Kevin Smith is a comic-loving film fan who in the mid-1990s successfully broke into the film industry with Clerks, an independent black and white film he had written and directed. This was made on a shoestring budget with money he raised by selling off his comic collection and using credit cards. After getting a distributor and becoming a surprise and largely unprecedented hit, it was followed by sequels that featured some of the same characters, all of which concentrate on his rude, but witty, wordplay. Some actors play multiple characters across the film series, often playing relatives of characters in previous films. Two characters appear in every film in the series, Jay and Silent Bob, who are drug dealers¹. Jay is immature, arrogant and self-obsessed while as his name suggests, Silent Bob is his quiet partner whose facial expressions nevertheless speak volumes. On the rare occasions that Bob speaks, his advice is well-worth listening to.

As Kevin Smith's film company he co-founded with producer partner Scott Mosier is called View Askew Productions², the film series have become known as being the View Askewniverse. Other films that his company have made that do not feature these characters, such as Jersey Girl (2004) and Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008), are not considered part of the View Askewniverse. Jay and Silent Bob have even featured in their own (short-lived) animated television series (2000) and cameoed in Scream 3 (2000). Although his films strongly reflect his style, Smith refuses to take the standard 'A film by' in the credits, preferring the credit 'written & directed by' as he feels that filmmaking is a collaborative process.

Warning – these films contain Jaws, nudity, sex, drugs, rock and roll, hockey³, comics and explicit Star Wars. Other films by Smith's favourite directors including Stephen Spielberg, John Hughes and John Landis are often referenced. Conversations often contain explicit sex references and hundreds of swear words. Most films have met controversy over different issues. They are also all set in New Jersey, which is why they have also been called the New Jersey Chronicles. Skee-ball, an arcade ballgame created in New Jersey, also often appears.

Though the films contain explicit sex references and constant swearing they perhaps can be summarised by quoting the New York Times review of Clerks II:

'Clerks II' has a dirty mind, but its heart is pure.

Films

The tables below lists the main characters in each film. Characters in Bold are recurring characters, actors in bold show that these recurring characters are played by their original actor. Also mentioned is whether the films pass the Bechdel Test. This can be summarised as whether the film involves two or more female characters who have a conversation together that does not include or mention any male characters.

1. Clerks (1994)

Writer/director Kevin Smith made this cheap, 16mm black and white dark comedy for $27,575 at the shop where he had worked off and on for four years. To put it another way, the money he spent making all of Clerks would not have paid for a whole second of Titanic (1997) - even after Miramax spent an additional $100,000 on the soundtrack. Filming took place during the night after the shop had closed and to explain why the shop is only lit by internal lights the shop's shutters were said to be closed due to gum in the locks. As he was working shifts in the shop during the day and filming there from 10pm – 5:30am every morning, during the three weeks of filming Smith never had more than an hour of sleep a day.

The film concentrates on witty and/or rude dialogue full of film culture references, particularly Star Wars and Jaws. Although almost every customer, from ages four upward, in the store wants to buy cigarettes, when customers purchase anything else the items they are buying always reflect the conversation that Dante and Randall are having. Dante himself was named after 14th-Century author Dante Alighieri, with the idea that his day in the convenience store is effectively his journey through hell. One scene set at Julie Dwyer's wake was outside the initial budget; the tenth anniversary edition of the film recreated this as an animation. The film's original ending involved Dante being shot and killed during a robbery, which was deleted to finish with a more upbeat note.

When writing the film, Kevin Smith planned to play the character of Randall, who had been given the best lines. Yet when it came to production Smith decided that he needed to concentrate on being the director. Still wanting to be appear in the film he decided to play Silent Bob instead, which would involve only one line in the entire film. Producer Scott Mosier plays Willam also known as 'Snowball', the spaced-out man credited as 'idiot manchild', as well as other roles. Kimberly Loughran was Smith's high school sweetheart⁴, his mother appears as the woman looking for the bottle of milk that has a miraculous expiry date while his sister plays the woman who proudly, and crudely, boasts that her job involves animal artificial insemination. It should be emphasised that the most disturbing animal imagery in the film is a cat using a litter tray⁵.

