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Iíll hold my hands up and gladly admit to being a Kevin Smith fan boy. I love the guy. I have an undying passion to see or read everything heís involved with ñ no matter how diverse or how many phone calls I need to make to US comic distributors ñ because the guy is a common man genius. Heís gives the impression (whether an illusion or not ñ I believe not) that he is just a regular schmo. He didnít go to film school, he lives in New Jersey, not the trendy Hollywood or New York, he casts his friends in main roles in multi-million dollar pictures and, most importantly, he is the king of puerile-yet-smart comedy.
I could harp on about my love for Clerks and undying admiration for the guy for making me laugh out loud every time someone says ì37î ñ but thatís history. The guyís reputation goes before him. In fact, more than that, his creations go before him. You wonít see Kevin Smith mentioned without Jay and Silent Bob being too many breaths away. Two characters who were originally only invented for coverage in a micro-budget slacker picture made by a gaggle of amateurís some how end up getting mentioned in the halls of Miramax as guaranteed to get viewers perceiving a film to have suddenly improved (this is how the two ended up Scream 3 ñ no reason for plot or any desire of Wes Cravenís to work with them ñ simply because the Execs knew it would guarantee a raise in the test audiences scores).
They could so easily have been two totally different characters too ñ Silent Bob so nearly wasnít silent at all (though Chasing Amy viewers might argue heís still rather vocal). The original actor cast as Bob dropped out at the last minute and Clerkís tubby director had to stand in. As he couldnít give up time to memorize the lines as well as direct the film, his heterosexual life partner Jay did the talking for both of them.
Later Jay nearly had a radical face-lift. After Clerksí success Kevin Smith went mainstream and made a studio picture. They wanted Seth Green to take over the roll of Jay from Jason Mews. The fact that this was totally silly as Mews IS Jay never struck the studio execs ñ they only saw that Mews was clearly just one of Kevin Smithís friends whoíd didnít have any acting ability or pulling power. Smith persisted though and at his own expense flew Mews out and put him up in his hotel room so that for the first day of shooting Jay would be played by Mews and the suits could make their decision as to whether heíd stay or go. Luckily they liked what they saw.
You all know how the story continues; Jay and Silent Bob carry on appearing in everything Smith touches ñ the five Red Bank films and the comic books (including a rather splendid four part Jay and Silent Bob story which physically takes them from Chasing Amy to Dogma). Everyone still loves them and allís well. Well, not really. Mr Smith himself realizes that they are a crutch and an easy way for him to pull himself out of a bad situation. That along with their rather limited range means that heís being restricted as a director. The main reason for their success is that you canít not like Jay/Jason Mews. Heís so childlike heíll get away with anything he says on the presumption of the viewer that he is so stupid he doesnít actually mean what heís saying. However, as a pair of gutter-sexually obsessed drug dealers they are kind of hard to slip into a ìgrown upî film. There is a stock-book term used to describe the two ñ but I unfortunately canít use it here due to the language filter. Lets just say it sounds a little like ìthey are great for mick and bart jokes, but little elseî. This isnít a criticism of the characters ñ they are basically very good ñ but only in one setting. For example ñ Jason Biggs getting jiggy with the pie is very funny in the context itís put in in American Pie. However, move it to American Beauty and itís just perverted, not funny and perverted.
Sadly then, Kevin Smith and his die-hard fans (as that is the only sort of fan he has) have to wave goodbye to the pair sooner or later. And thatís the whole purpose of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
At heart itís a road movie with a heist sub-plot tacked on. First thing ñ the plot is total rubbish. It barely exists even though Smith tries really hard at times. There is basically a huge section in the middle of the film where Jay and Silent Bob are between Red Bank and Hollywood that isnít very good. I donít think Iíve ever criticised Kevin Smith before ñ but my goodness, there is half an hour of this film that really sucks. Big time. However, that is sandwiched by about an hour of laugh-your-ass-off brilliance.
If you donít ìgetî Kevin Smith, you wonít like this film. Itís always been that way, but he seems to have tried really hard here to appeal to his non-standard fan base. Thereís one joke in particular, which will be branded as genius by the American Pie crowd that is just Kevin writing for the lowest common denominator and extracting a cheap, contrived gag. ErmmmÖ donít want to ruin it for those that will like it, but lets just say it is Jayís little stint on news, supposedly confessing leadership of a terrorist organization.
On the other hand though, this is a film that is almost totally for the die-hard fan base. He tries to make it appeal to the majority ñ but happily he fails spectacularly. There has never been a film with so many in-jokes flying so thick and fast. Thereís even a few thatís youíll only pick up on if you regularly listen to Chris Rockís stand up acts ñ and they arenít even said by or to Chris Rockís character in the film (who, by the way, is simply genius ñ NWP will have you crying with tears of mirth when explained in the film).
