Type:
Theatrical Movie
Year:
2001
Production:
Dimension Films/
View Askew Productions
Feature:
3/5
DVD:
5/5
Teaser
The final installment of Kevin Smith's Askewniverse series of films
focus on the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern duo of Jay (Jason Mewes) and
Silent Bob (Kevin Smith). The two pot-dealing stoners are told about a
Bluntman and Chronic movie being made by Miramax. Those two characters
are based on Jay and Silent Bob and as with all things famous, there
are people who bitch and say some nasty things about the two characters.
Never mind the money they're entitled to, Jay and Silent Bob don't want
to see their good name trashed. They come up with the brilliant plan of
sabotaging the movie. Once it's dead then their reputations will be
their own again. On the way from New Jersey to Los Angeles the duo meet
a band of female jewel thieves and Jay falls in love with Justice
(Shannon Elizabeth). Soon the two men become fugitives from the law
with their new orangutan companion, Suzanne. Can they clear their names
and stop the Bluntman and Chronic movie?
Comments
A lot of critics made the valid point that this is a very in-joke
movie. If you haven't seen the previous Askewniverse movies (and even
if you have if you're not a fanatic) then you'll miss out on a lot of
the jokes. Kevin Smith says the same thing in the audio commentary --
he's amazed that he got $20 million to produce what is essentially a
cultish big-budget movie (the film did gross $30 million at the box
office so it wasn't a disaster).
But, even not getting many of the jokes, it can still be an enjoyable
movie. There are a lot of characters and a lot that is left unexplained
(since they have been explained before in previous movies). But the
basic plot is a road movie and there are many jokes and references to
popular culture that keep this movie from getting hopelessly mired in
what many people will think is esoterica.
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Actors
Although Jason Mewes has come a long way as an actor since "Clerks",
he's still not that good. Kevin Smith has also progressed in the acting
department but since it's mostly miming skills it's not as significant.
Shannon Elizabeth does pull off the "I can fall in love with a
foul-mouthed stoner like Jay" act. The rest of the acting is good but
mostly small and bit parts.
DVD
The commentary track with Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, and Scott Mosier is
not as entertaining as in previous movies. Partly it's because there
are lots of characters that come in and out and there's lots of action
and partly because there's just less stuff to say that hasn't been said
before in previous commentaries. But it's still a good commentary which
also points out some of the various in-jokes (and there are a lot of
them).
Disc 2 is chock full of stuff. There are 42 deleted scenes which run an
hour and a half, though that time is mostly introductions and parts
that made it into the movie. Also included is a 7-1/2 minute gag
(blooper) reel that was shown at a convention. There are three sets of
picture galleries -- one for on the set pictures, one with lots of
movie poster ideas, and one that shows one of the Jay and Silent Bob
comic books.
The Secret Stash section with outtake shorts featuring Judd Nelson,
Will Ferrell, Jon Stewart, and Ben Affleck. There are two Internet
trailers as well as six television commercials. A 13-minute
behind-the-scenes featurette rounds out the first screen of extra
material (there's a lot of stuff here).
Screen Two begins with two sections on The Time (a short video and some
reading material about the group). There are two music videos,
Afroman's "Because I Got High" and Stroke 9's "Kick Some Ass", both of
which have appearances by Jay and Silent Bob. There is a 20-minute
Comedy Central "Reel Comedy: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" special.
The requisite Cast and Crew Biographies are found here. Last are some
storyboards for the Scooby Doo scene, the Fugitive scene, and the
Planet of the Apes scene.
Recommendations
Definitely if you've seen the other movies you should see this one too.
As a generic road comedy movie it's probably average but still worth a
video rental. Video rental is more highly recommended due to the large
amount of bonus materials.
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