To know the origin of Snoochie-Boochies, you must spend An Evening with Kevin Smith. The Jersey-bred auteur of low-budget comedy proves equally adept as an uncensored raconteur, regaling five college audiences – his most devoted demographic – in this two-disc compilation of lively QandA. Sporting his trademark slacker garb, Smith occasionally bites the loyal, sometimes moronic hands that feed him (as a result, audience participation is drop-dead hilarious), but he’s arguably the most publicly and personally honest filmmaker to survive the insanity of Hollywood.His best stories lift the veil of show-biz decorum, describing absurd meetings with studio executives over his ill-fated screenplay Superman Lives; razzing the artsy pretensions of director Tim Burton; or exposing Prince (who hired him to direct a never-completed documentary) as a self-absorbed Jesus freak.
These attacks aren’t baseless; Smith’s too smartly good-natured to provoke without purpose, and with an onstage visit by Jason Mewes (“Jay” to Smith’s “Silent Bob”), this ribald, sharply assembled Evening compares favorably to Richard Pryor with its outrageous blend of comedy and candor.