We Might Be Drunk – Ep 245: Patton Oswalt

Release Date: August 18, 2025

Episode Overview

NYC comedians Mark Normand and Sam Morril welcome the legendary Patton Oswalt for a lively, wide-ranging conversation about the comedy business, pop culture oddities, movie recommendations, and the ever-changing landscape of stand-up. Leaning more conversational and playful than interview, the episode is packed with stories, nerdy film tangents, industry insights, and the trio’s trademark sharp wit. This episode is especially rich for stand-up and cinephile audiences, offering both deep-cut recommendations and honest talk about creativity and career longevity.

Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. Comedy Mishaps and Road Stories

• Patton, Mark, and Chris D’Elia open with stories of gigs in Red Bank, New Jersey (Count Basie Theater), and other venues, highlighting the chaos of tour logistics and comedy life.

  • Chris D’Elia recounts filming a documentary, getting driven by his “incompetent but loveable” publicist to the wrong Count Basie venue, and the resulting hijinks.
  • [00:41] “We’re literally making a movie about how dumb you are—and you drove us to the wrong venue!” – Chris D’Elia

• Patton shares his own Count Basie memory involving the legendary prop comic Gallagher and the logistical aftermath of his shows.

  • [02:49] “There was this weird, still kind of shiny, wet stain… Gallagher had been in there the night before…” – Patton Oswalt

2. Comedy Legends and Impressionists

• The group discusses the legacy and antics of comics like Gallagher (including his infamous Marc Maron podcast walkout and the “Gallagher 2” saga), and how these stories become comedy legend.

  • [04:09] “Greatest lines in podcast history. ‘Come on, Gallagher…’ You hear the hotel door slam.” – Patton Oswalt

• They riff on the business of comedy impersonators, including Little Richard and James Brown’s early careers.

  • [06:15] “James Brown started as a Little Richard impersonator…and the rest goes to us, the Little Richard corporation.” – Patton Oswalt

• Dan Soder’s talent for mimicry and his “deep fake” abilities come up, as well as notorious radio prank calls and voice acting mischief.

  • [07:14] “He’s like the original deep fake.” – Mark Normand
  • [07:16] “Did you ever see that episode where he called into CNN as Dave Chappelle? And it worked!” – Mark Normand

3. Movie Obsessions and Deep Dives

• Patton’s film nerdery shines as he and the hosts geek out over ‘The Fan’, ‘Last Boy Scout’, ‘The Nice Guys’, and Shane Black’s filmography.

  • [12:03] “Last Boy Scout’s fantastic. Should have been huge, should be on its fifth sequel.” – Patton Oswalt

• They discuss bizarre exploitation classics like ‘Deathbed: The Bed That Eats’ and the strange world of forgotten grindhouse filmmakers (Andy Milligan, Troma, Toxic Avenger).

  • [19:48] “Andy Milligan…maybe the worst filmmaker ever. Really puts Ed Wood to shame.” – Patton Oswalt
  • [21:30] “I watched ‘Willard’ last year: incel Ratatouille.” – Patton Oswalt

• The group appreciates musicians-turned-filmmakers and the South Park guys’ surprising sync with Broadway genius Stephen Sondheim.

  • [22:22] “There was a note from Sondheim to Trey Parker and Matt Stone: ‘I would be humbled to work with you.’” – Chris D’Elia

4. Residuals, Mailbox Money, and Showbiz Realities

• Mark asks about Patton’s experience with Ratatouille’s enduring popularity and his perspective on the myth of easy “mailbox money” from successful movies.

  • [24:59] “People think if you’re in a successful movie, the money just rolls in…It’s a very tiny portion.” – Patton Oswalt

• The group discusses kitchen authenticity in Ratatouille, Anthony Bourdain’s fandom, and real-life line cook hell.

  • [26:01] “Bourdain said Ratatouille was his favorite food movie…They got all the kitchen shit right.” – Patton Oswalt

5. Reality TV and The Manufactured Narrative

• Patton and the hosts pull back the curtain on American reality competition TV (Last Comic Standing, AGT, The Bachelor) and the artificial drama engineered by producers.
  • [29:44] “At the end of the drama episode, they’d all just get together: who can stay? Who needs to go? It’s all scripted.” – Patton Oswalt
  • [30:14] “They did Real Housewives of Salt Lake City; all the women got along, so they couldn’t air it.” – Mark Normand

6. True Crime: Michelle McNamara and ‘I’ll Be Gone in the Dark’

• Chris D’Elia (as guest co-host) praises Michelle McNamara’s writing and Patton’s moving afterword in “I’ll Be Gone in The Dark.”

  • [33:11] “It’s written like a noir. It’s incredible…it’s about the East Area Rapist…but reads like a novel.” – Chris D’Elia
  • [34:29] “The case was cold because the killer didn’t have a cool name—she coined ‘Golden State Killer’.” – Patton Oswalt

• They discuss Northern California’s infamous crime waves, theories about environmental influences, and Pacific Northwest malaise.

  • [36:50] “Once they took lead out of gasoline, homicide rates went down…” – Patton Oswalt
  • [37:07] “There’s a reason grunge came out of there…there’s a mood.” – Patton Oswalt

7. Comedy Process, Scene Changes, and (Cancel) Culture Wars

• Drawing on decades in comedy, Patton explains the evolution from “alt” rooms to mainstream, and the unexpected impact of social media, online outrage, and “cancellation” panic.

