"People will pay more to be entertained than educated." - Johnny Carson (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (DVD))

Member Name: ILoveJackDaniels

Product:	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (DVD)
Date:	02/10/01 (81 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some great jokes, Great women

Disadvantages: Could have been so much better

Undoubtably, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year. Fans of Kevin Smith's work have been dribbling over the trailers released over the web and the various snippets and spoilers leaked through newsaskew.com.

I am one of these people. I loved Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma, and have been looking forward to this movie since I heard it was being made. This is why it is not easy for me to admit that, despite a few interspersed moments of sheer genius, this film is pretty predictable and boring.

The plot revolves around Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith - also director), a couple of stoners who are the inspiration for a successful comic (Bluntman and Chronic) from the desk of Holden McNeill and Banky Edwards. A short while into the film, they find out that Bluntman and Chronic is being made into a movie. Within seconds, they discover that they are being insulted by everyone on the internet, and so to protect their reputations, they go to Hollywood to stop the movie being produced.

I won't tell you any more than that - the rest of the plot revolves around attractive women (especially Shannon Elizabeth and Smith's wife, Jennifer) and an orang-utan. The plot has strength, however the dialogue and acting leave a lot to be desired. There is very little in the way of excitement, and at certain points it is very easy to feel like the film has been written specifically to incorporate characters from earlier films.

Almost all of the main characters from Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy pop up in this at one point or another, so if you haven't seen the other movies, rent them before watching this. That's not to say everyone in this is from one of the previous movies - therre are cameos from Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Carrie Fischer (Leia), Wes Craven (director of every decent horror movie), James Van der Beck (Dawson), Jason Biggs (Pie-Lover), Matt Damon (Go
od Will Hunting, Dogma) and many more. The cameos are well woven into the film, and you will miss a lot of famous faces passing you by in this if you don't keep your eyes peeled.

The film does drag on, and was not all I expected, however there were some classic gags in it, as well as the standard issue Jay and Silent Bob range of obscene jokes (the language is coarse, to say the least, so if easily offended you should probably steer clear). Some of the best moments are various film out-takes. I won't spoil them all for you, but I should mention the Fugitive-inspired chase scene, which was absolutely brilliant.

Overall, this felt more like a Jay and Silent Bob tribute movie than the comedy epic it was hyped up to be. If you like the other movies, you'll find something about this to enjoy. If not, I would give it a miss.

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