Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Review By Clint Morris

Unless you've been living in a bomb shelter for the last five years, you're probably aware of infamous indy-film icons, Jay and Silent Bob. Via Director Kevin Smith's movies - Chasing Amy, Clerks, Dogma, Mallrats - we have witnessed their uneventful buddying up at a convenience store, a shopping centre, on a mission to search for that town that John Hughes uses in his movies, and as aids to an unlucky in love heterosexual. Now, for the first time (and reportedly the last time), Jay and Silent Bob carry their own movie, complete with all the potty humour you've become to expect from the writer/director.

Set in the same fictional town as Smith's previous movies, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a monstrous size dig at Hollywood and the commercial movie machine, whilst serving as a finale piece for the lead characters, and some returning favourites. It's becoming evidently clear that Smithland is it's own population where everyone is interconnected and where characters from one movie can run into another.

"I adored this mixed bag!"

Forced to budge from their local hangout, the convenience store, potty-mouthed Jay (Mewes) and his silent partner Silent Bob (Smith) wind up in Banky's (Jason Lee) comic store, where there pal informs them that the comic book based on them has been sold to Movie Studio, Miramax. A second visit, to the comic's artist Holden (Affleck), has the duo traumatized to discover that Miramax is planning to cast teenage pin-ups Jason Biggs and James Van Der Beek in the leads, the lead roles that they should be playing.

Planning to sabotage the movie, Jay and Silent Bob decide to hitchhike to the coast, and encounter George Carlin as a hitchhiker who tells them of the one thing guaranteed to get you a ride, and Carrie Fisher as a nun who represents an exception to Carlin's advice.

Then they get a ride from four animal activist babes (Shannon Elizabeth, Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter and Jennifer Smith), who pose as friends but want to exploit them in the theft of a monkey.

Once in Hollywood, the duo bust into the movie studio coming face to face with a few surprised people. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (his second role in the movie) appears as themselves on the set of "Good Willl Hunting Season" (yep, it's a sequel), Biggs and Van Der Beek get a crash visit from their protégés, Shannen Doherty has an encounter with them on the Scream 4 set and eventually, Star Wars' Mark Hammil grabs the closest thing to a lightsaber (a flouro dildo) to battle the uninvited guests.

"Gives the belly a laughing workout!"

Depending on who you are you will either like or loathe this movie. Watching a Kevin Smith movie requires some background knowledge of his characters and his previous movies.

Those who've seen all his films up til now will know he is great at turning gratuitous toilet humour complete with foul language and smutty sexual references into a witty art form. If you're coming in fresh to Jay and Silent Bob, you'll be bewildered. Without any familiar connection to those wackos on screen, the film might come across as just another film infested with dirty language and unorthodox caricatures.

As a fan of Smith's movies, I've adored the mixed bag of characters Smith has created, and at the same time are in awe of his fantastic fashion to pen the best satire. Who else could make digs at Miramax, Ben Affleck's rising stature in commercial films and a certain Warner film adaptation of a dog-gone cartoon classic that's so cleverly hilarious.

And while Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is, in the most part, an excuse to say goodbye to the characters of Smith's last four movies - it's also a very entertaining way to spend 90 mins or so. Gives the belly a laughing workout!

4 out of 5

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Australian release: January 31st
Cast: Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Ben Affleck, Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Lee, Mark Hammil, Eliza Dushku, Sean William Scott, Marc Blucas.
Director: Kevin Smith.
Website: Click here

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