To start off, I'll make it clear that I am a Kevin Smith fan. Clerks, Dogma, Zack and Miri, Chasing Amy, etc. Having seen his previous work, I have an idea of what to expect from him. Hence my bias. If this film was my introduction to Smith's work, I probably wouldn't appreciate it given that this film was made for his loyal fans and himself , given its self-indulgent nature. In the theater I saw it in back in October, it was only playing for 1 night, and the room was packed. Clearly, some people appreciate his silly style.
Kevin Smith has gone in recorded on stating that the story of this film is "literally the same fuŃking movie all over again". He was referring to his 2001 film Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. In that film, Jay and his hetero lifemate travel to Hollywood to stop the production of a superhero film based on their comic book likeness. They go on a road trip adventure full of ridiculous moments, encounter a girl gang, and the comic-con convention they make it to is filled to the brim with celebrity cameos. It all results in a final battle too stupid to comprehend. To that end, yes, it is the same thing. Except all of that is on the surface.
Smith decided to have their characters grow up a little. The girl gang they encounter is lead by Milly, Jay's daughter that he never knew about. She and her friends also want to go to Hollywood, though for less self-destructive reasons. Then, the focus of the film becomes Jay trying to connect with her, and how their relationship evolves. It's a sweet story to watch, despite the constant jokes about having sex with Chris Hemsworth in between conversations.
Milly is played by Smith's daughter, Harley Quinn Smith. She's great in the film, but seriously, the things her father made her say? My God.
The filmmaking has grown up too. The film opens with an impressive one-shot sequence with the quick stop and the cops that made me realize that Smith learned some new tricks when directing episodes of various CW shows. After that, the film mostly compromised of many static shots. It gets the job done in terms of framing, but I was expecting more. Some things don't work. That is the risk you run with films that feature gags at quicksilver like speed. The first act is the bumpiest. It hits its stride once Jay and Silent Bob interact with people longer than a minute. Another time that this film has with its predecessor.
This film has some many cameos, it could rival the Entourage film. Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Chris Hemsworth, the grown up kids from the first film, and the tribute to Stan Lee in the credits were my favourites.
Yeah, compared to the previous reviews that I have written lately, the short film festival coming later this week notwithstanding, this is pretty short. Well, the film is pretty straightforward. I don't see it being as fiercely debated as the Marvel films its characters love. I wrote this for the Quarantine Watch party tonight.
Jay And Silent Bob Reboot is a silly fun movie with heart that Kevin Smith fans will love. Other people, probably not. 7/10
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