The Brothers Sklar

They're Jewish, they're twins, they're U-M grads
and they have their own series on MTV

Special to The Jewish News

I is Saturday afternoon and Jason
and Randy Sklar are anxious to
zip through the phone interview.
Their buddies are waiting at the
bar to watch the Michigan-Colorado
game.
The 25-year-old twin brothers are
still loyal to their alma mater (they
graduated from U-M in 1994), even
after settling into a New York lifestyle
packed with regular gigs at comedy
clubs — and oh yeah — their own
half-hour weekly show on MTV, "Apt.
2F," in which they star and for which
they write much of the material.
I knew these were good guys when
they missed the first scheduled phone
interview and Randy called back and
left the most apologetic voice mail mes-
sage. "I'm so sorry. We got called in late
to a sound session ... I'm really sorry ...
." No prima donna, big celebrity atti-
tude here.
But after all, they are Midwestern
boys who were raised outside of St.
Louis, an area similar to the suburbs of
Detroit. "West Bloomfield really
reminds me of where we grew up. I
really feel at home in the Detroit sub-
urbs," says Jason.
The Sklars were often guests of col-
lege buddy Mark Bernstein and his
family in West Bloomfield during the
Jewish holidays. "Shaarey Zedek and
the Bernstein family were really our
home away from home," says Jason.
"Apt. 2F," which began airing last
July, meshes together sitcom, stand-up
and sketch comedy, with the Sklar
brothers' dry sense of humor sprinkled
throughout. The twins are at the center
of each show but "twinness is not at the
center of every plot," says Randy. "Apt.
2F" also serves as a breeding ground for
new up-and-coming talent, adds
Randy.
One hilarious talent and regular
character, P-Dogg 7, played by Matt
Price, is a slang-speaking hip-hopper
trapped in a young, white, Jewish guy's

Julie Weingarden is a West
Bloomfield-based freelance writer.

10/10
1997

84

New York Times doesn't normally review
comedians. That validated us," says
Jason.
At U-M during senior year, the
brothers hosted a monthly comedy
show. It wasn't until they were 21 years
old that they realized they wanted to
make a career in comedy. But as many
Jewish young men do, they had the
perfect safety net lined up: law school.
"I was going to go to Emory and
Randy was going to go to George
Washington. We told our parents we
were going to defer for a year. They 44
didn't freak out," says Jason.
Randy and Jason credit their par-
ents, Annette and Richard, with being
supportive and allowing them to follow
their dream. "Our parents are amazing.
We are really close and talk to them
like every day," says Jason.
Donning retro shirts and baggy
jeans, serious sideburns and short
Caesar-style haircuts, the Sklars mirror
one another. If you must tell them
apart, Randy wears a patch of fuzz on
the bottom of his chin. It's a modified
goatee, but he says it's one way for
4
viewers to know right away which twin
is which.
On dating: "I'm dating someone.
She is also an actress," says Jason. "I
wouldn't even call her a significant
other."
Randy is "dating around." As for
whether his celebrity status has brought
the women pouring in, he thinks that
women are attracted to him because he 1
is doing what he wants to do in life.
"I know I am going to marry some-
one who is Jewish. We both are," says
Randy. "We want to raise Jewish kids,
send them to Jewish camps, and we
want them to go to Israel."
lq
But until that time comes, they'll
focus on their craft.
"At times I'm like, 'This is amaz-
ing,"' says Randy. There are a lot of
people who work as hard as we do and
are not as fortunate to get a good
break."

Photo by Susan Farley

JULIE WEINGARDEN

body. He drops the street talk when his
"Apt. 2F" has developed its own core
Jewish grandfather visits him.
audience. The Sklar brothers believe
"Apt. 2F" explores the everyday lives
that the show works because it takes
of Randy and Jason as they share a
risks where many other shows don't.
dingy apartment in downtown
"We go for really specific jokes and
Manhattan. Jason works at a data entry
humor, and I think those people out
job for a large corporation and is clue-
there who get it, really appreciate it,"
less as to what products the company
says Randy.
manufactures. Randy is a film
So how much of the show is
student at NYU who works
based on reality? "Some situ-
The cast of 'Apt.
part time at a video store and 2F"• Clo ckwise
ations and conversations are
runs a comedy show at the
based on real events," says
from top center,-
student union.
Jason Sk lar, Emmy Jason. "There was a show
Their show highlights
Lay bourn e, Z,ach
about how Randy and I
many of their personal neu-
Galifinia kis,
don't like to touch each
roses and phobias, in a vein
Randy S'
Sklar and
other, and that was true, but
similar to "Seinfeld." In fact,
Matt Pri ce.
stuff like the episode of our
the twins' show has been com-
grandmother coming out of
pared to "Seinfeld."
the closet hasn't happened."
"'Seinfeld' is one of the greatest
MTV discovered the twins perform-
shows of all time, so to be compared to
ing their comedy in New York clubs,
that is amazing," says Jason. "He set
for which they received rave reviews in
the rules for sitcom instead of following
the New York Times. At thai point they
the rules, and that is kind of what we
knew they had arrived.
want to do."
"We were so excited because the

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