An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith

My impression was that this book was very much like a DVD extra, made into book form, and stretched out to fill 214 pages. It was a fun read for me, since I'm a Kevin Smith fanboy. Tons of behind-the-scenes tidbits, especially about the making of Clerks. It's always interesting to see how someone got their start, and what lessons can be taken from it. There's an interesting irony that, in making a movie about mid-90's slackers, the cast and crew worked insane hours and slept very little for weeks on end. My only criticism was that the author does tend to get a bit fanboy-ish himself from time to time. Which is all well and good, if an author is excited about his material. However, he tends to over-gush when writing about View Askew films and their receptions. That being said, I still enjoyed this book a great deal. It takes you into the world of View Askew, and gives it breadth and depth, which then makes the movies themselves more compelling.

As a fan of the Kevin Smith films, I found this book a great companion to the Kevin Smith Askew-Universe. It offers insight, interviews with the major players, and a great history of the films that we have come to love. You will not be disappointed.

If your a Kevin Smith fan, and interested in film in general check this book out. Despite many..many type-o's the book is worth a read.

An Askew View: The Films Of Kevin Smith by film and television journalist and expert John Kenneth Muir is an insightful commentary on Kevin Smith's cinematic works that have gone on to achieve a kind of cult-following, including his films: "Clerks," "Chasing Amy," and "Dogma", as well as such efforts as "Mallrats" and the ill-fated "Clerks: the Animated Series" (which was ultimately killed to make room for the then-megahit "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" game show). Interviews with Kevin Smith and other filmmakers form the backbone of this fascinating companion book that is highly recommended reading for students of filmmaking, as well as the legions of Kevin Smith fans.

When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued. Being a big fan of Kevin Smith and his works, I thought that this book would give a new insight into the man and his genius. Unfortunately, since I am a big fan, I had done my research by reading books like Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes plus the hard-to-find Mallrats book published by Kitchen Sink Press. I've also listened to all of the DVD commentaries in addition to going to see Kevin Smith speak in public. So, I was somewhat disappointed that there was barely any new information included in this book. Not to say that this book was awful, which it is not. The book does a great job of culling all of the information about each movie and breaking it down into easy digestible form with many notated quotes from Kevin Smith and others. Regrettably, the author sometimes slips his personal feelings when providing the View Askew timeline, which disrupts the flow of the book and loses some of the objectivity of this historian. Also, the author sometimes forces too many similes when referencing Mr. Smith. It almost seems like the author wants to emulate the pop culture wittiness that his subject has been known for.However, in the day of instantaneous access and easily obtainable information, the task of surprising people with new information is a daunting task, especially when the subject is on someone who uses the Internet as his marketing mouthpiece. But, this book does a great job of staying on track, dishing out colorful stories and giving the reader a wonderful ride through the View Askewinverse.