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Review: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
In a way, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a series of inside jokes, albeit some very funny ones. Smith gets that movies are a universal experience of his young audiences. Still, only attentive, die-hard movie buffs will get them all. The cast, plots and references are closely tied to other Smith films, lines, scenes, actors and plots, along with some that aren't his. (There is a hilarious spoof of Good Will Hunting which Ben Affleck and Matt Damon good-naturedly join in.) Smith's studio Miramax is continuously ridiculed (Bob Hope also used to poke fun at Paramount in some of his road-trip comedies with Bing Crosby). Chris Rock pops up with some riffs on race.
The movie's director, Gus Van Sant (CT:Good Will Hunting, not J&SBSB of course), has a funny bit part, and Smith parodies Charlie's Angels, The Fugitive (so specifically he includes a reference to Provasic, the drug that nearly destroyed Richard Kimble's life), Scooby-Doo,Hannibal, and even Star Wars (Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill appear, the latter in a loopy take-off on the mythic brawl between Darth and Luke.
The Net figures heavily in this sometimes hilarious if uneven movie, yet another comedy that self-referentially uses pop culture as humor, reference point and plot line. Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) are outraged to learn that kids online are flaming the movie based on the comic book -- Bluntman and The Chronic -- that the pair inspired. Besides, they're not getting a dime out of any of it. Jay, who's never even heard of the Net, is astonished to learn that people can call you names online, and he flames them back, urging them to lick his private parts. He and Bob set out for Hollywood to stop the movie's production and end the besmirching of their alleged reputations. They have various misadventures along the way, including dust-ups with a nun, the Utah State Police, animal rights activists, federal wildlife officials, and nasty child geeks.
There is, of course, the inevitable moment when Bob speaks -- as always, finally provoked by the genial stupidity and crudity of his "hetero-life mate" Jay. This movie backs off from the controversial religion-bashing of Dogma, which triggered some boycotts and threats on Smith and the movie's producers. If the movie is frequently gross in the now-standard scatalogical way of studio films aimed at the hip and the young, it is good-natured and easy-going, not even remotely controversial. Jay is still obsessed with getting laid and with his and everybody else's masculinity, but this round is much more relaxed about it.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is less of a coherent movie than a series of one-liners, set gags, set-ups and cultural in-jokes and spoofs. There are moments of genius and of stupidity, also flashes of satire and comic genius. It works best if you've seen a substantial chunk of the Smith canon. If you haven't, a lot of it will sail over your head. But it will still probably be the funniest movie you've seen all summer.
This movie is mainly a continuation of Chasing Amy, and tries to tie up the rest of the movies; Clerks, Mallrats and Dogma.
It will also be the last live-action movie featuring these characters. There is, however, a new animated movie on the way, supposedly. Clerks: Sellout, the story of Dante and Randall being offered lots of money to make a movie about a day in their lives.
As with a lot of Smith stuff, you'll either love it or hate it, and a lot of it is fan service for people who've seen his previous movies.
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Wow, a jonkatz review that I agree with...hope Satan is enjoying the day and making a snowman.
From the test screening of Jay&Silent Bob I saw a month ago, as well as the final version I saw last week, I'd compare this movie more to Mallrats than any of Smith's other flicks...lots of dick adn fart humor, and even more rhetoric. A formula that has only been pulled off successfully by the New Jersey "Trilogy".
If anyone's really interested, go check out the "Chasing Dogma" comic book graphic novel, published by Oni press (and written, of course, by Smith). About half of the movie is ripped, or at least inspired, by the comic.
And go see the movie, so that Miramax will throw more money at View Askew, and Smith can keep churning them out.
Lawen
"Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" is a better movie name than "Attack of the Clones."
Kevin Smith directed the film, not Gus Van Sant. The latter directed Good Will Hunting and that's why he's in that area of the film.
The pair is called Bluntman and Chronic, not Bluntman and The Chronic.
Of all the times Silent Bob speaks, this is the only time it's provoked by Jay's stupidity. In Clerks, he speaks to Dante to convicne him that Veronica loves him. In Mallrats, he delivers his Jedi line. In Chasing Amy, he tells the story of Amy to Ben Affleck's character. And in Dogma, neither of his two lines are delivered to Jay; one is to an extra, the other Chris Rock.
