Preview: Greg Behrendt
Uptown Magazine, Nov. 1 2007
Being asked to analyze romantic relationships for the rest of their lives would be most men's version of hell. But comedian Greg Behrendt, host of this year's Just For Laughs Comedy Tour, happily accepts that destiny.
Behrendt is best known as the co-author of the best-selling self-help book He's Just Not That Into You. The idea began when he worked as a writer on Sex in the City, and he used the now-famous line as a response to a co-worker's romantic woes. The hit book, multiple Oprah appearances, a follow-up called It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken, and a year-long stint as a daytime talk-show host followed.
Behrendt's now considered an unlikely relationship expert, and finds himself giving advice on just about everything - just about everywhere.
"I had a woman ask me in the supermarket the other day 'Why does my husband want to have anal sex?'" he says. "And I told her 'I'm sure that I don't know, but. why didn't you have that discussion before you got married?'"
That simple and logical approach comes from his ability to take his own life experiences and make them universal - a tool he's used for the past 20 years as a comic.
"I think that's why I know what I know, because I'm so used to looking inward," he says. "My standup, since its inception years before the book, has always been rooted in the idea that we only have this one life, so why fuck it up? It's sort of the core theme, and that's obviously the theme of the book, not wanting to waste your time with people that don't want to be with you.
"So ultimately (audiences) get a similar vibe, it's just that I talk about a variety of different things. I talk about myself and I talk about sex and rock 'n' roll. I talk about, ultimately, how to have a fulfilling life."
Fans desperate for another dose of Behrendt's relationship advice might not get it through his standup, but 2008 will be fruitful. He and his co-writer, Liz Tuccillo, have completed their third book, It's Just A Bleeping Date. Plus, He's Just Not That Into You is being made into a movie in which the book's principles are applied to six different romantic storylines. The all-star cast includes Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, and Scarlett
Johansson, and it's scheduled for a summer release. Behrendt says he expects the film to be excellent, but he has no involvement in the production.
"I was paid heartily to stay out of it. They buy the rights to the book, and they can make a war movie out of it if they want," he says.
For a writer used to having full control over his material, Behrendt doesn't worry about putting his work into someone else's hands. He'd rather count his blessings.
"I don't freak out about things like that. It doesn't make any sense. I made an offhanded comment to someone on our lunch break that the guy who didn't want to have sex with her didn't like her, and it turned into an episode, and then a book, and now a movie. It's all good."