SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 14: Actor and comedian Steve Carell arrives at the premiere of ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’ at Event Cinemas Bondi Junction on September 14, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Photo: Lisa Maree Williams/2011 Getty Images
Comedy writers Alan Zweibel and Dave Barry lie on either end of the credibility spectrum — Zweibel is loved by comedy nerds, while Barry is adored by your dad. It’s not surprising, then, that Lunatics, the novel they co-wrote, has such broad appeal that Universal has acquired it months before it’s due to hit stores, and got Steve Carell onboard to boot. The novel is about two New Jersey soccer dads whose rivalry almost escalates to the point of world war, with Carell to star as the mild-mannered pet store owner/youth soccer ref who gets thrown in the middle. Lunatics will be published by Putnam in January, leaving you plenty of time to get a copy for Father’s Day.