The first scene is Jay and Silent Bobís origin, to use comic book terminology. Then weíre straight into the Quick Stop ñ in colour and full daylight for the interiors. And thereís Brian O'Halloran being Dante Hicks again and not some distant relative ñ and Jeff Anderson back as Randal. I just lapped that up. I canít express how brilliant it is to see the four main participants of Clerks up there on the big screen again. Dante and Randalís involvement is rather minor and ultimately serves little purpose in the grand scheme of things ñ but by god every View Askew geek, which I am proud to admit I am, will be beside themselves. Itís Jay and Silent Bob standing outside the Quick Stop as god intended them, and thatís hard to fault. Hell ñ theyíre even dealing drugs again, after theyíre little transformation into simply lovable rogue for Clerks: The Animated Series.
Rest assured that there is all sort of geeking out to be done ñ even the lesser characters like Trish "The Dish" Jones and the Kid in the Helmet get their cameo, worth ñtheir-weight-in-gold appearances.
There is a second strand that makes this fall into the fan-boy only film category ñ itís about the Internet. Itís about the wee gits whoíll sit behind their screen, protected by miles of phone line, and insult people without the thought for the flesh and blood person. Iíll forever admire Kevin Smith for making that sentiment, which must only be appreciated by an unbelievably minor fraction of the population, a major element of the film. Okay, so a disproportionate proportion of people here will understand and appreciate the message ñ but I think we can safely classify ourselves as Internet geeks ñ and I mean that in the nice sense.
Iím intentionally trying not to give anything away (which is hard), Jayís great, the two just barely manage to hold a whole film together ñ but thereís one guy I canít keep quiet about. Okay, so Iíve waxed lyrical about Smith, but now for Mr Affleck.
In the indie scene Iím sure it is ìcoolî to hate Ben Affleck. You know ñ he did Armageddon; heís a sell out. Look ñ the guyís a genius. Watch this film and youíll agree. He makes fun of himself in a manner beyond any normal person, let alone an Oscar winning Hollywood superstar. The fact is a lot of very important people make fun of themselves in this film, Gus Van Saint, Wes Craven and Miramax as a corporation being the notables ñ but none go to the levels of the boy Affleck. And he is just so funny in doing it. I really hope he ends up on the commentary track for the DVD, even though heís such a minor character, as I just think heís a great guy and genuinely funny. But then if youíve watched the Mallrats, Chasing Amy or Dogma commentaries youíll know that. One of Jay and Silent Bobís highlights is Affleck and Damon talking about how they pick films ñ and Good Will Hunting 2: The Hunting Season is priceless. In fact, there are a couple of good parodies thrown in. Smith and Mews manage a better Planet of the Apes rehash in sixty seconds than Tim Burton did with a full picture and bloated budget.
All that said ñ there are bad points (a few of which Iíve mentioned already). The film wonít sell to the majority very well as unless you have a good working knowledge of the View Askew films a lot of jokes will go totally over your head. Thereís no plot and the film tries so hard to find one that parts of it are ruined. But the biggest flaw, in my mind, is the lack of quality Jason Lee. He crops up in two different roles (another thing to confuse those not familiar as they are rather similar) ñ Brodie and Banky. Now, I love Jason Lee, I think he was under used and miscast in Dogma, primarily because he was the bad guy. He has that same impossible not to love thing going on as Jason Mews ñ but Lee can also really act. He delivers a comically annoyed line like no one else in the business. The Brodie cameo is quite good (stink palming included for avid Mallrats watchers) ñ itís fun and Lee is centre stage (always important for quality Lee moments). However in the Banky scenes he is overwhelmed by everything going on around him and never gets the chance to shine. Leeís lined up to take centre stage in a later Kevin Smith, non-Red Bank film, so Iím looking forward to that BIG STYLEEE.
Anyway ñ other downers. The much-anticipated Mark Hamill light sabre scene isnít that great and George Carlin is similarly criminally under used as Lee. I guess thatís about it though. Iíve finished. My own good bye to Jay and Silent Bob/review of the film is over. I havenít even touched on Jason Biggsís great cameo or the fact that the animated versions of Jay and Bob will be back in Clerk: Sell Out and hence the film isnít really the good bye isnít intended to be, but I think Iíve indulged myself for long enough.
I could harp on about my love for Clerks and undying admiration for the guy for making me laugh out loud every time someone says ì37î ñ but thatís history. The guyís reputation goes before him. In fact, more than that, his creations go before him. You wonít see Kevin Smith mentioned without Jay and Silent Bob being too many breaths away. Two characters who were originally only invented for coverage in a micro-budget slacker picture made by a gaggle of amateurís some how end up getting mentioned in the halls of Miramax as guaranteed to get viewers perceiving a film to have suddenly improved (this is how the two ended up Scream 3 ñ no reason for plot or any desire of Wes Cravenís to work with them ñ simply because the Execs knew it would guarantee a raise in the test audiences scores).
They could so easily have been two totally different characters too ñ Silent Bob so nearly wasnít silent at all (though Chasing Amy viewers might argue heís still rather vocal). The original actor cast as Bob dropped out at the last minute and Clerkís tubby director had to stand in. As he couldnít give up time to memorize the lines as well as direct the film, his heterosexual life partner Jay did the talking for both of them.