Isn't there something that requires movie reviewers to actually know something about the movie they're discussing?
I saw it on the sneak preview and laughed my ass off. There were some people there who hadn't seen any Kevin Smith movies and they laughed their asses off. It's just a funny movie. Go see it.
Carl G. Jung
--
"With one breath, with one flow, You will know Synchronicity" -La Policia
It was indeed a terrible reference, but in his own little world, Katz was probably referring to the "director" of the Good Will Hunting spoof, who indeed was Gus Van Sant.
Later,
Patrick
My girlfriend and I found it outright the funniest, and most outright clever movie in a summer full of duds. But... I'm a big Kevin Smith fan, and I've got all his flicks on DVD, so I wonder how the movie would be recieved by a Smith Virgin.
Jason Mewes actually carries this movie, which is remarkable, since I think no one was more surprised than him that it went so well. He's hardly the mainstream movie star like Affleck or Jason Lee.
Also, while 'movie parody movies' have been a subgenre for ever (see: Scary Movie to Naked Gun) there hasn't been one done well in ages. This one is both bang on in it's attacks on those movies, but it's obviously done with love and respect, which makes it all the more clever.
At it's core, it's a road trip movie, which, since Capra invented the genre, has always proven to be a treat; the potential for unpredictable characters and situation is hard to exceed, and Kevin Smith handles it admirably.
All in all, after a summer full of disappointments (see: A.I. Kiss of the Dragon, Evolution, et al.) this was refreshing, fun and Smith's most inside joke, and simultaneously, most accessible movie yet.
If you have some patience for a seemingly offensive movie - but with a lot of heart - you couldn't do better this summer.
----------------- "I have a bone to pick, and a few to break." - Refused -------------------
To which Spaceballs reference are you referring? I was paying pretty close attention, but maybe I missed it, as there was a lot of laughter from the crowd and quite a few of the lines ended up getting drowned out.
As for funniest movie of the year, well, maybe, but I still think some of the funniest stuff I've seen in a theater this year was the outtakes from RushHour 2. I guess you could take that as some sad commentary on the state of Hollywood/etc., if you were so inclined.
I wish I had a kryptonite cross, because then you could keep Dracula and Superman away.
It won't. There's a planned Clerks animated movie before Smith finally gives up his NJ movies (and is working on a Fletch...prequel?).
Check the IMDB for the info.
"This movie backs off from the controversial religion-bashing of Dogma..."
/., but it's usually off-center geek misinformation, not repeated mainstream misinformation).
Wrong. That is the accusation that was lobbed against Kevin Smith, but I'm disappointed to see this mainstream misinformation repeated here. (Yes, I know, there's plenty of misinformation on
Dogma was a funny movie that parodied religious dogma, not religious beliefs. Kevin Smith was and is a Catholic, and the movie was actually respectful of Catholic beliefs -- just not rigid dogma. Typically, this flew right over the Catholic church's head and they protested, looking ignorant in the process. I'm surprised to see Katz repeating this untrue accusation here.
________________
Private Essayist
The talk in the theater after i saw the movie last night is that this is the last View Askew production
Not entirely true. What JSBSB represents is the end to the Jersey series, in live action form. There is a cartoon movie version of Clerks, in the same style as the to-quickly-canceled TV series was, but the live action stuff is done.
From what I have heard, Smith wants to do more serious movies (even though Chasing Amy was one of the best drama type movies I have seen in some time). Case in point is that IMDB had printed an article that said Smith has already signed Ben Affleck to play a character based on Smith's life as a father. Sounds pretty serious.
Bryan R.
The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, or $12.50 as seen on eBay.....
