Posted by VoodooChile at uly-tty1544.pld.com on December 31, 1999 at 14:04:19:
i honestly don't read this thing enough to know whether i'm not supposed to do what I'm about to do. are we all supposed to ask questions and shit? I hope not, cuz this post is more out of praise than anything. if that shit bores you, don't be an asshole and flame me, just be kind enough to skip over this post.
Anyways, I get the impression from a lot of people that kevin smiths are either funny, vulgar, both, or have "keen, witty dialog." At first, i wouldn't bother, but a friend of mine who posts on here too said that Smith actually reads this and sometimes posts back, so maybe he'll stumble across this one. Um, and for everyone else, maybe it'll make you think about his movies and view them in a different way.
I first noticed this when I was watching this TV show and laughing my ass off. I laughed my ass off the first time I watched Clerks, but only in bursts, like the thirty seven part, and when Randal and Dante are in the car after the funeral...not constantly as I was watching this TV show. And I didn't even really laugh when I watched Mallrats or Chasing Amy. I guess it just takes a lot to make me laugh...not trying to say that his movies aren't funny, but I don't laugh at a lot, I'm a more "inner chuckle" person.
Anyways, I love Kevin Smith's movies so much more than this show I was watching, even though the show made me laugh more. Then I was thinking about this really witty TV comedy show....didn't like it as much either. Then I thought about this really vulgar TV show that always makes me laugh, didn't like it as much either. So then I started thinking "shit, there's more going on here." I had noticed more going on before, but it was more of subconscious thing.
His movies touch on a lot of things, but do them in this really creative funny way, that you can relate to. Its pretty fucking obvious to me how cool stuff like that is, to me and to everyone else, but for some reason no ones doing it out there. The Jim Carey thing seems to be more popular for some twisted reason. if I want to watch a movie that makes me stop laughing and pause and think and reflect on life at the end, chances are its going to be pretty fucking cheesy...so I'm not going to watch it, when ruins the whole refleciton thing. Kevin Smith movies aren't that way. I honestly really mellowed out at the end of Chasing Amy. I didn't cry, but for a couple minutes i thought that Kevin Smith was going to drop some emotional bomb on me and make me bust out in tears in front of all my friends. But he didn't. But he give me that pre-sobbing pause thingie. But I didn't feel like a complete goober watching Chasing Amy like I would watching Bambi.
Movie Reviers have touched on this a little I think, but not much as far as I can tell. His characters are true to life, and honest. Granted, honest isn't always true to life...but I think that's a sacrifice you have to make in order for your movies to be good (not making your characters lying sacks of shit, or pointing it out to the audience if they are). I know Jason Mewes is a stoner, or was a stoner, or something, from the special edition clerks commentary, but I'm still wondering if Kevin Smith is, or was...probably just knows a lot of people who are, or something. Cuz he doesn't say "this is the truth behind smoking pot, and why its BAD!!" He doesn't do the opposite either...I don't think someone who did that would have much of a career in film making anyways. He shows us both the good and the bad. He shows us the good and the bad in our beloved stoner Jay. Anyone who says that stoners are never funny or cool to be around is full of shit. But anyone who says that smoking pot is a good thing to do or that stoners make good role models is again, full of shit. Kevin smith doesn't give us shit here.
The characters also blend together perfectly...I wonder if Smith thought for hours and hours about the interaction between Dante, Jay, and Silent Bob; and Holden and Jay and silent bob, or if it just came naturally to him. In chasing amy, we end with the "you're chasing amy" advice...good clean wholesome, but not cheesy advice. which is good. but we also get a side dish of "life aint nothing but bitches and money" advice from jay. Silent Bob's advice is clearly the better advice, but Jay gives you the shallow side of things, if you want to take that route...or if you wanna try and go somewhere in the middle. I don't think there's many movies that do that. Very rarely in the media do we get the in between scoop, or the this and that scoop.
I can relate to Kevin Smith movies more than anything else out there. I'm trying to think of some shows and movies where every once and a while I was like "woah, I went/am going through that" One is about 4 little potty-mouthed 5th graders. One is about a wallaby. One is about a cat and a chihuahua. Um....what else, bunch of weird fucked up canadians....couple teenagers stuck in the 80's. One is about two guys who become really famous because of this assanine game. One is about a superhero. I dunno, i can relate, but not too much. There's not really any Kevin Smith character I'm a lot alike. Maybe Banky/Brodie at times, but not on a regular basis, and not funny. But I'm really good friends with a Jay....this other friend is Silent Bob meets willam...and this one friend of mine...works in a convenient store, can be really uptight sometimes, is too much of a pussy to go to college, plus he just doesn't want to.....really intelligent and cool aside from that....I mean, he just has the guys name plastered all over him at times. Probably views most of his friends as a bunch of Randals. Although I myself can't relate to a single character...they're all a bunch of people in their 20's (with a few exceptions) who are running around in malls, convenient stores, and other young adult hang out places, wondering what the fuck to do with their life, falling in love with lesbians, wondering to dump their current for their ex, wondernig about their beliefs, and wallowing in self-pity after nasty break ups. I'm not quite their age yet, got 5 or 10 years to go depending on the character (17). But I've done everyting but the fall in love with lesbian part. But I see that movie as more than a guy who falls in love with a chick who likes chicks as much as he does. He wants to be a normal couple, but they're relationship is really twisted. His friends are like "Why the fuck do you care? this is cool shit" but he can't deal with it. His girlfriend has a really fucked up past. She's into these weird twisted things that he doesn't understand. I've felt all that at some point in my life, maybe all at the same time once or twice.
Sorry this post is so long, don't kill me or anything. But I felt this side of Smith's movies wasn't being exposed. People who view them this way as I do just keep their mouth shuts. Everyone else is like "man, that thirty seven part is so hilarious!" Just like I was the first time I watched it. But around the forth time I watched it. "dude, my girlfriend broke my heart numerous times. But this girl is so nice to me, even if she isn't as attractive or isn't quite a sex fiend." from that moment on, Silent Bob's only line in that movie became my favorite quote. His movies are hilarious. But there's funnier stuff out there. Kevin Smith movies aren't good because of the humor content, they show you a lot about yourself, human interaction, etc. If your in your late teens or mid 20's, any Kevin Smith movie is like a course in psychology that makes you laugh.