Later Jay nearly had a radical face-lift. After Clerksí success Kevin Smith went mainstream and made a studio picture. They wanted Seth Green to take over the roll of Jay from Jason Mews. The fact that this was totally silly as Mews IS Jay never struck the studio execs ñ they only saw that Mews was clearly just one of Kevin Smithís friends whoíd didnít have any acting ability or pulling power. Smith persisted though and at his own expense flew Mews out and put him up in his hotel room so that for the first day of shooting Jay would be played by Mews and the suits could make their decision as to whether heíd stay or go. Luckily they liked what they saw.
You all know how the story continues; Jay and Silent Bob carry on appearing in everything Smith touches ñ the five Red Bank films and the comic books (including a rather splendid four part Jay and Silent Bob story which physically takes them from Chasing Amy to Dogma). Everyone still loves them and allís well. Well, not really. Mr Smith himself realizes that they are a crutch and an easy way for him to pull himself out of a bad situation. That along with their rather limited range means that heís being restricted as a director. The main reason for their success is that you canít not like Jay/Jason Mews. Heís so childlike heíll get away with anything he says on the presumption of the viewer that he is so stupid he doesnít actually mean what heís saying. However, as a pair of gutter-sexually obsessed drug dealers they are kind of hard to slip into a ìgrown upî film. There is a stock-book term used to describe the two ñ but I unfortunately canít use it here due to the language filter. Lets just say it sounds a little like ìthey are great for mick and bart jokes, but little elseî. This isnít a criticism of the characters ñ they are basically very good ñ but only in one setting. For example ñ Jason Biggs getting jiggy with the pie is very funny in the context itís put in in American Pie. However, move it to American Beauty and itís just perverted, not funny and perverted.
Sadly then, Kevin Smith and his die-hard fans (as that is the only sort of fan he has) have to wave goodbye to the pair sooner or later. And thatís the whole purpose of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
At heart itís a road movie with a heist sub-plot tacked on. First thing ñ the plot is total rubbish. It barely exists even though Smith tries really hard at times. There is basically a huge section in the middle of the film where Jay and Silent Bob are between Red Bank and Hollywood that isnít very good. I donít think Iíve ever criticised Kevin Smith before ñ but my goodness, there is half an hour of this film that really sucks. Big time. However, that is sandwiched by about an hour of laugh-your-ass-off brilliance.
If you donít ìgetî Kevin Smith, you wonít like this film. Itís always been that way, but he seems to have tried really hard here to appeal to his non-standard fan base. Thereís one joke in particular, which will be branded as genius by the American Pie crowd that is just Kevin writing for the lowest common denominator and extracting a cheap, contrived gag. ErmmmÖ donít want to ruin it for those that will like it, but lets just say it is Jayís little stint on news, supposedly confessing leadership of a terrorist organization.
On the other hand though, this is a film that is almost totally for the die-hard fan base. He tries to make it appeal to the majority ñ but happily he fails spectacularly. There has never been a film with so many in-jokes flying so thick and fast. Thereís even a few thatís youíll only pick up on if you regularly listen to Chris Rockís stand up acts ñ and they arenít even said by or to Chris Rockís character in the film (who, by the way, is simply genius ñ NWP will have you crying with tears of mirth when explained in the film).
The first scene is Jay and Silent Bobís origin, to use comic book terminology. Then weíre straight into the Quick Stop ñ in colour and full daylight for the interiors. And thereís Brian O'Halloran being Dante Hicks again and not some distant relative ñ and Jeff Anderson back as Randal. I just lapped that up. I canít express how brilliant it is to see the four main participants of Clerks up there on the big screen again. Dante and Randalís involvement is rather minor and ultimately serves little purpose in the grand scheme of things ñ but by god every View Askew geek, which I am proud to admit I am, will be beside themselves. Itís Jay and Silent Bob standing outside the Quick Stop as god intended them, and thatís hard to fault. Hell ñ theyíre even dealing drugs again, after theyíre little transformation into simply lovable rogue for Clerks: The Animated Series.
Rest assured that there is all sort of geeking out to be done ñ even the lesser characters like Trish "The Dish" Jones and the Kid in the Helmet get their cameo, worth ñtheir-weight-in-gold appearances.
There is a second strand that makes this fall into the fan-boy only film category ñ itís about the Internet. Itís about the wee gits whoíll sit behind their screen, protected by miles of phone line, and insult people without the thought for the flesh and blood person. Iíll forever admire Kevin Smith for making that sentiment, which must only be appreciated by an unbelievably minor fraction of the population, a major element of the film. Okay, so a disproportionate proportion of people here will understand and appreciate the message ñ but I think we can safely classify ourselves as Internet geeks ñ and I mean that in the nice sense.
Iím intentionally trying not to give anything away (which is hard), Jayís great, the two just barely manage to hold a whole film together ñ but thereís one guy I canít keep quiet about. Okay, so Iíve waxed lyrical about Smith, but now for Mr Affleck.
