Peep World

Henry Meyerwitz had never wanted any children.

But when he had his first, he remembered an old proverb:

"Commit a sin twice, and it Will not seem a crime."

So he had more.

And once a year, his sins, all grown up,

gathered to celebrate his birthday.

He didn't want to be there.

They didn't want to be there.

This year, however,

a book came out that made it even Worse.

And I want to make a toast to my fabulous son Nate

and the great success

he's having with his book, Peep World.

Thanks, Dad.

Oh, pardon me If I don't toast a man who's ruined my life.

And I don't know how any of you could.

I ruined your life? And what did I do?

Did I make you more unemployed, more dysfunctional?

You stabbed us all in the back, you motherfucker!

You're a fucking bitch. Okay?

You honestly have wasted your entire life

being an asshole.

Look at yourself in the mirror. You're a fraud.

- You're the fucked-up version of Amy Winehouse..

There were four Meyerwitz children.

Jack was the responsible son.

Like the main character in Peep World,

he was a struggling architect

Whose father made him feel inadequate.

Bastard.

There were other things in his life

that made him fee! inadequate foo.

Piece of shit.

Liar.

Pervert.

The first time Jack heard Laura

curse in her sleep, he assumed she was having a nightmare.

Fucker.

Fuck you.

By the second night, he knew the nightmare was him.

Cheri Meyerwitz was a would-be artist,

poet, actress, dancer, and singer-songwriter.

But the only thing that had brought her

any measure of recognition

was the Way her brother Nathan had portrayed her

in his book, Peep World..

AH right, folks, here we go.

This is Peep World..

Scene 24, take four.

To make matters Worse,

they just happened to be shooting the movie version

right in front of her apartment.

We gotta go. We gotta get a shot off.

31 apple, take one.

Action.

How do I look?

You look good.

Good? Just good?

I can't go to my audition now.

My confidence is shot.

God damn it, what the fuck was that?

Cut!

Are you fucking kidding me?

Every family has a black sheep,

a colossal underachiever,

a recovering addict,

a fuck-up.

In the Meyerwitz family, that role fell to Joel..

Oh, God. Shit.

What was that?

Oh, man.

Oh, come on.

God!

That's just great.

Oh, no!

J“Oh, nor

That is so not cool, man.

Aah!

Fudge!

Back in two minutes.

Back on the air in two minutes.

Nathan, the youngest Meyerwitz,

had relished every moment of his book tour

except for today.

That's because he was facing his family

for the first time since Peep World came out.

They'll be ready for you in a minute.

I told them not to mention your sister's lawsuit.

Good. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

You have a little something.

Do you want me to get you another green tea?

No, I'm fine. You can do whatever you do.

Okay.

Nathan's favorite part of his book tour

was getting to work with attractive assistants.

He treated them condescendingly...

Uh.

Because he read Norman Mailer did that.

I'm sure you get this all the time.

Do you have any sort of advice at all

fora young struggling writer?

I mean, I love doing PR work and everything,

but in my heart, I'm a writer.

Of course you are.

So, like, any sort of experience at all

that you could kind of pass...

Listen. Listen.

There's nothing that I can tell you

that's gonna magically make you a writer.

You either have talent, or you do not.

Writing is something that you were born with.

It's not something that you can just pick up.

Okay? It is not like Spanish.

Okay.

Okay, do you understand?

I'm gonna go see if they're ready for you.

Well, you know what?

Can you wait one second?

Can you wait one second actually?

I need your opinion on something very important.

Really?

Yeah. This is huge.

- Okay. - Okay?

Yeah.

Okay. Okay, gather yourself.

Which one do you prefer?

Really look at them, right?

They're works of art.

Uh, they're both good.

Everybody knows they're both good.

Everybody can look at them and say they're both good,

but I need you to pick one.

Okay, well that one makes you look a little more literary.

Yeah, because of the turtleneck?

Yeah, and it's... the tilt.

Yeah, a crafty head tilt.

It's a veteran move, right?

- Yeah. - Yeah.

And by the way, I know I looked just okay in Peep World.

It's fine. It was a bit of a cliché.

A cliché, right, this?

I know. I told them that.

I didn't want to do that.

Okay, and for my next novel, the photo is going to match

the power of the writing.

You take Philip Roth on the back of Portnoy's Complaint...

Did you read it? Yes.

- Do you want to know why? - Great book.

It's a... it's a good book.

It's a good book.

No, you read it because he looks unbelievable on that back cover,

like a Jewish Casanova, right?

Like he could pick up a shofar

and make it sound like a jazz saxophone.

That photo had a hypnotic effect on women.

So that's why men write, to get women?

That's why men do everything.

They're ready for you, Mr. Meyerwitz.

Please, you can just call me Nathan, right?

She can just call me Nathan.

Where you from? Cuba.

Oh, get out of here. I love Cuba.

Honey! Wake up!

Oh, my god.

Ah, don't do that!

How can you read this before you go to bed?

No wonder you have trouble sleeping.

There you go.

Thank you.

Your brother's on TV again.

How does he look?

Smug

Our next guest is causing quite a stir

with his first novel, Peep World,

the number one best-selling novel.

Welcome, Nathan Meyerwitz.

It's a pleasure to be here.

That is one disturbing novel.

And that family... Whoo.

So will he be gracing us with his presence tonight?

Yeah.

I wonder if it's too late to sit him at another table.

My own life experience.

So I'm taking a mirror, and I'm putting it up

to all families, and I'm saying, "Take a look at yourself.

Take a good, hard look."

Ooh, he kicked.

So it's safe to say that Peep World is at least...

somewhat autobiographical?

- Yes. - Oh, yes, of course.

What time is it?

I've got an appointment.

I better get in the shower.

Save some hot water for me.

Okay.

Dysfunctional family.

And your own family?

How do they feel about the incredible

attention that Peep World is getting?