Posted by missmirandabliss at pool0513.cvx24-bradley.dialup.earthlink.net on December 22, 1999 at 00:34:42:
In Reply to: I don't think Kevin's dialogue sounds everyday-ish posted by Placenta Jones on December 21, 1999 at 16:50:13:
: 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 don't think it's the philosophy at all because it is that aspect of writing that speaks to so many people. Look how many times have people posted on the board just to tell Kevin that he is writing exactly what they're thinking.
: 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.
Well put. I would add that his sentence structure contributes to the lack of realness. His characters speak in complicated, complete, and correct sentences, often with multiple subjects. They often use perfect pronoun/antecedent agreement, something that is difficult for many to people to master in writing, much less speaking. Most people speak in fragments or run-ons, and only rarely write sentences as correctly as Kevin's characters speak.