Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
What the fuck is the internet?
A review by Mike Shea Movie Rating: ( * * * · · ) DVD Rating: ( * * * * * )
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I have said it before, but just to make sure the bias is understood, Kevin Smith could send me a dime bag full of his toe nail clippings and I would be writing a review about how great they are. I've been a fan of Mallrats, but the inside jokes are the reason to see this movie. If you aren't inside, best to pass on it.
"That's the worst idea since Greedo shooting first". If you don't get this line, you may want to go rent Mulin Rougue instead. Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back (JSBSB from now on) is a movie for pissed off comic book and science fiction fans. If you've never gotten into a physical confrontation over Frank Miller or Alan Moore, you don't fit the demographic. If you can't name all the bounty hunters that went after Han Solo in Empire (Boba Fett doesn't count, thats a given), give it a miss. If you haven't added George Lucas and Stephen Spielburg to your own personal axis of evil list, this isn't your movie. JSBSB is a movie for the fans of the first four Kevin Smith movies. The inside jokes are so thick that in the final wonderful confrontation between good and evil you are so buried under the depths of sarcasm that it will take you a week to realize just how funny the scene is. Most people will only take away the dialog of our protaginist, Jay the drug dealer of Kwikmart, but it is the background that makes this movie good.
The only fault I could find, as a toe nail clipping Kevin Smith worshipper, is the Hollywood teen movie romance between Jay and the dangerous co-ed criminal, Justice. The love scene in the rain in Chasing Amy is one of my top love scenes in any movie. It proved that Kevin Smith wasn't only one of the best comedy writers in America, but also could put together a dramatic scene so real you could feel it. The love between Justice and Jay can't get any further the opposite, it is surprising the same director even thought it up. It was so shlocky and Jay's dialog so vulgar that there is no way to put this anywhere close to the realm or reality. It's a plot motivator so cliche' that even if it was meant to be, it still shouldn't have been there. The big argument between Bartelby and Loci in Dogma is a scene so powerful that you can feel the world balancing between two violent angels even though you are watching two sweatshirt wearing southies arguing in an underground parking garage. It's real. There is no scene in JSBSB that even comes close, or even tries, to be as dramatic. Maybe it was intentional, but it is still missed.
The DVD of JSBSB shows that Kevin Smith's declaration against DVD on the Chasing Amy commentary were as far from the truth as you could get. The movie has a crystal clear 16x9 enhanced picture, Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and a slew of extras that could fill up a work week. It's a two disc collectors set that any Kevin Smith fan would be proud to put next to his copy of Anaconda.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a movie made for Kevin Smith by Kevin Smith. The audience is really there just for the ride and to enjoy his celebration of self. The more you understand Smith's humor and drive, the more fun you'll have with the movie. Otherwise your watching another American Pie.