Lisa Spoonauer and Jeff Anderson started dating during the making of the film, and later were married for a year. Jay was written based on Jason Mewes when he was 16, however Mewes was very self-conscious; though Mewes would dance spontaneously, he was unprepared to dance on demand. His dance in the film was done by leaving the camera running and having everyone except Kevin Smith leaving the area. Mewes also was supposed to have Silent Bob's line but, unable to nail it, the line was changed to be the only sentence said by Silent Bob. Smith has since said that the characters of Dante and Randall were reflections of himself, with carefree Randall how he would like to be and the more uptight Dante how he really is.

The film was submitted and accepted by the Independent Feature Film Market. Although the initial screening had been practically ignored, a number of key, influential producers and reviewers gradually saw the film, which went to the 1994 Sundance Film Festival. This led to its getting Miramax⁶ to distribute it once the ending changed to remove Dante's death.

After Miramax bought the rights to the film a soundtrack was added; Clerks became the first film in history in which the soundtrack cost more than making the film. As the film became a cult hit⁷, Sony decided to release a soundtrack album. To promote this they offered Smith a budget of $30,000 to film a three minute music video for Soul Asylum's song 'Can't Even Tell (Theme from 'Clerks')'. Feeling strongly that the soundtrack's short music video should not be made for more than the film the soundtrack belongs to, Smith shot it for closer to $10,000, featuring Dante and Randall playing street hockey on the Quick Stop's roof against the band, while Silent Bob and Jay lean against the wall underneath. This footage is all in colour.

It should be noted that 'Clerks' in this context is the American usage meaning lowly shop assistants rather than the British usage meaning record-keepers, particularly in a bank or office.

2. Mallrats (1995)

Following the success of Clerks, Smith was approached by Universal Pictures who wished to make a teenage sex comedy in the same vein as Porky's (1981). In order to make a film for the late-teens audience, Smith was instructed to have the main characters in their late teens, include frontal female nudity and cut out the swearing. Universal also insisted that it was impossible to make the film for less than $6 million, which when Smith said that he had made Clerks for 0.46% of that budget, he was told that had Universal bought the rights to Clerks instead of Miramax they would have reshot and refilmed it all. One of the changes that Universal wanted to make was to have a bigger, more expensive opening sequence. Smith subsequently wrote a more ambitious opening involving Svenning arranging for the Governor to visit the school that TS and Brandi attend in the hope of getting government investment, only for the Governor to be accidentally shot by TS, which is the why Svenning hates TS. This didn't work as well as a simpler discussion between TS and Brandi in which they break up and so was excised from the final cut. The governor is nevertheless mentioned a couple of times in the finished film.

The studio interfered with many of the intended casting decisions, wanting to recast both Silent Bob and Jay, who they wanted to replace with Seth Green. Smith insisted that Jason Mewes played Jay, even though Universal refused to pay for him to attend rehearsals, travel to Minnesota where filming took place or for his accommodation there and insisted on the right to replace him if they were disappointed in his performance.

Smith had originally cast Joey Lauren Adams as Rene, however he was forced to give her a smaller role in order to cast a known actress; Shannen Doherty was the most famous person in the film, having starred in television such as Beverley Hills 90210 (1990-4). Similarly Smith had written TS with O'Halloran in mind but had been forced to recast, with the returning character of Willam also now played by someone else. Nevertheless, Mallrats helped launch the film careers of three of the cast. Ben Affleck⁹ became close friends with Smith but was worried that he would spend his life always being cast as the villain, leading Smith to promise to cast him as the hero in his next film. Jason Lee was a professional skateboarder who was given his first acting break and has since appeared in numerous films, and Stan Lee, who following this cameo appearance would become known for appearing in numerous comic book adaptations. Unusually it is Stan Lee, and not Silent Bob, who delivers the words of wisdom that helps the hero realise the importance of true love, save the day and get the girl.

