Posted by Placenta Jones at 198.109.1.30 on December 21, 1999 at 16:50:13:
In Reply to: Kevin's screenplays posted by SugarBabylon on December 21, 1999 at 16:26:38:
Think about it...
Have you ever known anyone who speaks their mind like Randall, Banky, or Brodie? Who waxes philosophic like Dante, TS, or Holden? And who the hell has the vocabulary (and the instant recall for said vocabulary) of a Kevin Smith character? No one.
I love Kevin's dialogue, but I find it to be very stylized. There's a lot of word play, an obvious love of language. His dialogue is meant to be said in with a certain cadence and rhythm. His dialogue reminds me of some of Woody Allen's stuff or Whit Stillman. Writer/directors who make you aware that you are listening to very meticulously crafted language. Instead of inviting you into a replica of the real world, they want to make you notice the sounds, shapes, and intonations of words and speech.
I'm not saying I prefer one style over the other, but there is nothing "real" about the way Kevin's characters talk. Everyone is "super-real", hyper-aware, and always ready to shoot back with the most ingenious thing they could say. Nothin' ordinary about that.
PJ