Mr. Funny Man follows 48-year-old Wyatt Chumbly, a once-promising stand-up comic whose life has stalled out in every way that matters. After burning bridges and bombing on stage one too many times, Wyatt returns to the one place he swore he'd never go back to: home.
Now living in a crumbling, hand-me-down home, and working part-time at a convenience store, Wyatt spends his days dodging responsibility and smoking through his anxiety. His estranged mother—now slipping into dementia in a nearby retirement home—remains a source of both guilt and unresolved trauma.
Despite himself, Wyatt begins performing again at a run-down comedy club called The Funky Pickle, where the open mic scene is brutal, the audience indifferent, and the beer flat. It's there he meets Jazz—a sharp, up-and-coming comic with zero patience for Wyatt’s self-pity but an instinct for pushing him forward.
As the story unfolds, Wyatt faces down everything he's been avoiding: failed relationships, creative cowardice, and the humiliating realization that he may never be "great"—he might just be okay. But as he begins to find his voice again, both on and off stage, he learns that showing up—whether it's for a gig, his mother, or himself—might be the biggest punchline of all.
At once bleakly funny and quietly hopeful, Mr. Funny Man is a comic about aging without grace, jokes without laughter, and the fragile dignity of trying anyway.
Mr. Funny Man follows 48-year-old Wyatt Chumbly, a once-promising stand-up comic whose life has stalled out in every way that matters. After burning bridges and bombing on stage one too many times, Wyatt returns to the one place he swore he'd never go back to: home.
Now living in a crumbling, hand-me-down home, and working part-time at a convenience store, Wyatt spends his days dodging responsibility and smoking through his anxiety. His estranged mother—now slipping into dementia in a nearby retirement home—remains a source of both guilt and unresolved trauma.
Despite himself, Wyatt begins performing again at a run-down comedy club called The Funky Pickle, where the open mic scene is brutal, the audience indifferent, and the beer flat. It's there he meets Jazz—a sharp, up-and-coming comic with zero patience for Wyatt’s self-pity but an instinct for pushing him forward.
As the story unfolds, Wyatt faces down everything he's been avoiding: failed relationships, creative cowardice, and the humiliating realization that he may never be "great"—he might just be okay. But as he begins to find his voice again, both on and off stage, he learns that showing up—whether it's for a gig, his mother, or himself—might be the biggest punchline of all.
At once bleakly funny and quietly hopeful, Mr. Funny Man is a comic about aging without grace, jokes without laughter, and the fragile dignity of trying anyway.
The story begins with Wyatt Chumbly, a washed-up, 48-year-old stand-up comic returning to his small hometown after years of drifting through comedy clubs and failed gigs. Broke, bitter, and emotionally numb, Wyatt’s only option is to move into a hand-me-down home and take a job at a local convenience store.
Haunted by regret and estranged from his ailing mother—now in a retirement home with fading memory—Wyatt spends his days smoking, dodging real responsibilities, and trying to convince himself he’s still “working on material.” But his comedic instincts are rusted over, and his personal life is a junkyard of missed calls and bad apologies.
A chance reconnection with Jazz, a younger, up-and-coming comic with actual momentum, jolts something loose in him. She gets him a spot at The Funky Pickle, a low-rent comedy club with sticky floors and lower standards. Wyatt bombs—but there’s a flicker. A joke lands. A spark returns.