A writer inEntertainment Weekly described Smith's film-reviewing style as "an exercise in hilarious hostility".[16] He has been dubbed "America's most cantankerous film critic" byThe Atlantic.[17]
Love Monkey was published byWilliam Morrow[18] in 2004.[19]Times criticJanet Maslin called the book "hilarious".Time magazine said, "You couldn't ask for a more entertaining drinking buddy – watch out for a memorable strip-club meltdown scene – but there's a deep, dark subway of despair running underneath his riffs, and that's what makes the book more than a standup routine... Love Monkey nails it."[20]
On January 17, 2006,[21] a one-hourCBS TV series based on the book debuted; it was adramedy also calledLove Monkey. It starredTom Cavanagh,Judy Greer,Jason Priestley andLarenz Tate.[21] The show aired on CBS in January–February 2006, but was pulled from the CBS prime-time schedule after only three episodes had been aired. Shortly afterwards,VH1 announced that it had acquired the rights to broadcast all 8 episodes which had been filmed to that point. They aired on VH1 in April and May 2006.[22]
Smith's second novel,A Christmas Caroline,[23] was published in 2006, also by William Morrow.The Wall Street Journal criticJoseph Bottum wrote, "For those who prefer their sentimentality seasoned with a dash of cynical wit, Kyle Smith'sA Christmas Caroline may be a good selection. Mr. Smith ... turns in a quick, enjoyable read about a selfish woman at a fashion magazine who is taught the true meaning ofChristmas by three spooky visitors. From the moment you meet Caroline's assistant—a devious redhead named Ursula Heep—you know you're at play in the fields ofCharles Dickens.... Mr. Smith takes Dickens' old, familiar tale and stuffs it into a woman straight out ofThe Devil Wears Prada".[24]
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