In the indie scene Iím sure it is ìcoolî to hate Ben Affleck. You know ñ he did Armageddon; heís a sell out. Look ñ the guyís a genius. Watch this film and youíll agree. He makes fun of himself in a manner beyond any normal person, let alone an Oscar winning Hollywood superstar. The fact is a lot of very important people make fun of themselves in this film, Gus Van Saint, Wes Craven and Miramax as a corporation being the notables ñ but none go to the levels of the boy Affleck. And he is just so funny in doing it. I really hope he ends up on the commentary track for the DVD, even though heís such a minor character, as I just think heís a great guy and genuinely funny. But then if youíve watched the Mallrats, Chasing Amy or Dogma commentaries youíll know that. One of Jay and Silent Bobís highlights is Affleck and Damon talking about how they pick films ñ and Good Will Hunting 2: The Hunting Season is priceless. In fact, there are a couple of good parodies thrown in. Smith and Mews manage a better Planet of the Apes rehash in sixty seconds than Tim Burton did with a full picture and bloated budget.
All that said ñ there are bad points (a few of which Iíve mentioned already). The film wonít sell to the majority very well as unless you have a good working knowledge of the View Askew films a lot of jokes will go totally over your head. Thereís no plot and the film tries so hard to find one that parts of it are ruined. But the biggest flaw, in my mind, is the lack of quality Jason Lee. He crops up in two different roles (another thing to confuse those not familiar as they are rather similar) ñ Brodie and Banky. Now, I love Jason Lee, I think he was under used and miscast in Dogma, primarily because he was the bad guy. He has that same impossible not to love thing going on as Jason Mews ñ but Lee can also really act. He delivers a comically annoyed line like no one else in the business. The Brodie cameo is quite good (stink palming included for avid Mallrats watchers) ñ itís fun and Lee is centre stage (always important for quality Lee moments). However in the Banky scenes he is overwhelmed by everything going on around him and never gets the chance to shine. Leeís lined up to take centre stage in a later Kevin Smith, non-Red Bank film, so Iím looking forward to that BIG STYLEEE.
Anyway ñ other downers. The much-anticipated Mark Hamill light sabre scene isnít that great and George Carlin is similarly criminally under used as Lee. I guess thatís about it though. Iíve finished. My own good bye to Jay and Silent Bob/review of the film is over. I havenít even touched on Jason Biggsís great cameo or the fact that the animated versions of Jay and Bob will be back in Clerk: Sell Out and hence the film isnít really the good bye isnít intended to be, but I think Iíve indulged myself for long enough.
Page:
Ah Mr Smith fans gather and smile knowingly to each other.
Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back.
1st time I watched it, I thought "Well, most of it's pretty funny".
Then I watched it again, and more of it was funny.
And upon the 3rd viewing, the clouds parted and a voice did spake to me, and it said:
"Stop Stealing Monkeys"
And then I realised that I was laughing outloud at least once a minute, and I realised this was good.
Smith rules, period.
I got an episode of the animated Clerks last night and watched it.
It was like Smith with the core ripped out.
It's just me, but I like the fact Smith uses profanity to amuse.
Anyone can swear, but to do it well is a gift.
Jason Mewes should be earning $20 million a movie, and be in all the movies ever made from now on.
And he should swear as often as possible, because it's funny.
J&SBST fav lines for me:
"Everything is "That's so gay", I bet you think that monkey is gay"
"Well how do you know he doesn't smoke monkey-pole?"
"I am the Cl*t Commander! Whenever you think of cl*t, you'll see this face, first I'll..(makes many amusing motions)"
"Stop stealing monkeys"
"F(un) you"
"Ok then"
"I'm the Pie fu(nn)er!"
"Well in prison, you'll be the pie"
----
He wries excellent dialogue and situation, but in the end it just comes down to laughing at Jay mostly.
I lose my higbbrow movie-critic ponciness with Kevin Smith and just laugh like a hyena and applaud.
In order, my favs:
Mallrats
Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back
Dogma
Chasing Amy
Clerks
Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back.
1st time I watched it, I thought "Well, most of it's pretty funny".
Then I watched it again, and more of it was funny.
And upon the 3rd viewing, the clouds parted and a voice did spake to me, and it said:
"Stop Stealing Monkeys"
And then I realised that I was laughing outloud at least once a minute, and I realised this was good.
Smith rules, period.
I got an episode of the animated Clerks last night and watched it.
It was like Smith with the core ripped out.
It's just me, but I like the fact Smith uses profanity to amuse.
Anyone can swear, but to do it well is a gift.
Jason Mewes should be earning $20 million a movie, and be in all the movies ever made from now on.
And he should swear as often as possible, because it's funny.
J&SBST fav lines for me:
"Everything is "That's so gay", I bet you think that monkey is gay"
"Well how do you know he doesn't smoke monkey-pole?"