There are several jokes in the background, for example the Mall contains shops labelled Burning Flesh Tanning and Rug Munchers Carpets. Although filmed in a genuine shopping centre, the Eden Prairie Center in Minneapolis, there were a lot of vacant shops that were able to be repurposed for filming. When hiding in the bookshop, Bob is hiding behind book Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of American Independent Cinema by John Pierson. Pierson had been instrumental in getting Clerks seen. Brodie's home is entirely decorated with posters of either Marvel comics in honour of Stan Lee or posters of Universal films, such as Tremors (1990). Numerous references to Smith's first film abound, including TS picking up a Clerks hat at the fleamarket. The girl whose death is discussed at the start of this film is the one whose funeral Dante and Randall attend in Clerks. Brian O'Halloran cameos as Gill Hicks, Dante's cousin. Tricia Jones is the sister of Heather Jones in Clerks. Gwen Turner confesses to having had sex with Rick Derris. Jason Lee's wife Carmen Lee is the girl on the posters outside the 'Popular Girl' clothes shop.

Brodie Bruce and Quint are names in Jaws¹⁰. Tragically, Universal Studios' Jaws attraction has long since closed and been replaced. Rene Mosier was loosely inspired by Scott Mosier's younger sister Kristen, who Smith briefly dated. When the film was in post-production Smith and Joey Lauren Adams started a relationship. He has since said that the momentary glimpse in the film of her topless is one of his greatest regrets as a filmmaker, however he had been contracted to include female nudity.

Numerous comic characters are discussed in the film whereas Jay and Silent Bob undertake their sabotaging mission with hair-brained schemes right out of comic books, with Bob dressed in a Batmanlike helmet and winged-cloak while Jay utters a catchphrase Snoochie Boochies! Thje film had its premiere at ComicCon, following which several comic artists who had enjoyed Clerks asked if they could provide artwork for the film, which led to the comic book opening sequence. The film's end sequence included a number of 'what happened next' to the various characters, with one jokingly showing Jay, Silent Bob and an orangutan named Suzanne walking off into the distance.

The film was distributed by Gramercy, a company joint-owned by PolyGram and Universal Pictures. Yet their original marketing campaign did not quite seem to know who to target the film to. Mallrats flopped at the cinemas, but successfully found its audience in the home video market.

3. Chasing Amy (1997)

After filming finished on Mallrats Smith and Adams briefly dated, before splitting amicably. Despite having separated Smith nevertheless wrote Chasing Amy with Adams in mind. Miramax, who offered Smith a budget of $3 million, did not feel Adams was right for the role and wanted to recast her, particularly disliking her distinctive voice. They wanted to cast Drew Barrrymore and have David Schwimmer replace Affleck instead. Smith insisted on Adams and Affleck as the leads and, disillusioned by his experience on Mallrats realised he would rather have his preferred cast than a bigger budget. In order to retain control he made the film for $250,000 with money loaned from Miramax, who had the option of first refusal to distribute. Joey Lauren Adams makes the film, even writing and performing the song she sings.

Smith and Affleck remained close friends following Mallrats. When Smith learnt that Affleck had co-written a film script with Matt Damon he used all his contacts and influence to persuade Miramax to film it with Damon and Affleck in the lead roles, executive producing the film with his View Askew partner Scott Mosier. The film, Good Will Hunting (1997) subsequently was incredibly successful, was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay. Since then Affleck and Damon have been ever-willing to appear in Smith's films.

Perhaps because of Smith's determination to fight for his friends, many of his usual cast return, with Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Scott Mosier, Smith's sister Virginia Smith and Ethan Suplee all returning to play new roles, while Brian O'Halloran again plays a member of the extended Hicks family. The character of Alyssa Jones had first been mentioned in Clerks. Many of the other actors in small roles were relatives of the main cast, including Carmen Lee then Jason Lee's wife playing Alyssa's initial girlfriend and Casey Affleck, Ben's younger brother, playing the man who argues with Banky that being an inker and colourist is merely tracing. Though performing in the View Askewniverse for the first time, Matt Damon and Dwight Ewell would return in future films.

