Sold Out

No, This isn't a photo of me. Shut up.

I almost hyperventilated from laughter last night.
Kevin Smith's newest stand up movie, Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith, sent me into uncontrollable laughing fits. I had to pause a couple of times for fear of a fat guy meltdown.
Each of his stand up movies have had the same effect on me and they are pound for pound funnier than any of his movies. I mean Chasing Amy is his best work but on these he brings the funny.
Smith, is the writer director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma and others. On the Evening series he talks frankly, some would say too frankly, about his life, working with movie stars and fat guy medical problems. Each movies is four hours, then dozens of extra moments are included in the DVD. So you get, well, a ton of Lunch Box talking and sweating.
It is the truth, capital T, uncut and uncensored. A big part of his appeal is that despite the fame, money and assorted craziness that comes with being a movie director Smith has managed to stay normal. Well, at least he pretends to be normal and brings a normal guy perspective to Hollywood. Like any great writer Smith watches what is going on around him and then reports back on what he has seen and heard. He's a lot like William Goldman, the screenwriter behind Misery, All The President's Men, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Princess Bride. Goldman wrote two books about his experiences, Adventures in the Screen Trade and Which Lie Did I Tell: More Adventures in the Screen Trade. Both are must owns for all you wannabee writer, actors and directors.
For the record, in Threevening Hayden Christensen and Paris Hilton get smacked down but Bruce Willis gets all kinds of love.
I should issue a warning though. When I was a teenager my cousins rented Dumb and Dumber and we all sat down and watched it together one December eve. They loved it and laughed like I did last night. I didn't laugh once during the abominable thing. I thought then and still think today that it is one of worst movies ever made.
Which is one way of saying what may send me into uncontrollable laughing fits may do nothing for you.
Second warning, Kevin Smith, is a fan of gross out humor and coarse language. If you can't sit through that kind of stuff stay far, far away.
By the way, Smith may be the bravest man in America. Because I can imagine telling some of these stories to friends or co-workers.
But there's no way I could have done it with my mom in the room.


Useless IMDB Trivia: The filming for this Q&A performance took place during a 7 1/2 hour performance -- no stopping!

An Evening with Kevin Smith

An Evening With Kevin Smith 2 - Even ing Harder

Sold Out: A Threevening With Kevin Smith