Tough Sh*t

April 30, 2012
For anyone curious about the life and times of film director and über-geek Kevin Smith—who in his early 20s made a debut splash with the independent film Clerks—this audio version of his memoir breaks down 41 years of rule-breaking and chronicles Smith’s work as filmmaker, comic book store owner, and podcaster. Offering up an amazingly fun and loose performance that often boasts the spontaneity of a podcast, Smith takes listeners through his life story with good-natured—if occasionally brutal—honesty. In his narration, Smith occasionally strays from the text, starting during the introduction when he apologizes for background noise and confesses that he is under the influence: “If you gotta read your own book: be stoned.” Smith’s genuine enthusiasm lends his narration an intimacy that would be difficult for another performer, no matter how talented, to achieve. Listeners are likely to feel that instead of listening to an audiobook, they’re engaged in a conversation—albeit one-sided—with Kevin Smith. A Gotham hardcover.

Starred review from April 15, 2012

Smith is a most unlikely success story. Fat geeks from the Jersey burbs with no connections don't break into cutthroat Hollywood and stay 20 years. He willed himself to do the impossible while remaining a nice guy. Smith recounts his life and career, from the amateurish Clerks to the superb Red State, and his early days at Miramax under Harvey Weinstein until buyouts and sellouts decayed the maverick indie-film house into the type of dollar-driven movie machine Weinstein and his collaborators despised. The audiobook is equal parts biography and personal philosophy, with loads of laughs. Smith is a funny, cordial, and embarrassingly honest host--he'll tell you anything (and does) about himself--but much of the dialog is R-rated. He also expounds on the wonders of smoking weed. VERDICT Self-expression is Smith's true art form, making him the perfect reader for his own material. Despite a career based on "fart and dick jokes," Smith emerges as a loving, devoted son, husband, and father and an artist who never sacrificed his vision for profits. Film heads and Smith's legions of fans will enjoy the sh*t out of this.--Mike Rogers, Library Journal

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.