Shootin’ the Sh*t with Kevin Smith
Titan Books
6 of 10
I have a long-harbored affection for Kevin Smith. His Clerks movies are two of my all-time favorite movies, his podcast and college talks make me chuckle, and I briefly contemplated stealing Silent Bob Speaks from the library. I dig the man’s style and sense of humor- he’s crude, vulgar, and at times childish; he’s a huge comic book nerd (and he even writes comics!); and deep down, he is a huge softie.
I was stoked to see that he was “writing” yet another book (Silent Bob Speaks is a collection of columns he wrote for various news sources; My Boring Ass Life is a collection of blog posts). Shootin’ the Sh*t is a collection of transcripts from SModcast- that’s Kevin Smith’s and Scott Mosier’s podcast. It’s funny how Kevin Smith is a New York Times bestselling author, and yet he hasn’t sat down and written a book. Another stroke of the man’s genius perhaps? Eh, that’s yet to be determined.
Shootin’ the Shit is exactly what it sounds like- wait, no, it’s not EXACTLY what it sounds like, because that would be gross (though I do keep my copy of the book in my bathroom). It’s a load of transcripts of Smith chatting with his crew- mostly with Scott Mosier, Kevin’s partner in crime and the producer on his flicks; but also with Kevin’s wife Jennifer Schwalbach, Walt Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Malcolm Ingram, and Harley Smith.
In theory, perhaps because I do enjoy Smith’s work so much, it sounded like a great idea. In execution, not so much. While parts of the book (such as “Walt’s Flea Market Story” and “Bertie Bott’s beans in the ass”) had me reduced to tears of laughter, the majority of the book reads a bit rambly and long winded. It’s much, much funnier to hear Smith and Mosier shoot the shit out loud than to read it on paper. I see this with our own dear Emperor’s interviews all the time- when you hear or attend one in person, it’s hysterical; reading one doesn’t seem to work out so well. You just seem to lose some in translation.
Overall, if you dig Kevin Smith and you’re really looking for a new great bathroom reader (reading the book in one sitting just doesn’t seem to work), shell out $14.95 and pick yourself up a copy. Otherwise, hop on over to Fred and have yourself a listen. As the description says, “The best thing about SModcast? It don’t cost nothing.”
–Caitlin Elgin