Kevin Smith Explains How YOGA HOSERS is Really His Apology to Critics
Right around the time Cop Out came out, writer/director Kevin Smith started getting very contentious with film critics. It seemed like he was taking some of the criticism personally, and he probably had a pretty good reason: many critics have been especially unkind to Smith over the years, and some crossed boundaries from simply attacking his movies to attacking him and his motivations.
Speaking for myself, I grew up with his movies and find myself liking the guy despite some of his worst tendencies. It probably helps that I didn't see Tusk and haven't seen Yoga Hosers, because I don't think those movies look particularly good or look like something I'd be interested in. I'm lucky enough at this job to not be forced to see and review every single movie that comes to theaters, so I simply won't watch movies that I'm 99% sure I'll hate — at least not when they come out theatrically. That's not to say that I only watch movies that align with my current personal tastes, because when you start doing that, you lose out on growing and evolving as a person and as a consumer of art, but as a general rule, I'll sometimes watch movies I think I won't care for when they hit VOD to either be pleasantly surprised at being wrong or to confirm my suspicion. The last movie I saw of Smith's was Red State, which I actually really enjoyed, but Yoga Hosers looks pretty awful to me, so I've avoided it. Joey reviewed it at Sundance and says it's Smith's worst movie so far, but Smith has taken to Twitter to somewhat defend the film — or at least to make the subtext of the movie clear to everyone. Take a look:
Like I said, I haven't seen Yoga Hosers, and even after reading this, I'll admit I still don't plan to. But it is nice to hear that Smith cares, and he seems to be moving forward from the bitterness he was consumed by a few years ago. I wish him the best, and hopefully one of these days he ends up making something that appeals to me the way his first few films did.