  • [77:58] “It wasn’t that I wasn’t punching through at the clubs…but a lot of clubs…they’re not coming to see anyone specific, they just want to see a goddamn comedy show.” – Patton Oswalt
  • [85:02] “A lot of the hate you get online…you never meet them in real life.” – Patton Oswalt
  • [89:47] “Let us work out the jokes! But if you’re a comedian and enough people are saying ‘Hey, this is harmful’, try to find a way to make it work.” – Patton Oswalt
  • [88:30] “Everyone that goes, ‘You couldn’t make Blazing Saddles today,’ forget Mel Brooks said, ‘I couldn’t make it then!’ I had to sneak it through. People hated it.” – Patton Oswalt

• They reflect on artistic risk, the importance of intent, and the freedom to disagree, citing examples from Chappelle to Nick DiPaolo.

  • [91:29] “Nick DiPaolo and I agree on nothing…but he still makes me laugh.” – Patton Oswalt

8. Insider Stories: Gigs, Alt Rooms, and Legendary Comics

• Patton details touring with the Comedians of Comedy (Galifianakis, Bamford, Posehn), finding his audience, and differentiating between “hot house flowers” of the alt scene and hardened road comics.

  • [75:57] “I was on King of Queens…great show, but the crowds weren’t my crowd. I needed to find my audience…”
  • [76:41] “You can tell…the comedians on those shows are actually friends, and that just adds to the energy.”

• Open mics, persistent mutants, and why outsider/freakshow acts are essential to the comedy ecosystem.

  • [81:11] “The persistent mutants…never gonna have a career as comedians, but there’s something beautiful about them showing up.” – Patton Oswalt

9. Current Peeves and Social Media Frustrations

• The “TMI” culture, over-information, the perils of health scare memes, and how Instagram/Google can be used to win any argument.

  • [54:33] “You can find anything on the internet to scare, and anything to contradict—it’s all useless.” – Patton Oswalt
  • [59:19] “It’s like there’s a basement with a dry erase board…For two years, red wine is good. Then they say none. Feels arbitrary.” – Patton Oswalt

• Old vs. new internet vibes, generational screen addiction, and the coming backlash.

  • [64:02] “It’s kind of attractive when someone tells you they’re not on social media.” – Chris D’Elia
  • [65:26] “The new thing among film nerds is called Raw Dogging—you watch a movie and you never look at your phone. Hard to do.” – Patton Oswalt

10. Advice & Reflections on Stand-Up Craft

• Patton recounts classic advice from Mitch Hedberg about editing (“Beware anyone who writes for a half hour and claims to have a half hour of new material” [79:09]).
• They champion the value of peer workshops, honest feedback from comic friends, adjusting material, and the pain of finding better punchlines after a special is taped.
  • [94:38] “Someone just said…the way you set it up is lazy. If you just did it this way, it’ll work 10 times better…all you’re doing is helping me.” – Patton Oswalt

11. Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “The rats are coming, the werewolves are here”—obsessive low-budget horror film titles become a running theme and punchline.
• [40:14] “We talk about phones making us crazy, but this seems worse.” – Chris D’Elia (comparing frontier isolation to modern overstimulation)
• [61:01] “Remember early Twitter? Just goofy. It was fun. Like comedians hanging out, bapping jokes…” – Patton Oswalt
• [83:41] “If you get wound up by this, you’re the butt of the joke. You’re the dean in Animal House.” – Patton Oswalt
• [92:45] On the Seinfeld documentary and comic workshop: “There’s nothing makes you funnier than your friends busting your balls…That, to an outsider…it’s like, ‘they must hate each other’. But no, that’s what we do all the time.”

Recommendations, Callouts, and TV/Movie Picks

• A History of Rock and Roll in 500 Songs podcast
• ‘Last Boy Scout,’ ‘The Nice Guys,’ ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,’ ‘Young Adult,’ ‘Deathbed: The Bed That Eats,’ ‘Cannibal! The Musical’
• ‘I’ll Be Gone in the Dark’ (book and doc)
• ‘Out of the Past’ (classic noir)
• Jim Norton’s new YouTube special (“really funny, great joke writing…”)
• Old stand-up albums: “Comedy is still best experienced as audio—more relaxed, more intimate.”

Notable Segments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 00:41 | Comedy road stories (Count Basie Theater mishap) | | 02:49 | Gallagher aftermath at venues | | 07:14 | Dan Soder and deep fake impressions | | 12:03 | Film deep dive: The Nice Guys, Last Boy Scout, etc. | | 19:48 | Obsession with bad/exploitation movies | | 24:59 | The truth about “mailbox money” in acting | | 33:11 | ‘I’ll Be Gone in the Dark’ and Michelle McNamara’s legacy | | 54:33 | Social media health “peeves” | | 61:01 | Early Twitter and state of social media | | 77:58 | Alt comedy, club circuit, and finding your audience | | 94:38 | Stand-up process, peer feedback, and writing honesty | | 112:27 | Patton’s new audio special, “Black Coffee and Ice Water”| | 110:45 | Shoutout to Jim Norton’s new special |

Final Notes & Outtakes

• The entire second hour is loaded with Meta-comedy reflections (joke process, feedback, open mics), culture war fatigue, and social media critiques.
• The recurring riff of the “rats are coming, the werewolves are here” as both a metaphor and comedy non sequitur neatly encapsulates the episode’s mix of absurdity and insight.

The episode is a must-listen (or read) for standup lovers, cinephiles, and anyone interested in the inside mechanics of comedy: fun, smart, and occasionally profound—with some epic recommendations for your watchlist and reading pile.