Also, Holden's line:
The best irony in the film is a joke on many levels. Jay and Silent Bob become incensed about posting on moviepoopshoot.com which is registered to:
Registrant:
View Askew Productions
PO Box 400
Red Bank, NJ 20902
US
Registrar: Dotster (http://www.dotster.com)
Domain Name: MOVIEPOOPSHOOT.COM
Created on: 09-JAN-01
Expires on: 09-JAN-03
At a deeper level though, Smith is ranting about postings on Internet message boards, made even more ironic by the focus of his site which contains an extensive message board, to which he posts. (And occasionally answers questions.)
I found the irony and asides to the camera to be great fun in this movie and would highly recommend it on the basis of in-jokes alone (Of which the material I mention is only a tiny part.)
Some people have a way with words, and some people, um, thingy.
The movie's director, Gus Van Sant (CT:Good Will Hunting, not J&SBSB of course), has a funny bit part, and Smith parodies Charlie's Angels, The Fugitive (so specifically he includes a reference to Provasic, the drug that nearly destroyed Richard Kimble's life), Scooby-Doo,Hannibal, and even Star Wars (Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill appear, the latter in a loopy take-off on the mythic brawl between Darth and Luke
You forgot all the great references that Jay and Silent Bob make to itself in the movie.
As I would say, the movie was meta-funny.
---
I'm just an ordinary man with nothing to lose.
Unless, of course, you came here just to complain, which is what I'm expecting.
The irony being that a major subplot of J&SBSB is morons on the Internet insulting movies they haven't seen...
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
Plagairaised from Merriam-Webster:
dogma, noun:
1 a : something held as an established opinion; especially : a definite authoritative tenet b : a code of such tenets c : a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds
2 : a doctrine or body of doctrines concerning faith or morals formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church
According to the actual dictionary, then, "dogma" is what the church tells you to believe for no reason. "Believe this because we say so." "Dogma" is where a church considers itself to have a monopoly on truth.
I have seen the future, and it is inconvenient.
Spoilers below
I don't recall seeing Smith make references to the old Kroft shows before, and I'd have to say that I loved the two references to Land of the Lost.
I didn't notice many people laughing at them, so I was kind of thinking they may have been more obscure.
Chris Rock's character's name was Chaka (LoL's little monkey boy that hung out with the lost family)
Will Ferrell's character's name was Marshell Willenholley (LoL's lost family. I was in hysterics when I heard that one)
Loved the movie! Was exactly what I expected it to be, and was lots of laughs. Can't wait for the DVD.
I mean, what makes you the arbiter of offense all of a sudden?
And what makes you the arbiter of what a serious Catholic or Christian is?
Do you think Jesus would have "taken offense" at these movies? If so, why? Was he "a serious Christian"?
Perhaps you object to these movies because they too accurately skewer your own irrational use of dogma to back up your bigoted opinions?
Bluntman and Chronic and their stupid alter egos Jay and Silent Bob only work in small doses, if at all. They don't deserve their own movie.
Well, I just got back from church, so I'm feeling especially qualified to comment at this point. Every person I've seen Dogma with (I've seen it at least 3 times), including my aunt who has a doctorate in theology, has enjoyed it and agreed that it's a great movie. In fact, Catholics appreciate the movie more than anyone else. As with any parody, the more familiar you are with the original, the better you appreciate the parody.
That site is the funniest thing I've seen in a long time! It's great! I mean, what can you say about a guy who would put something like that up to mock his own film. He always said that the best way to keep people from ridiculing you was to do it yourself first.
To those of you who don't know, Kevin really supports his Internet fans. He regularly participates in the discussion forums on the View Askew website to keep us all up with whats going on. Not many directors (or public figures of any kind) would do that. He also kept a guy on the set the whole time J&SBSB was being filmed to create a weblog of everything that was going on.
He's even had special screenings and get togethers for the people who frequent his forums. Not to mention the Internet only trailers that he put together for us.
That's just pretty cool in my book.
load "linux",8,1
Just a little didja notice..
This was the first of his movies that doesn't reference hockey..?
This is getting really tiresome, that every time Katz writes an article, an ungodly degree of the commentary is solely devoted to bashing Katz, discussing how to filter him, or bashing the people who are bashing him. (And now I'm contributing to that myself... :)) Somebody perhaps needs to get a life. And can't anyone try to actually discuss the topic of the article, instead of the author???
