Tough Sh*t by Kevin Smith Audiobook Review

Book: Tough Sh*t ( Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good) by Kevin Smith, Penguin Audio, March 20, 2012

Audiobook Info:  Memoir/Humor, Received for review,  Audio length: 5 hours 58 minutes, Read by the author.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

More Info: Audible | Goodreads | Amazon

I remember watching Kevin Smith’s Clerks and Chasing Amy back in the day – I was big into slacker movies in the 90s. I think those are the only two of Smith’s movies I’ve seen – now I’m more of a romantic comedy kind of girl. Still, I remember the two films fondly; they introduced me to Smith’s humor, and in turn led the way to me listening to this audiobook. Now I know Kevin Smith more as a personality, as well as an annual public speaker at Hall H at Comic-Con. Based on all this I knew I was sure to be entertained and amused with Tough Sh*t.

In Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good, Smith talks about his movie career and his influences from George Carlin to Wayne Gretzky to John Hughes. He dishes on which actors impressed him and which actors pissed him off as he takes you behind the scenes of his movies. Smith also gets the infamous “too fat to fly on Southwest” incident off his chest.  Smith acknowledges his family by including a loving recognition of his wife Jen and compares his first date with Jen to Lloyd Dobler asking out Diane Court. Behind it all is some good career advice to get paid doing what you love to do.

Kevin Smith’s story is inspirational – he fell in love with film and followed his dream to be a filmmaker. From his first visit to New York’s Angelika theatre he knew he wanted to follow in the footsteps of Slacker’s Richard Linklater and make films. In fact I learned in this audiobook that Smith made his mark on cinema by creating the bromance film genre.  Interesting, right?

The part of me that loves Hollywood gossip ate up Smith’s celebrity stories, from Bruce Willis’ on set bad behavior to his falling out with mentor Harvey Weinstein. Smith also gives a fascinating look at filmmaking when he decides to self distribute his Tarantino-esque film Red State. He also gets some jabs in to the movie critics who love to hate him.

Who better than Kevin Smith to narrate his story? It’s his life and his stories and you can hear the passion and enthusiasm in his voice. His story is very personal, and like his films potty-mouthed at times, and I can’t imagine anyone else narrating the book. Smith is a professional podcaster so is obviously very comfortable behind the mic, and the six hours I listened to this audiobook flew by. His sharp humor, intelligence and knowledge of pop culture made for an entertaining listening experience.

This book is for Kevin Smith fans, those who love movies and pop culture, and those looking for some creative inspiration. If you have six hours to spare and are not easily offended, check out this audiobook.

Check out some other opinions of Tough Sh*t the audiobook:

Gil T.’s Pleasures

Pure Textuality

Owl Tell You About It

Ornament

16 thoughts on “Tough Sh*t by Kevin Smith Audiobook Review

  1. Candice says:

    Haha, I love that you included if you’re not easily offended; I can definitely see Kevin Smith offending some people! I love memoirs. There’s something great about getting to know someone through their own words, especially if they’re hilarious like Kevin Smith!

  2. BermudaOnion says:

    My son is a Kevin Smith fan – I bet he’d love this!

  3. fishgirl182 says:

    I love Kevin smith and hearing him speak. What a good idea to get this one in audio. 🙂

  4. bookgoonie says:

    Sounds like another good one like Bossy Pants. I’ll look for it.

    1. Lucy says:

      I need to listen to Bossy Pants to feed my new humorous memoir addiction 🙂

  5. Leslie says:

    Nice review, I think I’ll like this one. I’m not easily offended unless it gets repetitive or exceptionally gross. I have a copy in my audio pile … I should move it closer to the top.

    1. Lucy says:

      Not too gross, but it is adult humor. Looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

  6. VeganYANerds says:

    You listen to some great audio books! I’ve seen Clerks and that’s probably the only film of his I’ve seen but I’d definitely be interested in listening to this!

  7. I was a big slacker movie fan, except my favorite wall always Mallrats. I am LOVING the Jenny Lawson book and I think I need to listen to more humorous memoirs. This one is definitely going on my list. I’d *love* to hear some Hollywood gossip and I feel like I know basically nothing about Kevin Smith’s life beyond that Southwest incident and his movies…

    1. Lucy says:

      The Jenny Lawson book is exactly what inspired me to pick up this one. Definitely enjoying the humorous memoirs right now and Kevin Smith does not hold back at all. Glad you’re liking Jenny Lawson too!

  8. I’m really excited for this book. I think it definitely would be a good one to listen to! You should see Mallrats; it’s really funny. Definitely a good slacker movie!

    1. Lucy says:

      I think I will need to check out Mallrats now – I’m intrigued. Not sure why Mallrats gets a bad rap but the audiobook did make me more curious to watch it.

  9. Thanks for the link back to my review. I loved this book! 🙂

  10. […] Tough Sh*t: Life Advice from a Fat, Lazy Slob Who Did Good by Kevin Smith. Read by the author. Running time 6 hours, Release date March 2012, Penguin Audio. (My review) […]

  11. […] Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson, Tough Sh*t by Kevin Smith and my latest listen Bossypants by Tina Fey. All three books are read by the […]

  12. […] Tough Sh*t by Kevin Smith. Narrated by the author. From my review: (Smith’s) story is very personal, and like his films potty-mouthed at times, and I can’t imagine anyone else narrating the book. Smith is a professional podcaster so is obviously very comfortable behind the mic, and the six hours I listened to this audiobook flew by. […]

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