"I am the Cl*t Commander! Whenever you think of cl*t, you'll see this face, first I'll..(makes many amusing motions)"
"Stop stealing monkeys"
"F(un) you"
"Ok then"
"I'm the Pie fu(nn)er!"
"Well in prison, you'll be the pie"
----
He wries excellent dialogue and situation, but in the end it just comes down to laughing at Jay mostly.
I lose my higbbrow movie-critic ponciness with Kevin Smith and just laugh like a hyena and applaud.
In order, my favs:
Mallrats
Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back
Dogma
Chasing Amy
Clerks
Stryke wrote:
> *gets down on bended knee and worships the Doc*
DOGMA!!!!!
Damn straight K
> Smith rules. Don't worry, last time I did a post on Kevin Smith it also went
> unnoticed. THEY ARE ALL CRETINS who watched stupid little films like Jeepers
> Creepers. And that means YOU Mr Nice Guy. You know View Askew rules. Ahem.
> Excuse me, I'm off to watch Chasing Amy.
may i just ask what dogma is about.
> *gets down on bended knee and worships the Doc*
DOGMA!!!!!
Damn straight K
> Smith rules. Don't worry, last time I did a post on Kevin Smith it also went
> unnoticed. THEY ARE ALL CRETINS who watched stupid little films like Jeepers
> Creepers. And that means YOU Mr Nice Guy. You know View Askew rules. Ahem.
> Excuse me, I'm off to watch Chasing Amy.
may i just ask what dogma is about.
*gets down on bended knee and worships the Doc*
DOGMA!!!!!
Damn straight K Smith rules. Don't worry, last time I did a post on Kevin Smith it also went unnoticed. THEY ARE ALL CRETINS who watched stupid little films like Jeepers Creepers. And that means YOU Mr Nice Guy. You know View Askew rules. Ahem. Excuse me, I'm off to watch Chasing Amy.
DOGMA!!!!!
Damn straight K Smith rules. Don't worry, last time I did a post on Kevin Smith it also went unnoticed. THEY ARE ALL CRETINS who watched stupid little films like Jeepers Creepers. And that means YOU Mr Nice Guy. You know View Askew rules. Ahem. Excuse me, I'm off to watch Chasing Amy.
Yeah, well as long as someone notices! Think I've probably scared people off by the length and strange subject heading. When I got started I just couldn't stop :)
Don't worry Doc. This lack of replies will soon end just as soon as Gaz gets online. Prepare for Dogma. :-D
Iíll hold my hands up and gladly admit to being a Kevin Smith fan boy. I love the guy. I have an undying passion to see or read everything heís involved with ñ no matter how diverse or how many phone calls I need to make to US comic distributors ñ because the guy is a common man genius. Heís gives the impression (whether an illusion or not ñ I believe not) that he is just a regular schmo. He didnít go to film school, he lives in New Jersey, not the trendy Hollywood or New York, he casts his friends in main roles in multi-million dollar pictures and, most importantly, he is the king of puerile-yet-smart comedy.
I could harp on about my love for Clerks and undying admiration for the guy for making me laugh out loud every time someone says ì37î ñ but thatís history. The guyís reputation goes before him. In fact, more than that, his creations go before him. You wonít see Kevin Smith mentioned without Jay and Silent Bob being too many breaths away. Two characters who were originally only invented for coverage in a micro-budget slacker picture made by a gaggle of amateurís some how end up getting mentioned in the halls of Miramax as guaranteed to get viewers perceiving a film to have suddenly improved (this is how the two ended up Scream 3 ñ no reason for plot or any desire of Wes Cravenís to work with them ñ simply because the Execs knew it would guarantee a raise in the test audiences scores).
They could so easily have been two totally different characters too ñ Silent Bob so nearly wasnít silent at all (though Chasing Amy viewers might argue heís still rather vocal). The original actor cast as Bob dropped out at the last minute and Clerkís tubby director had to stand in. As he couldnít give up time to memorize the lines as well as direct the film, his heterosexual life partner Jay did the talking for both of them.
Later Jay nearly had a radical face-lift. After Clerksí success Kevin Smith went mainstream and made a studio picture. They wanted Seth Green to take over the roll of Jay from Jason Mews. The fact that this was totally silly as Mews IS Jay never struck the studio execs ñ they only saw that Mews was clearly just one of Kevin Smithís friends whoíd didnít have any acting ability or pulling power. Smith persisted though and at his own expense flew Mews out and put him up in his hotel room so that for the first day of shooting Jay would be played by Mews and the suits could make their decision as to whether heíd stay or go. Luckily they liked what they saw.
