Posted by wildliferanger at 216-99-209-49.cust.aracnet.com on September 22, 2003 at 12:14:26:
Jay and Silent Bob are a classic comic duo along the lines of Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis, Burns and Allen et. al. We haven't seen a pairing like this in decades and it's refreshing to see an update to a hip pair. Neither one is stupid or telling jokes or doing farce, they just are who they are and that's what makes them funny. To recap their evolution, in their first appearance in Clerks, they were just two of the many characters that hung out at the convenient store. They were the only two to make the transition to Mallrats but used sparingly. In Chasing Amy, they were used again as comic relief in a basically serious film that Joey Lauren Adams deserved an Oscar for her bravura performance. It wasn't until Dogma that they really came into their own as they were major characters in the plot. Jay, with Archie Bunker-like candor, say the outrageous things that a lot of guys are thinking but wouldn't dare say. Kevin Smith has written a lot of great dialogue for him over the past four films and he is always unskaken by anyones opinion or reaction to him. But it is Kevin Smith as Silent Bob that really begins to develop and shine. We see traces of Lou Costello, Oliver Hardy, and Harpo Marx but the character is truly his own. Other actors get to communicate with dualogue but Silent Bob, like Harpo, has to do it all with facial expressions and gestures which are always hilarious. Even when others are speaking, Silent Bob is always tuned in and hamming it up.
In 'Strike Back', they finally become major characters capable of carrying a movie and Silent Bob is at the peak of his comic form. Even Jay joins him in the goofy facial expressions, double takes, and slapstick. A slew of other major stars appear making fun of themselves and the movie biz, but we can only hope in the future that Jay and Silent Bob continue their classic comic duo.