events take place. I even got Lisa nostalgic by asking her about places he mentions.

[Emily Ann Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brother gave this to me for my birthday a few years ago, because I'm such a fan of Freaks & Geeks which was co-created by this author. Grabbed it off the shelf at random the other night to have something to read in the tub. Was a relatively quick read -- all personal recollections of the type of thing that seems monumentally horrendous at the time and only with the eye of distance and maturity can become funny.

Don't know if it was a generational thing (he's about 10 or so years older than I), or a gender thing - it was funny enough and enjoyable, but as far as self-depricating memoirs go, I prefer Laurie Notaro. That said, ending the book (which detailed his dating ineptitudes and guilt about sex due to his Christian Scientist upbrining) by writing about losing his virginity in the form of a Bible chapter was an inspired bit of irony.

I've heard this isn't quite as good as "Kick Me," which is also on my list, so I've got hopes for that one, too.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've liked Paul Feig for a long time. Embarrassingly enough, he hooked me with his mid 90's 1-2 punch of appearing on Joel Hodgeson's TV Wheel and his thrilling turn as Mr.Pool on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Now who's the geek, Mr. Feig?
Anyway, this is a pretty funny book. I laughed out loud a couple times, I think I read it in only a few days, and I roommate asked to borrow it. My favorite part of the book is when he feels duped by God and says "How could He do that to me? What an Asshole."
Also, when you read the book and he advises you to skip the chapter near the end, do it. Seriously. Don't read that chapter. It is highly disconcerting. But I guess it's also wonderful and refreshing that he would reveal something so embarrassing and horrifying about himself. So, I guess, you should read it. But just remember this, you can never unread it.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was painful at times, sometimes because of the awful situations young Paul Feig finds himself in, other times because of the writing. It's not that Feig is a terrible writer (obviously he's a genius, he wrote Freaks and Geeks!) he just spends way to much of the book over-explaining the embarrassing events of his young adulthood and verbally cringing at them. The stories speak for themselves Paul! But at the same time, he is sharing some humiliating stuff, I'm pretty sure most people would want to over-explain stories from their adolescence, if they even had the courage to share them at all!

I did love that I could find bits and pieces from Paul's life that made their way into Freaks and Geeks. Some of the details in the show are just way too good to have been made up!

[Nat Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a real-life coming-of-age memoir by one of my favorite TV writer/directors, Paul Feig of (most notably) "Freaks and Geeks"/"Arrested Development"/"The Office" fame.

This tale kept me genuinely mesmerized with this poor kid's trials and tribulations he was faced with growing up a horny geek with religious parents, which he retold in an amusing, yet genuinely sympathy-envoking, self-deprecating way.

You've gotta give the man credit, for not only writing a hilarious account of blossoming sexuality that we can all relate to on some level (although I'm guessing the guys can relate to it a little more), but for so honestly parting with some of his deepest, darkest secrets (some of which will really take you by surprise), not to mention that oh-so-embarrassing photo on the cover.

Loved this book. Truly funny, touching, and compelling.

[Nicole M. Lilly Rawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember how I found this book and I had no idea who Paul Feig was but luckily because of this book he is now one of my favorite TV/movie people. It's hands down the funniest book I have ever read. I often had to avoid reading it in public in order not to look like a maniac laughing hysterically to myself. Warning, it's *very* sexually explicit.

It seems like a lot of reviews here talk about how shallow and selfish Feig is in this book, which causes a lot of second hand embarrassment for them as a reader. I only found his behavior add to the humor. Clearly Feig is a different person now and is vividly aware of his huge foibles as a teen and young adult. He WANTS you to laugh at what a weirdo/dick he was. That's the whole point of the book. Most of us probably could say the same about our adolescent behavior.

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a bathroom book. Leave it in there and open it randomly to any chapter and be amused.

Paul Feig knows how to tell a mortifying story, whether it's about almost breaking his neck trying to pleasure himself, moving out of state to escape his clingy girlfriend or distancing himself from a date who just used the N-word in a huge crowd of black people. Paul knows embarrassment.

This is my favorite of his two books. You will spend the whole book anxiously rooting for Paul to finally lose his virginity. And when he does, the choice to write it as it were a book from the Bible, is hysterical.

Whether you are in the bathroom or not, this is a damn funny book.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Feig is one of the people behind Freaks and Geeks, and if you've seen the show, you'll have a pretty good idea of what you're in for in his books. They're funny and lighthearted memoirs from the author's adolescence, and a lot of the anecdotes were actually turned more or less verbatim into scenes or plot lines in Freaks and Geeks. I think Kick Me is superior to Superstud, but they both have plenty of funny moments; Superstud just loses points because it gets a little too melodramatic and/or TMI in the last few sections.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Feig is incredibly honest about all the amazingly embarrassing things he's done in his life in the pursuit of love and sexual gratification. His memoir is very funny, sweet, and should probably be mandatory reading for all lonely teenage boys who masturbate too much so they can know they are not alone. It's also a fun read for fans of the show Freaks and Geeks , which Feig created. Some moments from the show were clearly lifted straight from his life, and he knows how to turn his adolescent pain into funny and real stories.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently watched all 18 episodes of Freaks and Geeks and enjoyed the series a lot. I was awfully excited when I stumbled across this book by the creator of Freaks and Geeks while looking for an ILL book on sex and love later in life.

Now, I would not say that Paul Feig is the straight David Sedaris. He's not even Augusten Burroughs. But I did enjoy this book. It made me laugh out loud, especially the chapter the author begs the reader not to read.

I read this book while I was in immense pain from a mysterious arm injury, and it sure did the trick of distracting me.

[K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this memoir of romantic and sexual failure because it was written by Paul Feig, creator of Freaks & Geeks and director of episodes of the Office, Mad Men, and 30 Rock. The humor turned out to be much more broad and neurotically obsessive than any of those TV shows. And less laugh-inducing. Kind of like Portnoy's Complaint, with even MORE discussion of masturbation, if you can believe it. Also, Paul Feig grew up a Christian Scientist in Michigan vs. a Jewish boy in New Jersey.