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rajs's review against another edition
3.0
Patton Oswalt is honest. He tells you at the beginning that he just wants to talk at people about movies, and that's exactly what this book is. He does also talk about his career as a standup, although I'm guessing that's covered more in his first book (which I have not read). While this book is meandering and doesn't exactly seem to have a point, I do find Oswalt funny and enjoy his writing
skynet666's review
3.0
I listened to this on audio, which I think is a "must" when the author is reading their own story/memoir etc. It was good and I like the author, but it would have been better if I was an old film buff too.
mylibrarybooks's review against another edition
4.0
Somehow Patton Oswalt managed to talk about almost every single one of my obsessions in such a way that, rather than feeling like he covered all of my bases, actually pushed me to want to do more than just think or talk about them. He makes me want to do EVERYTHING. And puts such an interesting perspective on it all, especially his Night Cafés. He also manages to talk about films in a film buff manner without making you feel talked down to, which was one of my concerns before I started reading. (And probably would have been the tone had I or almost anyone else written it). I have a strong feeling that if he ever does direct, that I will be a fan of it as well.
christianholub's review against another edition
3.0
Patton Oswalt is one of my favorite people in pop culture – it wouldn’t be a stretch to say I’ve based a bit of my personality on his comedy. But as much as I love his willingness to stretch out into different fields, his books are definitely thinner than his standup. He’s an energetic writer but he doesn’t have a lot of plot to work with here – it’s tough to believe that his “movie addiction” ever threatened his wellbeing in a meaningful way. Still, I love any chance to explore his brain, and his anxiety about taking in so many films without actually making any hits home for me. I mean, the whole thing is worth it for the summary of perfect imaginary films at the end, as Oswalt visualizes a Terrence Malick BLOOD MERIDIAN and a John Belushi/Richard Pryor CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES.
jorsie's review
2.0
The moral of Silver Screen Fiend is to watch fewer movies. That's not what I signed up for when I started listening to the audiobook, narrated by Patton Oswalt himself. Despite effortlessly dispensing facts and trivia about films from all decades and genres, Oswalt backpedaled on his film obsession. During this time period, 1995–1999, Oswalt worked his way up to a comedy special on HBO and landed a permanent gig on long-running sitcom, yet that was his main takeaway: fewer movies. Oswalt definitely gets it (about The Bicycle Thief, he wrote: "It's the kind of movie that makes you realize that each person you glance at, interact with, or ignore is an epic film or thrilling novel you'll never get to experience. Makes you bless the grandeur of life and curse it at the same time for being too painfully narrow and brief."), but Frank Capra got it better:
"Film is a disease, when it infects your bloodstream, it takes over as the number one hormone...it plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to film is more film." —included as an epigraph in the book
"Film is a disease, when it infects your bloodstream, it takes over as the number one hormone...it plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to film is more film." —included as an epigraph in the book
devindevindevin's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good. I'm going through a film binge myself right now, so it was fun recognizing every esoteric director/film and thinking about how we thought largely the same things.
Also interesting how when Oswalt wrote for MadTV, he didn't think it was a bid deal and just played videogames the entire time. I fear that's exactily what I would do if I ever landed a writing gig somewhere; I wouldn't think it was that important, even if it was, because that's all life ever is.
Well. I should probably go watch some Oswalt standup now, because I've never seen a minute.
Also interesting how when Oswalt wrote for MadTV, he didn't think it was a bid deal and just played videogames the entire time. I fear that's exactily what I would do if I ever landed a writing gig somewhere; I wouldn't think it was that important, even if it was, because that's all life ever is.
Well. I should probably go watch some Oswalt standup now, because I've never seen a minute.
thefriedone's review against another edition
3.0
Quick, fun read.
I was pleasantly surprised by the history of Patton's progress in stand-up here. Those parts were definitely the most interesting to me. I liked his idea of using Van Gogh's The Night Cafe (a turning point in the artist's career/life) to pinpoint his own "Night Cafes" - venues that helped him evolve with his stand-up and/or made him realize changes that he needed to make in his life. Each of those places (mostly stand-up venues and theaters) had an impact on his career and his life because of their unique audiences, standards, cliques, etc.
In terms of the film "addiction" I was left underwhelmed. The fact that he was still honing his stand-up craft, holding down a comedy writing gig, etc. while "addicted" to theater-going weakened the impression that those years were such a dark time in his life. He is/was certainly a cinephile and had a compulsion to check off films from his Five Film Books more for completion than enjoyment. There's no denying film had a large impact on his life but perhaps less so than we're led to believe from the title or synopsis.
Overall it's a decent memoir chock full of fun anecdotes about his burgeoning stand-up career and film trivia from a formative four-year period in the mid-late 90s.
I was pleasantly surprised by the history of Patton's progress in stand-up here. Those parts were definitely the most interesting to me. I liked his idea of using Van Gogh's The Night Cafe (a turning point in the artist's career/life) to pinpoint his own "Night Cafes" - venues that helped him evolve with his stand-up and/or made him realize changes that he needed to make in his life. Each of those places (mostly stand-up venues and theaters) had an impact on his career and his life because of their unique audiences, standards, cliques, etc.
In terms of the film "addiction" I was left underwhelmed. The fact that he was still honing his stand-up craft, holding down a comedy writing gig, etc. while "addicted" to theater-going weakened the impression that those years were such a dark time in his life. He is/was certainly a cinephile and had a compulsion to check off films from his Five Film Books more for completion than enjoyment. There's no denying film had a large impact on his life but perhaps less so than we're led to believe from the title or synopsis.
Overall it's a decent memoir chock full of fun anecdotes about his burgeoning stand-up career and film trivia from a formative four-year period in the mid-late 90s.