Jay and Silent Bob only appear in one scene, in which they collect likeness royalties for being the inspiration for Holden and Banky's comic creation. They feel offended that they are still being portrayed as shouting Snoochie Boochies and hanging out at the Mall, having outgrown all that. Other references to previous films include Alyssa Jones mentioning being best friends with Caitlin Bree and Julie Dwyer and having had sex with numerous partners including Rick Derris, Shannon Hamilton and Gwen Turner, while Banky dated Brandi Svenning for six months.

Romcoms are a genre in which traditionally a boy and a girl who are ideal for each other meet and fall in love, while something such as other people or a form of division such as class or geography etc keeps them apart. This was one of the first films in which the division was incompatible sexualities, although there was some criticism from some members of the LGBTQ+ community. Firstly, Banky is a character who is quick to stereotype and employ homophobic language, although his use of language is always colourful and he appears friendly with Hooper X. Alyssa is initially portrayed as a lesbian, although it is later revealed that she has had a more chequered bisexual past. Some groups criticised the film, incorrectly claiming that it was presenting a message that lesbians need to find the right man to find happiness, though how they believed this is unknown. The likeliest interpretation is that these online critics had not actually seen the film they were vehemently opposing¹¹.

4. Dogma (1999)

Kevin Smith, who grew up attending a Catholic school, wrote the first draft of this film during a crisis of faith even before he had written Clerks, although for many years it was outside his budget. Following the success of Chasing Amy he felt mature enough to tackle the subject. Disney, which owned Miramax, were unwilling to be involved in the potentially controversial film and chose not to release it. Instead they sold the film distribution rights to Britain's FilmFour in Europe and in the US was the first film widely distributed by Lionsgate. Smith overcame his crisis of faith and has credited God in the with thanks to section of the end credits in all his View Askewniverse films.

Again Smith was unable to cast his intended cast for the film, intending Joey Lauren Adams to play Bethany, however as Linda Fiorentino had starred in the highly successful big budget blockbuster Men In Black (1997), she was the studio's preferred choice. Naturally Emma Thompson was considered to be God, however she was unavailable due to pregnancy and wishing to concentrate on her family.

This film met with considerable criticism from the US Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights who accused the film of being blasphemous without having seen it, stating that flaky Catholics might stop believing in God if they saw this film¹². This group which does not have official church sanction may have been using the film as a media crusade to generate publicity. Smith even received death threats from claimants asserting that the film questions Christianity when in fact it does not. Smith wrote Dogma to be a celebration of his faith and be, in his words, a 'modern psalm'. It is certainly irreverent and definitely a tad rude, but never blasphemous.

Smith's film promotes an ecumenical approach to Christianity, arguing that organised religion often blocks faith by getting bogged down in earthly politics. The plot does hinge on two Catholic beliefs; firstly, that of Indulgence in which the forgiveness of sins can be authorised by the church on Earth. Secondly that of Papal infallibility, the belief that though God is omnipotent He must do what the Pope says, as this is the word of God¹³. Other Christian denominations, both Orthodox and Protestant, do not believe in this dogma and that God would not in any way, shape or form be restricted to uphold any individual's expectations irrespective of whether they have an authoritative position within any religious organisation.

A Jaws homage featuring Jay wearing the cardinal's hat was filmed, but deleted from the finished film. Jay and Silent Bob are the unlikeliest couple to be described as 'prophets', but somehow it works. They had travelled across the country to live in a fictional town created by writer/director John Hughes for some of his films, only to be disappointed that the town does not actually exist. After rescuing Bethany from the Stygian triplets they said they had wanted to earn a profit. Fans of Silent Bob and Jay expressed disappointed that they did not encounter an orangutan during this film, as the joke ending of Mallrats had implied.

This film introduces the recurring Mooby Company to the View Askewniverse. The Mooby Corporation's logo is a golden calf and the company is a cross between Disney and McDonalds, combining fast food restaurants with children's entertainment and theme parks. As with other films there are numerous in-jokes and things to look out for. The bus company is named 'Derris' after the character of Rick Derris in Clerks. Silent Bob is seen reading USA Today, a newspaper Smith's wife was writing an article for when he met her.

5. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Plot	After Randall gets them issued with a restraining order to stop them hanging outside the Quick Stop selling dope, Jay and Silent Bob hang out at a comic book store. There they learn from Brodie that, as all comic book characters are being made into films, Miramax are making a film featuring the comic book characters inspired by them. These characters, also called Silent Bob and Jay, turn into heroes Bluntman and Chronic. The real Silent Bob and Jay would therefore be entitled to royalties. After visiting comic artist Holden, who co-created the comic, they learn that he had sold the rights on to Banky, who was the one who authorised the film. He shows them the internet, informing them that the internet not only was created for pornography but also to allow people to slate and criticise films they haven't actually seen, as well as illegally download and share film scripts and spoil the plots for others. Angry that numerous people are bad-mouthing the fictional Jay and Silent Bob and taking it personally, Jay and Silent Bob decide to travel across America to Hollywood to stop the film from being made. On the way, at a Mooby's restaurant they encounter Justice, a woman that Jay instantly falls head-over heels in love with. She says that she and her friends Sissy, Chrissy and Missy are animal rights protestors and ask Jay and Silent Bob to steal an orang-utan for her from an animal testing laboratory, but really Jay and Silent Bob are being used as a distraction while the girls rob the neighbouring jewellery depository. Soon Jay, Silent Bob and Suzanne the orang-utan are being hunted by Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly, who believes they are the most dangerous fugitives in the country. Can Jay and Silent Bob stop Hollywood from making a film about them, or at least stop the constant ignorant internet criticism? Will they follow the Hitchhiker's guide to the road to get to Los Angeles? Even if they get there, will they be able to find the right studio, or instead blunder through every other film set in use? When will drug dealers in New Jersey who are registered members of the International Fellowship of Marijuana Distributors, Crack-Cocaine Wholesaler, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada get dental? Is the reason that Jay's love is reciprocated is because Justice is blind? How many cameo appearances can be fitted into one film? And in the Bluntman and Chronic movie, will Dame Judi Dench play Dante?
Length	100 minutes
Setting	Road trip between New Jersey and Hollywood, United States, turn of the 21st century.
Characters	Jay, stoner inspiration for comic character Chronic (Jason Mewes) Silent Bob, Jay's muscle and inspiration for Bluntman (Kevin Smith, Baby Silent Bob: Harley Quinn Smith) Holden McNeil, co-creator of comic Bluntman and Chronic (Ben Affleck) Ben Affleck, actor with a reputation for having hookers in his trailer (Ben Affleck) Randal Graves, video store clerk (Jeff Anderson) Dante Hicks, Quick Stop convenience store clerk (Brian O'Halloran) Justice, international jewel thief and love interest (Shannon Elizabeth) Sissy, Chrissy and Missy, international jewel thieves posing as animal rights protestors (Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith) Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly (Will Ferrell) Brodie Bruce, Brodie's Secret Stash comic shop owner (Jason Lee) Banky Edwards, co-creator of Bluntman and Chronic who sold film rights (Jason Lee) Hitchhiker (George Carlin) Nun (Carrie Fisher) Brent, singing hippy in van (Seann William Scott) Chaka Luther King, director of Bluntman and Chronic: The Movie (Chris Rock) Chaka's Production Assistant (Jamie Kennedy) Wes Craven, director of the Scream films (Wes Craven) Shannen Doherty, actress appearing in a Scream film (Shannen Doherty) Cocknocker, archenemy of Bluntman and Chronic (Mark Hamill) Tricia Jones, author of Bore-Gasm, sister of Alyssa (Renée Humphrey) Alyssa Jones, comic book author, sister of Tricia (Joey Lauren Adams) Hooper 'X' LaMont, comic book author and Banky's partner (Dwight Ewell) God, supreme being credited as 'That Woman' (Alanis Morissette) Matt Damon, star of Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season (Matt Damon) James Van Der Beek, actor playing Chronic (James Van Der Beek) Jason Biggs, actor playing Bluntman (Jason Biggs) Willam 'Snowball' Black, idiot manchild (Scott Mosier) Gus Van Sant, director of Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season (Gus Van Sant) Morris Day, lead singer/musician of Morris Day and the Time (Morris Day) Redhead Beauty, woman in van resembling Daphne in Scooby Doo (Carmen Lee née Llywelyn)
Distributor	Dimension Films14
Silent Bob Speaks	To Jay: 'The sign on the back of the car said "Critters of Hollywood", you dumb ' To Banky: 'We had a deal with you on the comics for likeness rights. And as we're not only the artistic basis but also the character basis for your intellectual property, Bluntman and Chronic, when said property was optioned by Miramax Films you were legally obliged to secure our permission to transfer the concept to another medium. As you failed to do that, you're in breach of the original contract - ergo, you find yourself in a very actionable position.'
Star Wars Moment	Numerous, including the film title referencing The Empire Strikes Back, opening caption 'A long time ago in a convenience store far, far away', Carrie Fisher's cameo appearance to the climactic 'lightsabre duel' against Mark Hamill
Jaws Moment	None, but there is an E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial recreation.
Bechdel	Pass

