For the first time Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) star in their own film, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. When the two realize that their movie rights to Bluntman and Chronic have been sold from Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) to Miramax, without any liberties being shared with them, and the general public seems less than thrilled about the production of the film, the two stoners decide to travel to Hollywood and stop the film from being made. However, in typical Jay and Silent Bob fashion, their journey from New Jersey to Hollywood is riddled with unimaginable obstacles sure to make their trip memorable.
I’ve said, over and over, throughout the course of my Askewniverse reviews, that one of the issues that viewers have with the series is that the characters, who are incredibly easy to fall in love with, change from film to film. However, writer-director Smith finally made the decision to incorporate nearly every major character from the universe and dropped them into one, fantabulous film about love, thievery, and an insane amount of ridiculousness. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is everything that people love about Kevin Smith, however, he does veer slightly from his existential approach to comedy.
Why does Smith take a chance and change up his clearly successful algorithm of comedy? Well, I think that he understands that too much of a good thing is simply too much, and has determined that some alteration, regardless of how small, will freshen up the series. With bits of existentialism sprinkled throughout Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the typical Smith is still present, but the comedy as a whole takes a turn, and regardless of how viewers feel about the change, the comedy presented by Jay and Silent Bob is sure to entertain from start to finish. Jay, who struggled immensely throughout the course of the film’s production, delivers endless laughs, expressing to viewers just how talented an actor and comedian he is. While Bob and the rest of the cast are hysterical, Jay is essentially the lead and the individual tasked with guiding viewers through the story of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. His exceptional humor never relents; he’s over the top and in your face, and the film is better because of it.
Jay, Silent Bob, Holden, Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran), Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), and the list of lovable characters goes on and on. Having this many characters in a film that only runs an hour and forty-five minutes in length creates a potential issue for viewers. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back runs the risk of overcrowding and having viewers struggling to follow the many converging storylines. Smith, however, with all of his cinematic prowess, lightens the effects that the majority of the characters have on the overall film, providing viewers with just enough excitement when they are reintroduced to the characters without drowning out Jay and Silent Bob. There’s a wonderful balance between new and old characters that allows Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back to flourish.
A combination of about fifty different important characters and a change pose some threats to production, but, as previously mentioned, Smith possesses a certain expertise that allows him to fix the issues before they ever arise. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is an example of how diverse Smith is as a writer and director. He continues to entertain his fans with well-developed stories and relatable (and often raunchy) humor, and the development of his characters--regardless of the fact that many actors play more than one character in his series--are void of any plot holes or other issues detrimental to their development. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is another solid example of what Mewes and Smith are capable of as the drug-loving tandem of Jay and Silent Bob. Given the fact that Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is so well written, effectively acted, and purposefully and nearly perfectly directed, viewers immediately jump on the film’s bandwagon and are able to overlook the changes made to Smith’s methods. Like everything else Smith does, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is well received and entertaining throughout.
Written & Directed by Kevin Smith.
Starring Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Jeff Anderson, Brian O’Halloran, Shannon Elizabeth, Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Will Ferrell, Jason Lee, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10
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