'Silver Screen Fiend' details comedian Patton Oswalt's mania for movies
Comedian Patton Oswalt has starred in films such as 鈥淏ig Fan,鈥� 鈥淵oung Adult,鈥� and 鈥淩atatouille,鈥� and according to his new book, the medium consumed his early life, with the actor often attending screenings three or more nights a week.
He tells the story of his movie obsession and his early career in his new book 鈥淪ilver Screen Fiend,鈥� which was released today. Oswalt is previously the author of the book 鈥淶ombie Spaceship Wasteland.鈥澛�
鈥淲hen I was thinking of becoming a comedian I just was devouring comedy, going out to see it and doing it," he said in an interview with the . "In my mind, I'm going to become a director and a screenwriter, I'm going to see every movie ever made. It really appealed to the whole OCD, completist aspect to my personality."
Claudia Puig of called Oswalt鈥檚 book 鈥渆ngaging鈥�. Oswalt鈥檚 prose is sparkling 鈥� astute [and] witty鈥�. [he鈥檚] an inventive writer鈥� .Oswalt's homage to films is both hilarious and heartfelt," while David Brusie of the found the book to be "a funny, emotionally rewarding coming-of-age story.... The book鈥檚 structure isn鈥檛 always clear, which sometimes makes for an unwieldy read, and a 33-page appendix listing every movie he saw over four years, while interesting at a glance, ultimately feels like padding. But Oswalt鈥檚 ample writing talents push the narrative past these shortcomings."
Meanwhile, critic Linda Holmes wrote that 鈥渢he best of comedian and actor Patton Oswalt lies in his ability to truthfully observe what is small but important.鈥� The writer found 鈥渢hat tendency to overwrite in response to ideas that don't feel quite as weighted as he wants them to be is the problem with the less successful parts of聽鈥楽ilver Screen Fiend鈥欌�� but that 鈥渢he farther he gets from the theaters, and from the attempt to convey their grandeur and the grandeur of film itself, the better the book is."聽
And Elbert Ventura of found that 鈥渢he book still doesn鈥檛 quite sidestep the drawbacks of the contemporary pop memoir, reading too often like an anecdote dump straining for profundity. But Oswalt has a good angle 鈥� a portrait of the artist as a young film buff 鈥� and the book underscores a point often lost in talking about movie love: the sheer work of being a real cinephile鈥�. [T]he book is at its best when it鈥檚 just him watching, thinking, and talking movies.鈥�
