h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

ive seen mallrats and dogma and will be seeing chasing amy but im still trying 2 get clerks and jay and silent bob strike back!!!

jay and silent bob are the funniest film duo i have ever come across
i hope 2 see them in many films in the future

Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back is a very enjoyable film to watch but it is nowhere near as good as any of the previous films. It seems to be slightly dumbed-down Kevin Smith, pitched at the kind of idiot who likes American Pie or Road Trip.

I am personally glad that he is killing off Jay and Silent Bob, because he is starting to become too formulaic in his use of these characters and needs to be tested somewhat by making a slightly different type of film.

You have to bear in mind that Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was pitched quite specifically at fans, and that a lot of the in jokes were removed for the actual film; if you buy the DVD, for example, there is a lot of material that was taken out for the final edit. A lot can also be attributed to the fact that Kevin Smith was indubitably having fun making the film, to an extent more than any of the others (the man's wife was in it, for example. ).. I think it's unfair to categorise the film like that, especially without taking it in this context. The truth is, his other films (dogma in particular) are exceptionally good for what they are, and whilst arguably Smith has fallen pray to a certain type of attitude in making his most recent film, there is a certain type of attitude (indeed, a plethora of them) which underly the way in which he directs in the first place, a fact which I believe adds the fresh element to his films which they seem to have. This fact is possibly attested to by the fact that so many high-profile actors and personalities are prepared to be in his films (and have fun poked at them, even), Mark Hamill being an example (admittedly a washed out one) at this. The jibes leveled at some of the male cast in Jay and Silent Bob are actually quite personal (at least with reference to the characters that Smith builds around the actors), and I don't think that actors would be prepared to put up with this unless they had a high opinion of him. And you mustn't forget that Smith's scripting was perfect for Alan Rickman; he does an excellent job of bringing actors into his films and yet not using them (if a director can be said to 'use' an actor) in a conventional or typecasting way.

It's also easy to mistake Smith's jibes at films like that for simple imitation of them; Smith is in reality an extremely sharp fellow, and I don't think he'd fall privy to such a simple mistake as to pitch at these audiences. Jay and Silent Bob works on several levels and can be interpreted in a couple of different ways. Bah.. I'm talking too much. *shuts up*

yeah. Just some thoughts.

- Njan

Don't get me wrong, I have all his films on DVD and have been a big fan for years, I just find that J&SBSB is a lot weaker than the rest of them. They are all littered with in-jokes as you say, but the format was looking extremely tired on the last film. I hope he sticks to his plan to kill off Jay and Silent Bob and doesn't find success without them so difficult that he goes back to them again.

I disagree. It was much more blatent humor, but all of his wittiness and intellicual humor were still very present. I think this was one of the best yet.

Smith has made the point repeatedly that Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was just a dick and fart movie. I recommend that all Smith fans check out An Evening With Kevin Smith. There are some great little nuggets of information about all his flicks in that DVD.