Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back – 2001 – Comedy, Satire
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Written by: Kevin Smith
Main Players: Jason Mewes; Kevin Smith; Shannon Elizabeth; Eliza Dushku; Ali Larter; Jennifer Schwalbach Smith; Ben Affleck; Matt Damon; Jason Lee; Carrie Fisher; Mark Hamill; George Carlin; Brian O’Halloran; Jeff Anderson; Seann William Scott; Will Ferrell; Joey Lauren Adams; Chris Rock; Jon Stewart; Judd Nelson; Gus Van Sant; Jason Biggs; James Van Der Beek; Tracy Morgan; King Mustafa Obafemi; Jamie Kennedy; Wes Craven; Shannon Doherty; Alanis Morissette; Diedrich Bader; Morris Day; The Time; Joe Quesada; Paul Dini
While this chapter of the ViewAskewniverse takes a slight step down in quality, it still has some solid jokes, good moments, and TONS of good people in it. Kicking off at the Quick Stop Groceries, a young baby Silent Bob is parked on the corner by his mother, while a young Jay is dropped off by his mom. Years later and they are grown men, with Jay (Mewes) dropping freestyle bombs and Bob (Smith) not saying shit.
They slang chronic to make that dough. Randal (Anderson) comes out of the video shop and tells the guys not to push weed outside the store. Dante (O’Halloran) in the mini-mart works the grind per usual. It’s nice to see our buds again. The cops however aren’t happy with the drug pushers and Jay and Silent Bob get hit with a restraining order for the Quick Stop. Damn, there goes their pot spot.
As our dynamic duo check in with Brodie (Lee), they find out that the Bluntman and Chronic comic has been optioned for a feature film, They should be owed some cash!! Holden McNeil (Affleck) and Banky (also Lee) likely owe them likeness rights…
As Hollywood is introduced to Jay and Silent Bob, as well as all sorts of new characters, such as Justice (Elizabeth), Sissy (Dushku), Chrissy (Larter), and Missy (Schwalbach Smith), no one is ready for the results. Will our duo get their movie check? Or, will they decide to crash the sets and bring down the capitalistic exploitation of their characters??
While the plot is a bit silly at times, there are still good jokes bouncing off the screen left and right. Seeing all the older movies’ characters further their stories is a nice touch also, as typically one film cannot update so many prior films with such ease.
While the script is a touch lacking, the direction is sound and the atmosphere is fun. The zillions of cameos are fun, and even if there is not much emotional attachment to anything, it remains an okay time. The runtime is short enough, so pacing is mostly okay. Check it out if you liked all the prior related Kevin Smith films, as plenty of funny satirical bits are included and it retains Smith’s trademark humor.
“What the fuck is the internet?!?”
See This If You Liked:
Clerks; Mallrats; Chasing Amy; Dogma; This Is the End; Ted; Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy; Grandma’s Boy; The 40-Year-Old Virgin; Dumb and Dumber; Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle; Tropic Thunder; Super Troopers
Score:
6.5