You all know how the story continues; Jay and Silent Bob carry on appearing in everything Smith touches ñ the five Red Bank films and the comic books (including a rather splendid four part Jay and Silent Bob story which physically takes them from Chasing Amy to Dogma). Everyone still loves them and allís well. Well, not really. Mr Smith himself realizes that they are a crutch and an easy way for him to pull himself out of a bad situation. That along with their rather limited range means that heís being restricted as a director. The main reason for their success is that you canít not like Jay/Jason Mews. Heís so childlike heíll get away with anything he says on the presumption of the viewer that he is so stupid he doesnít actually mean what heís saying. However, as a pair of gutter-sexually obsessed drug dealers they are kind of hard to slip into a ìgrown upî film. There is a stock-book term used to describe the two ñ but I unfortunately canít use it here due to the language filter. Lets just say it sounds a little like ìthey are great for mick and bart jokes, but little elseî. This isnít a criticism of the characters ñ they are basically very good ñ but only in one setting. For example ñ Jason Biggs getting jiggy with the pie is very funny in the context itís put in in American Pie. However, move it to American Beauty and itís just perverted, not funny and perverted.
Sadly then, Kevin Smith and his die-hard fans (as that is the only sort of fan he has) have to wave goodbye to the pair sooner or later. And thatís the whole purpose of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
At heart itís a road movie with a heist sub-plot tacked on. First thing ñ the plot is total rubbish. It barely exists even though Smith tries really hard at times. There is basically a huge section in the middle of the film where Jay and Silent Bob are between Red Bank and Hollywood that isnít very good. I donít think Iíve ever criticised Kevin Smith before ñ but my goodness, there is half an hour of this film that really sucks. Big time. However, that is sandwiched by about an hour of laugh-your-ass-off brilliance.
If you donít ìgetî Kevin Smith, you wonít like this film. Itís always been that way, but he seems to have tried really hard here to appeal to his non-standard fan base. Thereís one joke in particular, which will be branded as genius by the American Pie crowd that is just Kevin writing for the lowest common denominator and extracting a cheap, contrived gag. ErmmmÖ donít want to ruin it for those that will like it, but lets just say it is Jayís little stint on news, supposedly confessing leadership of a terrorist organization.
On the other hand though, this is a film that is almost totally for the die-hard fan base. He tries to make it appeal to the majority ñ but happily he fails spectacularly. There has never been a film with so many in-jokes flying so thick and fast. Thereís even a few thatís youíll only pick up on if you regularly listen to Chris Rockís stand up acts ñ and they arenít even said by or to Chris Rockís character in the film (who, by the way, is simply genius ñ NWP will have you crying with tears of mirth when explained in the film).
The first scene is Jay and Silent Bobís origin, to use comic book terminology. Then weíre straight into the Quick Stop ñ in colour and full daylight for the interiors. And thereís Brian O'Halloran being Dante Hicks again and not some distant relative ñ and Jeff Anderson back as Randal. I just lapped that up. I canít express how brilliant it is to see the four main participants of Clerks up there on the big screen again. Dante and Randalís involvement is rather minor and ultimately serves little purpose in the grand scheme of things ñ but by god every View Askew geek, which I am proud to admit I am, will be beside themselves. Itís Jay and Silent Bob standing outside the Quick Stop as god intended them, and thatís hard to fault. Hell ñ theyíre even dealing drugs again, after theyíre little transformation into simply lovable rogue for Clerks: The Animated Series.
Rest assured that there is all sort of geeking out to be done ñ even the lesser characters like Trish "The Dish" Jones and the Kid in the Helmet get their cameo, worth ñtheir-weight-in-gold appearances.
There is a second strand that makes this fall into the fan-boy only film category ñ itís about the Internet. Itís about the wee gits whoíll sit behind their screen, protected by miles of phone line, and insult people without the thought for the flesh and blood person. Iíll forever admire Kevin Smith for making that sentiment, which must only be appreciated by an unbelievably minor fraction of the population, a major element of the film. Okay, so a disproportionate proportion of people here will understand and appreciate the message ñ but I think we can safely classify ourselves as Internet geeks ñ and I mean that in the nice sense.
Iím intentionally trying not to give anything away (which is hard), Jayís great, the two just barely manage to hold a whole film together ñ but thereís one guy I canít keep quiet about. Okay, so Iíve waxed lyrical about Smith, but now for Mr Affleck.
In the indie scene Iím sure it is ìcoolî to hate Ben Affleck. You know ñ he did Armageddon; heís a sell out. Look ñ the guyís a genius. Watch this film and youíll agree. He makes fun of himself in a manner beyond any normal person, let alone an Oscar winning Hollywood superstar. The fact is a lot of very important people make fun of themselves in this film, Gus Van Saint, Wes Craven and Miramax as a corporation being the notables ñ but none go to the levels of the boy Affleck. And he is just so funny in doing it. I really hope he ends up on the commentary track for the DVD, even though heís such a minor character, as I just think heís a great guy and genuinely funny. But then if youíve watched the Mallrats, Chasing Amy or Dogma commentaries youíll know that. One of Jay and Silent Bobís highlights is Affleck and Damon talking about how they pick films ñ and Good Will Hunting 2: The Hunting Season is priceless. In fact, there are a couple of good parodies thrown in. Smith and Mews manage a better Planet of the Apes rehash in sixty seconds than Tim Burton did with a full picture and bloated budget.
