'The State' II

Remember "The State?" Well, some people do. Enough people have fond memories of MTV's mid-90s sketch-comedy show, in fact, to pack McCosh 10 on a Saturday night.

The event that drew this crowd away from the 'Street' on Sept. 16, was a free preview of "Wet Hot American Summer," a new independent film written and produced by former "State" members David Wain and Michael Showalter. The screening was arranged by Professor Elaine Showalter and announced the previous Thursday during her opening lecture for ENG 351: Contemporary Fiction. Professor Showalter, mother of the film's co-writer, producer and star Michael, asked that students not further publicize the event because space was limited.

Michael Showalter's name may be totally unfamiliar to many, but the combined comedic reputation of the highly popular albeit short-lived show "The State" and film and TV star Janeane Garofalo were more than enough to draw students into a lecture hall on a Saturday night to watch their teacher's son perform.

"Wet Hot American Summer" is set on the final day of sleepaway camp in 1981 — or, as the film's Webpage says in a mock epic slogan, "It was the last day of summer camp. It was the first day of the third week of August." In addition to Garofalo, it boasts such big-name actors as David Hyde Pierce of "Frasier," Paul Rudd of "Clueless" and Molly Shannon of "Saturday Night Live." For the die-hard "State" fan, the film features Michael Ian Black, Ken Marino and Joe Lo Truglio, who were formally members of the sketch-comedy troop, along with Wain and Showalter.

Wain — who in addition to co-writing and producing "Wet Hot American Summer," directed the film — spoke to the audience prior to the screening. He explained that the sound effects and music tracks were not yet completed, and that the film was still in the closing stages of the editing process.

Wain asked that the film not be reviewed in its current, unfinished form. Even in this rough-cut presentation, however, audience members seemed to enjoy it. Suffice it to say that they were frequently laughing so loudly that the dialogue was difficult to hear.

Wain and Showalter led a brief question-and-answer period after the film, which concluded with an amusingly abbreviated temporary credits sequence, listing the cast, crew "etc., etc., etc."

Showalter and Wain devised the concept of "Wet Hot American Summer" in the spring of 1997. They had hoped to shoot the film that summer. Filming was postponed because of funding problems, however, and the movie eventually went into production in this summer.

The writers were drawn to the classic summer camp setting for several reasons. Wain commented that camp is an "obvious venue for a fun comedy with lots of characters." Budget was also a consideration, and the limited settings of the script meant that the movie could be made relatively inexpensively. Much of the filming took place on location at an actual summer camp in Pennsylvania.

Showalter and Wain have been working together since the early days of "The State" at New York University. "We're just sort of a team," explained Showalter. He described the writing of the script as a "very collaborative process," but noted that despite the sketch-comedy background of "The State," there was very little improvisation in the movie.

Both Wain and Showalter said they enjoyed working with old friends from "The State," as well as comic talents from other backgrounds. Shannon hails from SNL, and other cast members were drawn from such comedy groups as Comedy Central's "Upright Citizens Brigade."

"It was the best," said Showalter, an "awesome experience."

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Wain said Garofalo was the first big star to agree to work on "Wet Hot American Summer." Wain and Showalter knew Garofalo from the New York comedy club scene, and they asked her to read the script. Garofalo's commitment to the project gave it new appeal in the film industry, and helped to attract other stars eager to work with her.

Wain and Showalter have yet to find a distributor for "Hot Wet American Summer," but they intend to submit the film to various festivals, beginning with the high-profile Sundance festival, a launching pad for many successful independent films. Without a distributor, the official release date of the film remains in question.

People may wonder what happened to the members of "The State" since their abrupt departure from MTV. The group decided to leave MTV for a primetime special on CBS. But CBS subsequently decided to cancel the show, leaving the group to collaborate on various "State" projects, including a record that was never released and a movie that fell apart.

One project actually made it through to production — a book, "State by State with the State," which Wain describes as a "poorly researched, totally uninformed travel book." There is also a video, "MTV — The State: Skits and Stickers," which collects highlights of the show's two years on MTV, along with some previously unseen skits. Stickers are not included.

For die-hard "State" fans there is still hope. Wain said that members of "The State" might be performing together at the upcoming New York Comedy Film Festival. "I'm sure we'll do something again," he said.