I love a good yarn.
There's just something about being able to tell a good story that really wins me over. I wish I could do it myself. (Don't get me wrong, I do alright from time to time, but I lack consistency.) And knowing my own limitations is why I don't just love a good yarn, but I respect a good yarn. And of course, I respect the person that can spin a good yarn.
And Kevin Smith can spin one hell of a yarn.
I loved Clerks. And Mallrats. And Chasing Amy. I loved Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II. All of these movies could land someone in the Top 25, sure, but the Top 3? No, it takes something more than that.
In this case, it took An Evening with Kevin Smith. Well, six evenings with Kevin Smith, to be exact - three DVD's and the three times I bore witness to it myself. And of course, Smodcast. This is Kevin Smith at his best. Uncensored, and beyond candid. This is when the yarns start to flow, and the laughs become many. His movies have been good, sure, but his candor is easily the reason he sits so high on this list.
Granted, sometimes he's a little too candid, and even, dare I say, too self-deprecating. Sometimes it comes off more like a defense mechanism rather than simply not taking himself too seriously. But when he finds the right balance - and he often does - the tales in which he can weave are nothing short of brilliant.
Not for all, I'm sure. But for me, they most certainly are.
Besides, without Kevin Smith the world might not know the brilliance of Jason Lee. Or the not-exactly-brilliant-but-entertaining-none-the-less antics of Jason Mewes. Or the mediocrity that is Ben Affleck.
Regardless, the only thing you need to know about my man love of Kevin Smith is this: I own four copies of Clerks. Four. That's the same movie, purchased four separate times. What can I say? Man love makes you do crazy things…
Proof of Awesomeness: (NSFW language)
4 copies? Perhaps that in itself is a yarn?
ReplyDeleteDid you accidentally miss 'Cop Out' from your list of his triumphs.
I watched Cop Out for the first time during the bus ride from New York to Toronto a few days back. Needless to say I did not feel the need to fire up the laptop and make a change to the entry before it auto-posted on Friday morning. In fact, so terrible was this movie that I would hope it has replaced Jersey Girl as the movie people consider to be Kevin's worst. I'll give him a slight pass for the fact that it's the first movie he directed that he also didn't write himself, but that doesn't change the fact that I will never get those 2 hours of my life back.
ReplyDelete