 "Photo: N/A")
To some, Kevin Smith is the voice of a generation.
Films like "Clerks," "Dogma" and "Chasing Amy" and the different characters who inhabit these worlds have impacted numerous lives over the years.
"Mallrats" is probably why I’m as a nerdy as I am today, and I’m perfectly OK with that.
So, of course, I’ve been excited over his book, "Shootin’ the Shit with Kevin Smith."
Smith challenges the notion that he actually wrote the book during his prologue because "Shootin’ the Shit" isn’t a conventional book.
Instead, it’s a transcript of Kevin Smith’s SModcat, the (usually) weekly podcast he does with long time producer Scott Mosier and occasional guests.
The book doesn’t contain everything Smith and company have said in every SModcast, but instead features the gems, the best of the best, including discussions of whether or not chickens are secretly super intelligent to the JusticeLeague of New Jersey.
The conversations used, though, are fantastic, ones any fan of Smith would love to read for the first time and people who have already listened to the podcast would enjoy remembering.
For those on the go, it also features random SModcast quotes every few pages, bits like "Better a gay Batman than no Batman at all" or "When it’s soft it won’t reach, and when it’s hard it won’t bend."
The book also features the occasional illustration, something to give image to Smith’s words, done by Smith fan Michael Macari who was able to impress Smith with his artwork.
While Smith’s words are always great to read, Mosier is the verbal master of this book, adding witty comments when necessary and pushing Smith on as he rants, reaching points that had me laughing out loud in public.
Sadly, not everyone out there can enjoy this book, specifically those who are offended by coarse language.
The book’s dialogue reads like a conversation one might have with a friend at 2 a.m.; profound, insightful and full of more curse words then a Quentin Tarantino flick.
This isn’t a bad thing. It properly represents how many people talk, but those who don’t have the heart to read certain words again and again best look for a book elsewhere.
The book does have a few negative aspects, though.
People unfamiliar with Smith may not read the book with the proper tone. He might sound like a crazed lunatic instead of a jocular comic, and, if they don’t know what the director sounds like, they’re missing out because every one of his moments reads better if said in his voice.
Granted, one could then listen to the podcast, but it doesn’t wrap up the brilliance in a nice little package.
Smith also occasionally retreads topics, there being some discussion crossover between the book and his "An Evening with Kevin Smith" documentaries.
Yet Smith and friends have released another charmer with this book, and those who just love reading about ridiculous ideas or wacky adventures would be in for a treat.
Grade: A-
1 comments