Shit, Actually

****Your Favorite Movies, Re-Watched*** ***

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* 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.