--Dan
Web Tips
KS perdicting that people will dog his movie on the internet should tell you something ... I don't see any irony here.
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"Yes. Religious dogma are religious beliefs. No kidding - try looking it up next time."
I did, and you're wrong. Oh sure, on a surface level you could say dogma = beliefs, but that totally misses the nuances of the words. And totally misses the point of the film Dogma, which is that religious beliefs are fine, but watch out for any group that wants to impose their dogma on you. Look it up.
"Are you saying Catholics thought they were offended, but were actually mistaken ("typically flew over their head")? "
Typically, the Catholic spokespersons who did speak out against the film (not the church itself, but individuals) did not see the film. So they got offended based on hearsay, and not on reality. That's how it "flew over their head." They had the same wrong-headed ideas about what 'dogma' is than you seem to have. To repeat, Kevin Smith was NOT attacking Catholic beliefs. He was parodying dogma.
________________
Private Essayist
The irony here being somebody insulting comments he hasn't read about a comment regarding him insulting a movie he hasn't seen...
Help save the critically endangered Blue Iguana
I dunno, the slow-mo girl shots seemed pretty straight-forward to me. The girls were attractive and Kevin Smith did them the same way any other movie would. He did make them longer and a bit more exaggerated than most movies do, but that hardly counts as biting satire. I think he was just kind of lazy when writing the script, and so he threw in some mindless titilation to keep people interested.
The whole movie was like that-- he was too lazy to come up with clever or original jokes or gags, so he used lots of "dick and fart jokes," celebrity cameos, homophobic humor, and in jokes to his previous movies and to the hot movies of the last couple of decades.
Look, I was amused by many of the jokes, but it wasn't brilliant humor. It was in the same intellectual ballpark as "dude, where's my car." The only difference is that this movie had more big-name stars in it and was more pretentious.
My pastor was the one who told me about Dogma. Yes, it pokes fun at religion, but it does not challenge faith.
It was actually very moving at times. Take the scene where Linda Fiorentino was struggling with being up to the task of saving the world, and the angel tells the story of having to be there when a young Jesus was starting to understand his mission. Or the scene in the parking garage where Ben Affleck is letting loose about being kicked out of heaven and missing the presence of God, and that the humans don't even realize what they are missing.
If that's offensive, it is only so because of the very rigid, do-my-thinking-for-me dogma that the movie is about.
Remember, that Jesus himself was one who challenged the "dogma" of his age. He was a lawbreaker in the minds of many because he healed on the Sabbath and touched the unclean and let prostitutes pay him honor. What he did was more offensive as the movie Dogma.
It was not that long ago that Anabaptists, some of the most Christ-like people of their age, were persecuted by the Catholic Church for being offensive - by practicing adult baptism (rather like the baptism Jesus had, I suppose). Just because people take offense at something does not mean that it is bad; it is often an indication that it is good.
Dogma challenged the beliefs of Catholics who go to chuch, say the prayers, do the ritual, but have not faintest idea of what they are saying, and live no differently than those who reject the Church. I would suggest that those people need their belief challenged. And I would say that it's too bad Kevin Smith has to do it, but that is only because their priest won't.
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Some interesting tidbits:
1) baby Silent Bob is portrayed by Smith's infant daughter, Harley Quinn Smith (aweome job of naming, btw)
2) One of the four animal activists ("Missy") is married to Kevin Smith
last, and MOST IMPORTANT - make sure you stay to the very end of the movie - I mean the VERY END - right before the screen goes dark - and you'll get a nice surprise.
Look at the address. Its different from the
"real" View Askew:
View Askew Productions (VIEWASKEW-DOM)
P.O. Box 400
Red Bank, NJ 07701-0400
US
Domain Name: VIEWASKEW.COM
Anybody care to email me and tell me what
happened in the last scene with Alanis as
God? Due to stupid people wanting to leave
the theater as soon as they saw credits on a
black screen, I missed it.
