Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema
Author: Lindy West
Publisher: Hachette
Goodreads | The StoryGraph
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Cover Description
New York Times opinion writer and bestselling author Lindy West was once the in-house movie critic for Seattle's alternative newsweekly The Stranger, where she covered film with brutal honesty and giddy irreverence. In Shit, Actually, Lindy West returns to those roots, re-examining beloved and iconic movies from the past 40 years with an eye toward the big questions of our time: Is Twilight the horniest movie in history? Why do the zebras in The Lion King trust Mufasa--who is a lion--to look out for their best interests? Why did anyone bother making any more movies after The Fugitive achieved perfection? And, my god, why don't any of the women in Love, Actually ever fucking talk?!
From Forrest Gump, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, and Bad Boys II, to Face/Off, Top Gun, and The Notebook, West combines her razor-sharp wit and trademark humor with a genuine adoration for nostalgic trash to shed new critical light on some of our defining cultural touchstones--the stories we've long been telling ourselves about who we are.
At once outrageously funny and piercingly incisive, Shit, Actually reminds us to pause and ask, "How does this movie hold up?", all while teaching us how to laugh at the things we love without ever letting them or ourselves off the hook. Shit, Actually is a love letter and a break-up note all in one: to the films that shaped us and the ones that ruined us. More often than not, West finds, they're one and the same.
TL;DR Review
Shit, Actually is hilarious, timely, and honestly just the kind of great content we all need in 2020. And you don’t have to have seen all the movies to enjoy the book!
For you if: You are a millennial, lol.
Full Review
I’ve read all of Lindy West’s books. Actually, I’ve listened to all of them as audiobooks (highly recommend; her delivery is top-notch). And they’ve never failed to disappoint. She’s funny, smart, and sharp.
Shit, Actually is no different. As soon as I heard the premise, I knew it was going to be just what the 2020 doctor ordered — even though I literally don’t even watch movies lol. And even though it was true I hadn’t seen a lot of them, there were still a lot I had, just by virtue of being human — Titanic, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Twilight, The Lion King, Forest Gump, The Notebook.
Each essay basically walks through the plot of each movie, poking fun, roasting, asking culturally relevant questions, and just generally joking around. My favorite was obviously the essay on Harry Potter. In fact, Lindy, can we get just a whole book where you roast ALL the movies and not just the first one? Please?
Highly recommend for some 2020 levity. It’s fun, but also doesn’t pretend that the real world isn’t out there.