Kevin Smith Week: ‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’

“Hey, what’s all this talk about farting?†

  

‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’ is the fifth film set in the View Askewniverse and it stars Jason Mewes and writer/director Kevin Smith as the title characters.

The plot goes a little something like this: Jay and Silent Bob find out that there is a movie being made from the comic they inspired, ‘Bluntman and Chronic,’ and that people on the “internet† have been talking shit about it. To make matters worse, the duo has never even seen a dime of royalties. So it’s off to Hollywood†¦

Along the way, lots of random shit happens. There’s a monkey. A jewel heist. Farts. A nun nearly gets her pussy eaten. Mark Hamill. Will Ferrell. Tracy Morgan as Pumpkin Escobar.

One of the best bits involves Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on the set of ‘Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season,’ which the title alone is good for a laugh but when you throw in a shot of Gus Van Sant counting piles of money, well, then it transcends funny and becomes something more like magic.  

This is the movie in a nutshell and it works, I think, whether or not you possess an encyclopedic knowledge of the Askewniverse. It’s just so fucking ridiculous. If you want to just sit back and laugh at crazy bullshit for an hour and a half, then throw this motherfucker in your DVD player. It’s not aiming at excellence, it’s aiming at fun and fun takes it in the balls repeatedly.

“Oh, what a lovely tea party.†

Hmm, on a side note, there is some really good work in this film by cinematographer Jamie Anderson. Widescreen is taken advantage of and used to full effect. Anderson has been working in film for a while, having DP’d films like ‘Piranha,’ ‘Grosse Pointe Blank’ and ‘Art School Confidential.’ This film is mostly spoof and Jamie’s work really puts that Hollywood glitter in every scene. Any comedic duo needs a straight man. As Silent Bob is the straight man to Jay, Jamie Anderson is the straight man to Kevin Smith.

“Boo Boo Kitty Fuck.†

[rating:4/5]