Well, Mallrats beats most of the lame movies (of any genre!) released this summer. And the version you saw on cable was probably the lame-o dub-over that removed the original, critical dialogue that made this movie so damned funny. I'm not saying it's the funniest comedy ever made, but I'd still say it's a must-see in terms of 90's comedies.
Steve Magruder, Metro Foodist
Randal was wearing his CCCP hockey jersey. Does that count?
Reviewers in general take on a Howard Cosell tone. They need to emit words to justify themselves.
Nutshell: this movie is sophomoric entertainment. If you want that, you will be pleased. I laughed, I cried, it was a part of me.
If drug glorification, homoerotic obsession, notional plot, and obsequious in-jokes offend you, your entertainment dollar is best spent elsewhere.
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
If you feel that something on Slashdot is not working, submit a bug report. Don't post public messages that are abusive and insulting about some person who is not responsible for the bug.
I am guessing that you will respond with a rude posting to/about me, but why don't you try surprising us all and just admit that you were out of line. It might even earn you some Karma points.
I wouldn't call Dogma "religion bashing". It got a lot of protests, but the movie itself was not actually particularly "bashing" religion. It may not have had the literary punch of _Last Temptation_, but it was still a movie with a lot to say to religious people, and very little of it hostile.
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Sorry man, but they even had the freakin' Asbury Park Press in the convenience store in Clerks. That's just a couple miles from where my parents grew up in NEW JERSEY.
While I suppose they could have brought a stack of newspapers to MN to film it, they could have just as easily brought license plates from MN to NJ. I'm inclined to trust the director...
Now, the original poster, I'd say qualified as insightful, or interesting, as he went and explained in some details what he found objectionable about Kevin Smith's work in Dogma. [I'll admit, however, that some people might find it off topic, as the article was Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, not directly Kevin Smith, but I'll accept it, as it's an intelligent, well thought out message.]
The one which I'm replying to right now, however, I would qualify as a troll in the blink of an eye. Dogma does make a few good points about the concept of dogmatic teachings, and Rufus [Chris Rock] explains the critical difference between beliefs and ideas. To some, the movie may provide insight, and make you think [much like the lasagne line from Clerks], however, I will agree that there was a significant waste of talent in the movie.
Cameos for the sake of cameos can ruin any movie with a real message in it. Luckily, Jay Silent Bob Strike Back had no set message to it (unless you qualify 'fast food can give you gas' or 'beware of what you way on the internet').
The only justification for the cameos in Dogma would be that the provided additional comic relief, to help to lighten up what has always been a touchy subject. Unfortunately, you run into problems if people don't understand what's going on, and see comedy, and just assume that it's satire.
Even Shakespeare, when directing other people's works that he ripped off [yeah, okay, it's still up for debate...I couldn't care less, probably just because I know I wasn't the one who wrote 'em], left in the comedy parts, so as not to overwhelm the stories in one direction or the other. You can look it as a sort of 'yin-yang' approach to story telling -- much like in asian food, you don't try to completely overwhem with one flavor, one texture, one color, one shape -- hot is contrasted with sour, soft chicken with crunchy cashews, orange carrot flowers with a brown garlic chicken, round sushi served on square plates.
Is Kevin Smith doing it subconciously, and I'm just reading too much into it, or did he really intend to do it? Only he knows. [As well, I don't believe in Alanis Morisette]. Did he pull it off? Well, it depends on what exactly he was trying for. In this case, you have to balance getting the point across, with making people like the story, identify with the characters, and not decide that the story's so powerful that they're going to go and kill themself. However, the director as to decide which things are more important to them.
If you don't like something, saying 'it sucks' is one of the greatest disservices that you can do. Explain why you think it sucks, at the very least. If you can't take the time put some thought and effort into your criticism, you're wasting everyone's time who reads your post.
As someone who's been on BBSes, usenet, muds, and these damned 'internet messge boards', I can say that the anonymity created can be a very bad thing, as people don't have to be held accountable for their messages. With BBSes, you could get your access revoked, with usenet, you'd get your mailbox flooded, with muds, you could get your character removed, but with a message board of this size, there's no repercussions -- you just get another throwaway e-mail address, and start over again.
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
Ding! So just report it as a bug. Thank you.