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was intended to be the final film in the series, with many of the characters and actors from previous films making an appearance, as well as finally resolving the 'what happened next' cliff-hanger showing the characters with an orang-utan. There are numerous references to previous films as well as in-jokes and the list of actors and cast-members making cameo appearances is too long to mention. Buddy Christ appears as a figure on the nun's dashboard. Holden tells Silent Bob that he can see how he wants to do more with his life than just hang around Jay and hear rude jokes. When discussing their careers, Affleck and Damon admit that sometimes they have to appear in a film because they owe the director a favour. Affleck also asks Silent Bob and Jay who would pay to see a Jay and Silent Bob movie? before all three look at the camera and break the fourth wall.

Shop Brodie's Secret Stash was inspired by Kevin Smith's real comic book store, Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash. On the Miramax lot they encounter a man dressed as Daredevil, a character who in 2003 would be played by Ben Affleck in a film that Smith cameos in having written for the comic book series. Both Smith's wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith and daughter appear in the film, with Harley Quinn Smith playing the baby Silent Bob. There is a post-credit sequence in which Alanis Morisette cameoing as God closes the book of the View Askewniverse¹⁵, whose last page had read 'The End'. Unlike the previous films ending with the credit 'Jay and Silent Bob will Return In...', this film ends with 'Jay and Silent Bob have Left the Building'.

There are several funny sequences in the film, including a short sequence spoofing Planet of the Apes in which Jay supposes that the animal testing laboratory is creating a race of superior monkeys doomed to take over the planet, which he describes as instead of man spanking the monkey, the monkey will spank man. This involved a brief film sequence filmed on the same beach as the original film. The twosome also encounter a spoof of Scooby Doo and also wander through various film sets, including one where a Scream sequel is being filmed, referencing how they cameoed on Scream 3. The Bluntcave set is also a fantastic recreation of the 1960s Batman Batcave. Silent Bob gives two speeches, the first showing him losing his temper for the first time in the series, shouting at Jay after numerous attempts to point out the blatantly obvious fail.

Smith had been concerned that the characters of Jay and Silent Bob were essentially comic relief characters and would be unable to support a whole film, and so numerous other scenes were filmed. These would have propped the film up, as Smith had been worried about whether Jason Mewes would be able to make the film as he was battling drug addiction at the time. He also hoped that by making a film dedicated to sex and fart jokes he would be able to enjoy being able to make an uncontroversial film free from the death threats and constant criticism that had followed making Dogma. However the film proved not to be as uncontroversial as he had hoped. After filming had finished, the film overran. It quickly became apparent that test audiences loved the sequences featuring Jay and Silent Bob and often lost interest in the scenes in which they did not appear, so many of these were cut from the finished film. This included a lot of Will Ferrell material as well as a subplot in which Chrissy, Missy and Sissy were lesbian international jewel thieves which was all-but completed excised from the final film. The exception was one line in which Justice tells Sissy – originally her ex-girlfriend, only for this not to make the finished film - that she is 'so gay'. Taken out of context, this line resulted in the film being fined for derogatory use by GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation).

The film cost $20 million, making it the most expensive film in the View Askewniverse to date, although still cheaper than Kevin Smith's next film, Jersey Girl (2004). Several cast members from this film would appear in Jersey Girl, including Ben Affleck, George Carlin, Jason Biggs, Jason Lee, Matt Damon and Harley Quinn Smith.

