Patton Oswalt is probably best known for playing the role of
Doug Heffernan’s
friend Spence on the sitcom The
King of Queens. Besides acting, Oswalt has also done stand-up comedy for
years and recently released Silver Screen Fiend, his second memoir.
This light but enjoyable book mostly focuses on a number of
years where Oswalt claims he turned into a movie junkie. Oswalt continually
makes the point that he was addicted to movies during these years and that he
hoped watching huge numbers of films each week would teach him how to be a
great film director. I found that his delusions of being a great director
rarely presented themselves. He’s compulsive about his movie viewing but he
doesn’t come off as someone dreaming about being the next Martin Scorcese. More
often, he comes off as a rudderless man hiding from life in dark movie
theaters. But just because he rarely follows his supposed theme doesn’t mean
that Silver Screen Fiend isn’t
entertaining. Oswalt is a good story teller with lots of good stories to tell.
These include crossing paths with Jerry Lewis and wondering if Lewis’
ultra-secret film The Day the Clown Cried
is in the briefcase on Lewis’ desk. There are also great tales of being on
the road doing stand-up comedy and of what he had to learn in order to be a
successful stand-up comedian. Oswalt also dishes out entertaining takes on the
many films he watches during his time as a “sprocket fiend,” a name for movie
junkies that he frequently drops in the book. These range from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace to the
very arty Last Year at Marienbad and
everything in between. If you like movies, if you like stand-up comedy, or if
you just like being entertained, Silver
Screen Fiend is just the ticket.
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