| Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) |
| Starring: Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Shannon Elizabeth Directed by: Kevin Smith |
| "Oh, so they have the Internet on computers now?": Ben Affleck, Jay, and Silent Bob read The Film Cricket Reviews. |
| the ladybug gives this film: |
| Two heterosexual life-mate baby Jesuses. |
| I'm probably not the best person in the world to review this movie, seeing as I'm a relative newcomer to the View Askewniverse (as Kevin Smith calls it). I've only seen Dogma and this one, and I have a vague idea of what Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy are about. Of course, Kevin Smith films (in my experience, anyway) are rarely "about" anything. If they are, it's only a cover, a way for him to market the movie to studios. What he does is multipurpose cultural satire--which actually results in a rather entertaining movie, but one that can be hard to enjoy from start to finish. I wanted to like this movie, because I like a lot of Smith's (often very astute) humour, but I found it very fractured, with serious pacing issues, and badly in need of editing. In keeping with the scattered feel of this film, I've decided to divide my review up into what I call "The Good, the Bad, and the Ehh": The Good -Jay's (Jason Mewes) rap at the film's outset, which really sets the tone for the film, what with its liberal usage of the F-word. Hell, anything Jay says in this movie is funny. -Silent Bob's (Kevin Smith) facial expressions and actions. While I wouldn't go as far as calling him a modern-day Charlie Chaplin, I would say he has a gift for silent comedy. -Jason Lee. I don't think I need to say any more than that. Oh wait, I do? While his part is small, at least director Kevin Smith knows what to do with him (paging Cameron Crowe). -Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's willingness to skewer themselves in the Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season segment: "How d'ya like them apples?" "Applesauce!" -Holden's (Ben Affleck again) explanation of the Internet, specifically of how Ain't-It-Cool-News, er, MoviePoopShoot.com works. -Chris Rock, whose racist shtick I usually tire of quickly, is surprisingly funny here as Chaka Martin Luther. He's best in small doses. -Bob speaks! The Bad -The countless meta jokes throughout the film, where the characters make a lame self-referential joke, and then turn to the audience. Humour is usually when you don't draw excessive attention to what's supposed to be funny. -The ape. Contrary to what the movie says, everyone doesn't love a simian. -Ali Larter a.k.a Whipped Cream Boobs from Varsity Blues. Her attempts to be badass here just fall flat. Shaking your hips does not a rebel make. -The movie parodies: E.T., The Fugitive, Planet of the Apes. Kevin, we know you love movies. But doing crappy parodies is not the way to honour them. -Any of the C.L.I.T. jokes. C.L.I.T. is an acronym for an activist group featured in the movie. As you can imagine, much hilarity ensues. Except not. The Ehh (Things I could go either way on) -Shannon Elizabeth. I wanted to hate her, as it's like my cardinal movie-watching rule, but she wasn't that unlikeable here. I think it's probably because I just wanted Jay to find love. -James Van Der Beek and Jason Biggs. Maybe it's just my hatred of The Beek, but somehow his smarmy act here didn't really seem like a put-on. Overall, this movie is a real treat for Kevin Smith fans who enjoyed the other movies in this series. I did enjoy it, but not consistently throughout. It's a shame that the View Askewniverse had to go out not with a bang, but a whimper. And if any of you Internet posters disagree with me, I'ma have to hunt all youse guys down and kick some ass. -reviewed by the ladybug, May 17, 2002 |
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