All that said ñ there are bad points (a few of which Iíve mentioned already). The film wonít sell to the majority very well as unless you have a good working knowledge of the View Askew films a lot of jokes will go totally over your head. Thereís no plot and the film tries so hard to find one that parts of it are ruined. But the biggest flaw, in my mind, is the lack of quality Jason Lee. He crops up in two different roles (another thing to confuse those not familiar as they are rather similar) ñ Brodie and Banky. Now, I love Jason Lee, I think he was under used and miscast in Dogma, primarily because he was the bad guy. He has that same impossible not to love thing going on as Jason Mews ñ but Lee can also really act. He delivers a comically annoyed line like no one else in the business. The Brodie cameo is quite good (stink palming included for avid Mallrats watchers) ñ itís fun and Lee is centre stage (always important for quality Lee moments). However in the Banky scenes he is overwhelmed by everything going on around him and never gets the chance to shine. Leeís lined up to take centre stage in a later Kevin Smith, non-Red Bank film, so Iím looking forward to that BIG STYLEEE.
Anyway ñ other downers. The much-anticipated Mark Hamill light sabre scene isnít that great and George Carlin is similarly criminally under used as Lee. I guess thatís about it though. Iíve finished. My own good bye to Jay and Silent Bob/review of the film is over. I havenít even touched on Jason Biggsís great cameo or the fact that the animated versions of Jay and Bob will be back in Clerk: Sell Out and hence the film isnít really the good bye isnít intended to be, but I think Iíve indulged myself for long enough.
I could harp on about my love for Clerks and undying admiration for the guy for making me laugh out loud every time someone says ì37î ñ but thatís history. The guyís reputation goes before him. In fact, more than that, his creations go before him. You wonít see Kevin Smith mentioned without Jay and Silent Bob being too many breaths away. Two characters who were originally only invented for coverage in a micro-budget slacker picture made by a gaggle of amateurís some how end up getting mentioned in the halls of Miramax as guaranteed to get viewers perceiving a film to have suddenly improved (this is how the two ended up Scream 3 ñ no reason for plot or any desire of Wes Cravenís to work with them ñ simply because the Execs knew it would guarantee a raise in the test audiences scores).
They could so easily have been two totally different characters too ñ Silent Bob so nearly wasnít silent at all (though Chasing Amy viewers might argue heís still rather vocal). The original actor cast as Bob dropped out at the last minute and Clerkís tubby director had to stand in. As he couldnít give up time to memorize the lines as well as direct the film, his heterosexual life partner Jay did the talking for both of them.
Later Jay nearly had a radical face-lift. After Clerksí success Kevin Smith went mainstream and made a studio picture. They wanted Seth Green to take over the roll of Jay from Jason Mews. The fact that this was totally silly as Mews IS Jay never struck the studio execs ñ they only saw that Mews was clearly just one of Kevin Smithís friends whoíd didnít have any acting ability or pulling power. Smith persisted though and at his own expense flew Mews out and put him up in his hotel room so that for the first day of shooting Jay would be played by Mews and the suits could make their decision as to whether heíd stay or go. Luckily they liked what they saw.
You all know how the story continues; Jay and Silent Bob carry on appearing in everything Smith touches ñ the five Red Bank films and the comic books (including a rather splendid four part Jay and Silent Bob story which physically takes them from Chasing Amy to Dogma). Everyone still loves them and allís well. Well, not really. Mr Smith himself realizes that they are a crutch and an easy way for him to pull himself out of a bad situation. That along with their rather limited range means that heís being restricted as a director. The main reason for their success is that you canít not like Jay/Jason Mews. Heís so childlike heíll get away with anything he says on the presumption of the viewer that he is so stupid he doesnít actually mean what heís saying. However, as a pair of gutter-sexually obsessed drug dealers they are kind of hard to slip into a ìgrown upî film. There is a stock-book term used to describe the two ñ but I unfortunately canít use it here due to the language filter. Lets just say it sounds a little like ìthey are great for mick and bart jokes, but little elseî. This isnít a criticism of the characters ñ they are basically very good ñ but only in one setting. For example ñ Jason Biggs getting jiggy with the pie is very funny in the context itís put in in American Pie. However, move it to American Beauty and itís just perverted, not funny and perverted.
Sadly then, Kevin Smith and his die-hard fans (as that is the only sort of fan he has) have to wave goodbye to the pair sooner or later. And thatís the whole purpose of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
At heart itís a road movie with a heist sub-plot tacked on. First thing ñ the plot is total rubbish. It barely exists even though Smith tries really hard at times. There is basically a huge section in the middle of the film where Jay and Silent Bob are between Red Bank and Hollywood that isnít very good. I donít think Iíve ever criticised Kevin Smith before ñ but my goodness, there is half an hour of this film that really sucks. Big time. However, that is sandwiched by about an hour of laugh-your-ass-off brilliance.
