Born Anew in Smod

Kevin Smith is the man whose first film, Clerks, bears the most responsibility for my love of movies and film. The rest of his films carry different levels of reverence in my DVD collection. Some I believe are better than Clerks, a couple don't deserve to have their titles read in the same sentence. Still Clerks was the atomic bomb that ripped my adolescent world apart with what the average film fan is capable of.

Over the years the varying quality of Sir Smod's films have made my fandom waver, but at all times I respected the man whose brain birthed Clerks. Even at his worst Kevin Smith always seemed to produce something that kept him near and dear to me; his podcasts, his speaking engagements, his comics, and generally just being an all around awesome guy. Of course the last Smith film I saw in the theater, Cop Out, I actually reviewed for my last job and that movie... Well I'll just the review speak for itself.

While I didn't exactly lay the movie to waste, it is absolutely the worst of Smith's work. So bad that I almost hung up my Kevin Smith fan flag for good... that is until I saw him speak, in person at the 2011 National Association of Broadcasters convention. He was so forthcoming, and owned up to the garbage that was Cop Out. On top of that he just seemed like a completely earnest dude who just got hit from all sides during the movie's production.

The reason I bring up Mr. Smith is because his newest venture, the book Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good is awesome (and because he favorited my tweet, pictured above). Back in my freshman year of college, during one dour evening after a recent break up I popped in Mall Rats. I think Brody and T.S.'s break ups gave me hope. Anyway, after the film ended I looked through the DVD extras. There was the standard fare that was mildly pleasing, but since I had nothing else to do, and it wasn't too late into the evening, I decided to sample the director commentary (something I had never done, for any movie, up to that point).

That commentary was better than any of his movies. Just a group of guys spilling the movie's guts. Every possible insider story you could want, Smith & crew told it with glee. Since that experience I buy all Smith movies just to take in the commentary. I would buy a commentary track to his podcast if Mr. Silent Bob himself made it and that is pretty much what Tough Sh*t is. A nearly six hour podcast (if you get the audiobook like I did) detailing Smith's entire life. It's funny, its inspiring, its ugly, its childish -everything you would expect from the guy who invented stink palming. The best part? There is a whole chapter that explains the mess we now know as Cop Out. Smith lays Bruce Willis to waste. After listening to the horror that is everyone's favorite bald badass, I am surprised that guy ever gets work.

So after eating up Kevin Smith's Tough Sh*t, let me just say I am back on board. He is definitely fallible but that may be his most redeeming quality. He is a normal guy who has made some seriously funny movies. And while he may be retiring from sitting in the director's chair, I am okay with that. I think I'd rather listen to him speak anyways.