6. Clerks II (2006)

After the failure of Jersey Girl, a film that cost $35 million to make, including paying Ben Affleck and Jenifer Lopez $10 and $4 million respectively to appear but only made $36 million at the box office¹⁶, so failing to recoup its production and marketing budget, Smith once more returned to the View Askewniverse.

This was a difficult decision for Smith to make as he had been offered the chance to direct big-budget superhero film The Green Hornet for Miramax, however he realised that working on big budget films would result in losing control over the film and he would be answerable to those providing the finance. He had also been disillusioned with making films featuring stars and the intense media pressure that came with it, particularly the media's obsession with the stars' love lives to the point of having no interest in the film they were appearing in whatsoever.

Smith instead opted to make a low-budget comedy, surrounded by family and friends, initially hoping to make a film for a similar budget to Chasing Amy although his producer Scott Mosier persuaded him that for full justice to be given to the film's aims, a budget of $5 million would be more realistic. Following the $20 million budget of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, this was made for a much more discreet $5 million, financed by TWC. In 2005 Harvey Weinstein had fallen out with the Walt Disney Company over their control of Miramax, with disputes including claims that the Weinsteins were not paying their staff overtime and were not keeping proper company accounts. Harvey and Bob Weinstein co-founded The Weinstein Company and one of their first projects was financing Clerks II, though it was produced by View Askew. Weinstein disliked the title Clerks II and felt the film should have been called Clerks II: The Passion of the Clerks¹⁷. It should be emphasised that Weinstein financed the film but was not otherwise involved in its production other than encouraging Smith to cast a famous name in the lead actress role as all the lead male roles were played by relative unknowns. Weinstein claimed that this would be needed to ensure someone from the film would be invited onto chat shows to promote the film. In late 2017 it was revealed that Harvey Weinstein was a sexual predator who had used his position of power to abuse and rape over 100 women. TWC declared bankruptcy soon after.

Smith enjoyed reuniting with many of his close friends and colleagues he had previously worked with, with even his mother and daughter making brief, cameo appearances. The role of Becky had originally been written with his wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith in mind. After Harvey Weinstein insisted on casting an A-list actress so that the film would have at least one star, Jennifer was instead given the smaller role of Emma, which she was happy with. It is now difficult to imagine anyone other than Rosario Dawson in that role. Jason Lee and Ben Affleck also appear for brief cameos; Affleck was only supposed to be a silent cameo but improvised a short sentence while Lee filmed all his scenes during a Saturday off when he wasn't starring in television show My Name Is Earl (2005-9).

The film begins and ends in black and white, recreating the spirit and look of the original Clerks. The film was also deliberately filmed with a desaturated colour quality to ensure it was in keeping with the original film, with many fans of Clerks having been attracted by its cheap, worn aesthetic. The film is set in a Mooby's Restaurant, the franchise that had first appeared in Dogma, while Jay wears first a Buddy Christ T-Shirt and later wears a jacket labelled 'Justice TLF' (True Love Forever), referencing his girlfriend from the previous film. Once more numerous films are referred to and spoofed, including a memorable The Silence of the Lambs reference and an uplifting dance sequence.

Following the death of his mother in 2002, Jason Mewes battled various forms of substance abuse. Before filming began on Clerks II Smith had promised Jason Mewes that if he were able to come clean he would appear in his next film, having replaced him on Jersey Girl. Mewes underwent a six month rehab course and stayed sober not only during filming but for the following three years until a short relapse in 2009 following surgery. Once again the film gathered a huge internet backlash before being released, this time from fans who felt that Clerks II would devalue and detract from the original. After the film was released fans felt that actually it was a poignant film that built on the characters already introduced but showing them coming to terms with being in their thirties rather than their younger selves faced with life in their twenties.

