Kevin Smith’s Tough Sh*t: A Book Review
Kevin Smith’s latest book, Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good
And if for some reason you have not seen any of his movies or might be skeptical of whether this might be the book for you. Let me give you my honest review of the book, separating it into three categories: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.
Good: If you are worried that this is one of those long, boring super-intellectual autobiographies, you are stressing over nothing. This book is very easy to read. But it’s not a simple book either. I found that if you are interested in starting your own independent movie or a new business, there is a lot of wisdom here. Kevin Smith bares his thoughts and soul about a lot of topics, such as dealing with the death of his father, the hard work involved to just make it into the movie business, his time as a “fighter for independent films” at Miramax to being truly an independent filmmaker and marketer. There’s something for everyone in this book. If you want to learn about marketing and film then this will give you insight. If you are looking for some d*ck jokes then you won’t be disappointed in the least. In fact, the first sentence in this book is about balls.
Bad: Actually, this section should be called bad-ass. If you love Bruce Willis’ movies, once you read Tough Sh*t, you will be surprised at how much he’s not like Bruce Willis in the movies, and how Willis and Smith almost had a fist-fight. There is also a great set of stories dealing with the Westboro Baptist nutjobs and Harvey Weinstein during his time working on Red State. Or fighting with the terrible people of Southwest Airlines and their hate for all fat people.
Ugly: Why, why, WHY! Why did you just write about the first time you had sex with your wife? Aaaaggghh! For those of you thinking, “what’s the big deal,” read the book for yourself. I will not quote that section and be responsible for your trauma. Now please, someone pass me the brain bleach.
Seriously though, the only thing about this book that bugged me is Kevin Smith’s low opinion of himself. This man, whether you like his movies or not, has made films that has impacted our pop culture in ways that only Tarantino, Rodriguez, Nolan and Jackson have done in the last ten years. And he criticizes himself about everything from his movies to his weight. But then again, if the media, critics and… well… idiots are constantly always taking apart everything you do, I think I would doubt myself as well. This is what I love best about Smith’s book. It is very relatable, very down-to-Earth, and reads like a friend telling you what he/she went through at work/mall/bar/strip club today.
If there’s one thing Tough Sh*t isn’t, it’s a load of crap.
