Skinema

SKINEMA reviews over 150 pornos but seldom mentions porn. The book is actually about the pill-popping exploits of Chris Nieratko. "He's an asshole,"...more

SKINEMA reviews over 150 pornos but seldom mentions porn. The book is actually about the pill-popping exploits of Chris Nieratko. "He's an asshole," as Johnny Knoxville puts it, but whether he's rescuing a stalker from choking on her own vomit, getting his nose broken for having AIDS (he doesn't), or marrying the one woman that can put up with his insanity, his life sounds so much like a collection of hilarious bar stories it's impossible not to grab a beer and listen to the whole thing. Ten years ago, Chris Nieratko was getting drunk with pals from the seminal skateboard magazine Big Brother and writing whatever came to his wasted head. When he became the editor they started a now-infamous group of idiots called Jackass. Chris ate eggs until he puked for the show but his love of pills and sleeping lent itself more to the literary world. When Vice Magazine and a few other outlets said they needed porn reviews, Chris obliged by sticking the names of porn videos above various rants about his life. The review for LIQUID GOLD 2 begins, "My mom could single-handedly save my town from flooding if ever the occasion arose. She once worked at the United States' largest producer of maxi-pads and before being laid off, stockpiled truckloads of the stuff." He mentions the porn he is reviewing approximately zero times. The pieces hardly ever address the videos, instead using them as a catalyst for ranting and reminiscing about his own life, the pieces ultimately forming a kind of anarchic memoir of sex, drugs, failed romantic encounters with pornstars, fake tits, bad decisions, mean-spirited antics, and the ultimate showstopper, marriage. The book also includes the definitive guide to getting a stripper to leave the club with you. SKINEMA is the first in a series of VICE books inspired by the magazine's content. It's called Jackass Journalism in remembrance of the once great gonzo journalism that so tragically shot itself in the head recently.   less