If you donít ìgetî Kevin Smith, you wonít like this film. Itís always been that way, but he seems to have tried really hard here to appeal to his non-standard fan base. Thereís one joke in particular, which will be branded as genius by the American Pie crowd that is just Kevin writing for the lowest common denominator and extracting a cheap, contrived gag. ErmmmÖ donít want to ruin it for those that will like it, but lets just say it is Jayís little stint on news, supposedly confessing leadership of a terrorist organization.
On the other hand though, this is a film that is almost totally for the die-hard fan base. He tries to make it appeal to the majority ñ but happily he fails spectacularly. There has never been a film with so many in-jokes flying so thick and fast. Thereís even a few thatís youíll only pick up on if you regularly listen to Chris Rockís stand up acts ñ and they arenít even said by or to Chris Rockís character in the film (who, by the way, is simply genius ñ NWP will have you crying with tears of mirth when explained in the film).
The first scene is Jay and Silent Bobís origin, to use comic book terminology. Then weíre straight into the Quick Stop ñ in colour and full daylight for the interiors. And thereís Brian O'Halloran being Dante Hicks again and not some distant relative ñ and Jeff Anderson back as Randal. I just lapped that up. I canít express how brilliant it is to see the four main participants of Clerks up there on the big screen again. Dante and Randalís involvement is rather minor and ultimately serves little purpose in the grand scheme of things ñ but by god every View Askew geek, which I am proud to admit I am, will be beside themselves. Itís Jay and Silent Bob standing outside the Quick Stop as god intended them, and thatís hard to fault. Hell ñ theyíre even dealing drugs again, after theyíre little transformation into simply lovable rogue for Clerks: The Animated Series.
Rest assured that there is all sort of geeking out to be done ñ even the lesser characters like Trish "The Dish" Jones and the Kid in the Helmet get their cameo, worth ñtheir-weight-in-gold appearances.
There is a second strand that makes this fall into the fan-boy only film category ñ itís about the Internet. Itís about the wee gits whoíll sit behind their screen, protected by miles of phone line, and insult people without the thought for the flesh and blood person. Iíll forever admire Kevin Smith for making that sentiment, which must only be appreciated by an unbelievably minor fraction of the population, a major element of the film. Okay, so a disproportionate proportion of people here will understand and appreciate the message ñ but I think we can safely classify ourselves as Internet geeks ñ and I mean that in the nice sense.
Iím intentionally trying not to give anything away (which is hard), Jayís great, the two just barely manage to hold a whole film together ñ but thereís one guy I canít keep quiet about. Okay, so Iíve waxed lyrical about Smith, but now for Mr Affleck.
In the indie scene Iím sure it is ìcoolî to hate Ben Affleck. You know ñ he did Armageddon; heís a sell out. Look ñ the guyís a genius. Watch this film and youíll agree. He makes fun of himself in a manner beyond any normal person, let alone an Oscar winning Hollywood superstar. The fact is a lot of very important people make fun of themselves in this film, Gus Van Saint, Wes Craven and Miramax as a corporation being the notables ñ but none go to the levels of the boy Affleck. And he is just so funny in doing it. I really hope he ends up on the commentary track for the DVD, even though heís such a minor character, as I just think heís a great guy and genuinely funny. But then if youíve watched the Mallrats, Chasing Amy or Dogma commentaries youíll know that. One of Jay and Silent Bobís highlights is Affleck and Damon talking about how they pick films ñ and Good Will Hunting 2: The Hunting Season is priceless. In fact, there are a couple of good parodies thrown in. Smith and Mews manage a better Planet of the Apes rehash in sixty seconds than Tim Burton did with a full picture and bloated budget.
All that said ñ there are bad points (a few of which Iíve mentioned already). The film wonít sell to the majority very well as unless you have a good working knowledge of the View Askew films a lot of jokes will go totally over your head. Thereís no plot and the film tries so hard to find one that parts of it are ruined. But the biggest flaw, in my mind, is the lack of quality Jason Lee. He crops up in two different roles (another thing to confuse those not familiar as they are rather similar) ñ Brodie and Banky. Now, I love Jason Lee, I think he was under used and miscast in Dogma, primarily because he was the bad guy. He has that same impossible not to love thing going on as Jason Mews ñ but Lee can also really act. He delivers a comically annoyed line like no one else in the business. The Brodie cameo is quite good (stink palming included for avid Mallrats watchers) ñ itís fun and Lee is centre stage (always important for quality Lee moments). However in the Banky scenes he is overwhelmed by everything going on around him and never gets the chance to shine. Leeís lined up to take centre stage in a later Kevin Smith, non-Red Bank film, so Iím looking forward to that BIG STYLEEE.
Anyway ñ other downers. The much-anticipated Mark Hamill light sabre scene isnít that great and George Carlin is similarly criminally under used as Lee. I guess thatís about it though. Iíve finished. My own good bye to Jay and Silent Bob/review of the film is over. I havenít even touched on Jason Biggsís great cameo or the fact that the animated versions of Jay and Bob will be back in Clerk: Sell Out and hence the film isnít really the good bye isnít intended to be, but I think Iíve indulged myself for long enough.
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