Filming took place in New Jersey as well as California. The New Jersey sequences were those bookending the film at the Quick Stop, with Kevin Smith's childhood home used as the location for Randall's house. The most difficult part of production was finding an empty fast food restaurant in America where they could film the fictional Mooby's and eventually found a disused Burger King in California; this had only been abandoned because it was in the process of being relocated and the original restaurant was due to be demolished. The set designers did such a convincing job of recreating the look of a fast food restaurant that throughout the production members of the public kept assuming it was a new, open burger joint. As the restaurant was located next to a hotel the hotel effectively became the production's office as well as place the cast and crew could stay.

The film's credits ends with, Jay and Silent Bob may return. As for now, they're taking it easy.

Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie! (2013)

Directed by Steve Stark and not Kevin Smith, and based on Smith's comic book Bluntman & Chronic, it is best considered an animated spin-off telling what is considered a work of fiction in the View Askerniverse rather than a direct continuation of the series. There are two sides to Kevin Smith's writing – there's the poignant writer who concentrates on relationships and friendships, and there's the side dedicated to dick and fart jokes. This is purely the potty-mouthed latter.

Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie! was produced by Jason Mewes, as Smith wanted to both challenge and reward him for staying clean and away from drugs and alcohol.

7. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019)

A paean to fatherhood, this film is full of references to Kevin Smith's real life, mocking how he had been thrown off a commercial airline because of his weight, his near-fatal heart-attack and subsequent conversion to veganism. His real-life daughter Harley Quinn Smith's character Millie also states how she hates Kevin Smith films for always featuring his daughter who is now supposed to be an 'actress'. In the film Smith, playing Kevin Smith, states how it was much easier to get celebrities to agree to cameo in this film following his near-death.

In the film Brodie explains the difference between a Remake and Reboot. Remakes are a new version of a classic film which take the title and nothing else from an existing film and, by purely being a cash-in, results in both a poor film and ruining the reputation of the original. A reboot, on the other hand, maintains everything that was cared for in the original but adds both youth and diversity. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot therefore is a reboot about a reboot; as well as featuring many of the same cast as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back but with an added young, diverse cast, it includes a film-inside-the-film which is a reboot.

One way the film excels is how Jay's daughter Milly is in many ways remarkably similar to her father, despite having a completely different, privileged background. Like Jay she has a silent best friend, Soapy, who is played by deaf actress Treshelle Edmond. There are numerous nods to previous films, including the very first View Askew logo of the creepy cross-dressing clown¹⁸. There are even references to films outside the View Askewniverse, with Brandon St Randy a reappearing character from Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Melissa Benoist, the star of television series Supergirl (2015+) also appears as the female Chronic; Smith has directed episodes of her television series.

Stan Lee had been intended to play a pivotal role at Chronic-Con, however he died before he was able to film his scenes. A poignant mid-credits scene shows both Smith and Lee discuss the role and Lee reads his first line from the script. Fittingly, Lee gets the penultimate laugh of the entire film, although the film ends by revealing who had gummed the locks up in Clerks, 25 years earlier.

Instead of the scenes to have featured Stan Lee, Ben Affleck returns playing Holden McNeill with Joey Lauren Adams again as Alyssa Jones in a scene written while filming was underway, reuniting the stars of Chasing Amy. Affleck and Smith had fallen out and not spoken for a decade following Kevin Smith reporting that Affleck had said when filming the scene in Chasing Amy in which he kissed Jason Lee words to the effect of 'A man kissing another man is the greatest acting challenge an actor can ever face', which when taken out of context led to Affleck being accused of homophobia¹⁹. After reading an interview in which Affleck said he would like to appear in Smith's next film, Smith contacted him and offered him the role, later describing the experience with the words, 'I got my best friend back again'.

Conclusion

Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse films are that rare beast, a film series that grows with its audience. Normally when a film is successful and had been targeted at, say, 18-year-olds, normally all the sequels are also aimed at 18-year-olds. Yet the View Askewniverse does not follow this trend. Clerks was about the life experiences of people in their early 20s. Though Mallrats was made to be a teen comedy, subsequent films were aimed and about people in their mid-20s, then late 20s. Clerks II was poignantly about people in their 30s experiencing love and life and considering settling down, while Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is purely about finding yourself in your forties and with children of your own. While the jokes never mature or grow up, the films in which they are found definitely do.