OneMetal.com book REVIEW:
Yippee Ki-Yay Moviegoer

Moviegoers, hold that popcorn; cinema lovers, be kind and pause; amateur and professional film critics, move over because the Seattle familiar and internet scribe popularly known as “Vern” has once again entered the literary arena, widening the scope of film studies with his intense and utterly entertaining new book.

Two years after publicizing Seagalogy: A Study of the Ass-Kicking Films of Steven Seagal, Vern returns to Titan Books to channel his energy into another instant hit: “Yippee Ki-Yay Moviegoer!”: Writings on Bruce Willis, Badass Cinema, and Other Important Topics. The frequent Ain’t It Cool News website contributor packages more than a love for ’80s action movie icons like Bruce Willis and Clint Eastwood into his roughly 400-page monster, a lovechild of his movie career that spans film generations and traces genre and actor legacies. Always insightful, Vern groups his eighty-plus reviews into thematic sections, dedicated to such topics as the warrior code and masculinity, society, the near pornographic (or downright disturbing), summer blockbusters, and various other oddball trends. Sifting through little known or foreign gems (several of them still only available on VHS) and then grazing more mainstream classics, Vern’s collection offers a well-rounded film education: He focuses his attention on such titles as Enter the Ninja, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Knightriders, Brokeback Mountain, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Zoo, The Gingerdead Man, and Yojimbo, to name a handful.

Vern infuses so much film knowledge, so much actor history, culture relevance, and frank confidence into his essays that readers will gorge themselves on every enthusiastic word. His casual, fresh approach eases readers into a film’s context rather than yanking them into the cinematic world. Even for those whose movie culture knowledge runs a little dry, Yippee Ki-Yay Moviegoer! walks the perfect line between amateur and veteran: Vern is a reviewer for the masses, for today’s aficionados looking for their next wholesome movie fix and for those guys whose Dads took them to the theaters to see Die Hard.

Filled with effortless humor, Yippee Ki-Yay Moviegoer! nurtures the movie fanatic in all of us. This book belongs on your bookshelf, or preferably beside your favorite DVDs and old tapes. And if anyone, in the span of nine pages, can discuss in uncomfortable detail a painful urodynamic evaluation, accomplish the meaning of manhood, and then bring a tear to the reader’s eye afterward, it’s Vern.

Bottom Line

With essays proving as classic as the movies they often cover, Vern catalogs his best reviews into a book oozing with thought-provoking commentary and, overall, a love of a film.