If the name “Kevin Smith†rings a bell with you, it’s probably for movies such as “Clerksâ€, “Mall Ratsâ€, or “Dogmaâ€.
What is less well known is his speaking engagements. Smith travels all over the place to do one-man shows, and last night he played to a nearly packed house at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall.
The format is ostensibly a question and answer format, but the questions are merely an excuse for Smith to tell stories. You might think from Smith’s appearances in his movies – where he is now known for talking – that as an actor, he’s a pretty good writer. You would be wrong – Smith is at the heart a storyteller, and he’s also a very talented performer.
Some questions – where Smith really doesn’t have much to say – yield polite, short answers. Questions where he wants to talk give longer answers – one about what happened after his most recent movie led to a very long (and entertaining) story that took about 45 minutes.
In all, he talked for about 3.5 hours without a break, and was really, really funny the whole time. I should note that Smith doesn’t hold anything back in the topics he covers or the language he uses to express it, and if you are easily offended, this might not be for you.
A DVD of some of his earlier sessions is available. It’s pretty good in its own right, and a good way to tell if the live show is a good fit for you.
So, what do you think ?