Posted by Glen at inktomi1-oxf.server.ntl.com on June 28, 2001 at 15:17:48:
In Reply to: Two JSBSB LA screening reviews from DarkHorizons! posted by Menlo Park Rat on June 28, 2001 at 14:24:05:
: Review
: "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" - A Review by 'Jazzman' (Positive, Very Minor Spoilers)
: Just got back from the Los Angeles test screening of JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK. Waited two hours in line outside with a mostly younger high school/college crowd anxiously awaiting entrance into the large theater at the Century City mall.
: No intros or cards to fill out, just the flick. And while in my opinion it certainly wasn't the best Kevin Smith film (my vote is for CHASING AMY), laugh for laugh it was probobly the funniest. The audience seemed to be really into it from the start and was laughing, sometimes extremely loudly, throughout the movie.
: I'll try to do this with no big spoilers. The plot is simple and set up right from the start. Bluntman and Chronic is being made into a movie in Hollywood and Jay and Silent Bob as characters are being dissed on the internet, not to mention not even being compensated for using their characters. In fact, they don't even know a film about them is being made or even what the internet is! So they set out to Hollywood to trash the film, and thus stop those internet geeks from continuing to hurt their "good name."
: That's when the film kicks into road movie gear, with a pretty big subplot involving an all girl gang with a spunky Shannon Elisabeth. From here we finally get to LA in the last third of the movie, which includes, by far, the best and most hilarious parts.
: This film is part old fashioned slapstick and part satire. The satire is part hollywood/internet film culture and part Kevin Smith movie satire. It basically throws a lot of ideas and jokes together and attempts to see what works. Most of it works, either within the story or not, but we don't care either way because it's funny. To not know the Kevin Smith universe does hurt in the viewing. In fact even missing one film would take many jokes away. Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy are more referenced than Dogma. And this film features more gay blowjob jokes than you're likely to see ever! In fact sometimes it seems like the whole film is just gay blowjob jokes and references. With a few fart jokes thrown in to keep everything on course. So if you like those, you're gonna have a great time.
: Now to the performances. Since Jay speaks about 80% of the dialogue of this film, he does a great job. Silent Bob is the usual expressions and random outbursts, which all work fine. The best parts of this film are the celebrity roles, which range from large to small cameos. I won't spoil the surprise cameos which had the audience excited, but I'll speak of the ones you probobly know already. Chris Rock is perfectly cast as the angry black director of the film. Shannon Elizabeth has a larger role than I expected and she is surprising good, and not just to the eye. Will Ferrell is himself which is funny as hell. And the best scene of the movie involves Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I won't spoil this scene for you, but it brought the house down. Actors dissing each others past poor movie choices features prominently throughout and is always good for laughs. Kevin Smith attacks Hollywood here but individually takes jabs at Miramax, Paul Thomas Anderson, and of course, himself.
: So basically the film is a real good time with tons of jokes, gags, and cameos designed to entertain. I'm a big fan of Kevin Smith so this movie played to me like a gift for Kevin's fans. It won't be for everyone and certainly does not hold back on the language and nasty humor, but it also stays true to the spirit of Kevin Smith movies. It is a fitting closing to tons of memorable characters which almsot feels sad to see go.
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: Review
: "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" - A Review by 'Proximo' (Positive, No Spoilers)
: If you are a fan of Kevin Smith's Jersey Trilogy, you will most likely love this film. It features cameos from just about every major and supporting character from "Clerks", "Mallrats", "Dogma" and "Chasing Amy". If you don't care for Kevin Smith, there are still plenty of film industry and movie-fanatic inside jokes that should have many people cracking up. This is a film that succeeds where "Mallrats" fell completely flat. It probably helps that most of the stars from "Mallrats" are now quite famous.
: The basic premise is that Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) find out from Banky Edwards (Jason Lee) that Miramax is making a Bluntman and Chronic film and they have no idea that it is being made. So Jay and Silent Bob embark on a journey to Hollywood to stop the movie from being made or getting paid their just due. The inept duo attempt to hitchhike there, but despite George Carlin's disgusting advice, they find their way aboard the Mystery Machine ala Scooby Doo. Kevin Smith spoofs upcoming movies such as Planet of the Apes and recent ones, like Charlie's Angels.
: It is hard to brush off all the homosexual humor in this film, as a quarter of the jokes are about who's going down on who. But what would you expect from the man who wrote and directed "Clerks"? Playing Jay's love interest is the beautiful but goofy Justice (Shannon Elizabeth). Eliza Dushku and Ali Larter are part of her crime partners, and they set up Jay and Silent Bob during a diamond heist. Will Farrell, from Saturday Night Live, is vintage Chevy Chase here, as the bumbling Federal Wildlife Marshal, who is pursuing Jay and Silent Bob. With an orangutan, cameos galore, and great inside jokes, this film is definitely the most humorous of Smith's films. Should be interesting to see where he goes from here. Fletch, comic book adaptations, etc.