Well. Look at all these morose bad reviews right here. Smells like someone crapped in their cereal.
It's fascinating to look at the reception to Kevin Smith's latest film, "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot," the long-awaited seventh chapter in the twenty-five year old franchise known as the "View Askewniverse." The movie was met with predominately solid reviews from critics on release and garnered a predictably warm reception from longtime fans. At first, it seemed very much like Smith hit a homerun. And yet, just a few months later, audiences have seemingly turned completely against it, with the movie being slammed over and over in user-reviews and in comments sections all over the internet.
And where do I find myself in all of this? Well, I'm... kind of in the middle if I'm to be honest. On one hand, yeah. I can kinda see where the negativity is coming from. "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" is often messy, at times unfocused and at its worst... even occasionally nonsensical. It's less a movie and more a string of skits tied together with the flimsiest of plots. But on the other hand... I actually had a really good time watching this film. I laughed quite a bit, was won over by the heart of what story there was, and had a wonderfully warm feeling of nostalgia throughout. On an objective level, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the heck out of the experience. It's just unfortunately a bumpy ride at times.
Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith) must set out to Hollywood once again when they discover a new film is being made out of the old comic-book "Bluntman and Chronic," which of course was based around them. Along the way they get into various misadventures, as Jay meets his long-lost daughter (Harley Quinn Smith) and her multi-cultural group of friends, they get into a tangle with the Ku Klux Klan, and discover they must infiltrate a massive fan-convention where a key scene from the film is being shot. Oh, and there's cameos galore as many familiar faces from the "View Askewniverse" make appearances, often in very surprising ways.
Part of the great appeal of the film is having one more chance to catch up with the characters we love, and it is a genuine pleasure to see them again. Despite having aged quite a bit since their last outing, Mewes and Smith slip right back into the shoes of their stoner alter-egos and are as entertaining as ever. I also really enjoyed Harley Quinn Smith in a role that actually made her stretch her chops as an actress. And appearances from frequent Smith collaborators including Jason Lee, Brian O'Halloran and even Ben Affleck are welcome and help tie the film- and the series- together. I was particularly taken with Affleck's scene, as it has quite a bit of weight given his past appearances in the View Askew universe. It all gives the film a lovely sense of nostalgia that I found quite appealing.
And while it may be subjective, I did laugh quite a bit throughout the movie. It's definitely not one of Smith's better-made films and it obviously suffers a low-budget, but there are some genuinely clever scenes at play. Particularly during the protracted climax set in the "Bluntman and Chronic" fan convention. I won't spoil anything, but be prepared to laugh if you're a longtime fan of Smith's work, both on-screen and off. I was also really impressed by the heart of the film- Jay's realization that he has a long-lost daughter that he wants to reconnect with. It gave the film a little extra emotional "oomph," so-to-speak, even if it's not always the main focus.
Unfortunately, the trade-off to this is the quality of the writing and the general execution, which is where the film loses a few points for me. For all the film does right in the nostalgia department and in the humor, it's just not all that well made. You can tell they had a lower budget this time around, and Smith doesn't always make the most of it. It's often very flat looking, and doesn't really have a sense of scope. For a road-trip movie... it feels like it was all shot on studio-backlots and sets. And the writing is about as flimsy as it could be. While the emotional storyline of Jay and his daughter "Milly" is genuinely well-executed, the rest of the script is really patchy and uneven. Like I said above, it's more a collection of skits than an actual film. I also had some minor issues with the pacing, as some scenes did go on a bit too long, and some of the cameos felt kind of stretched out. A far superior film could have been made if they just trimmed about ten or so minutes of "fat" from the story. And my god... I really didn't understand a bizarre running joke about "Hater Tots," and wish that whole "subplot" had been cut out entirely.
But as it stands, I can't help but give the movie a mild recommendation to longtime fans of Smith and his work. As wonky as the execution may be, the charming cast and good humor made the experience a worthwhile one for me. I laughed at the jokes. I enjoyed the film's more emotional scenes. And I really dug the nostalgic throwbacks to the earlier films. "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" might not really be a good film. But it is good fun. And while your mileage may vary, that was enough for me.
Strictly as a Kevin Smith fan, I'm giving "Jay and Silent Bob" reboot a solid 7 out of 10.
It's fascinating to look at the reception to Kevin Smith's latest film, "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot," the long-awaited seventh chapter in the twenty-five year old franchise known as the "View Askewniverse." The movie was met with predominately solid reviews from critics on release and garnered a predictably warm reception from longtime fans. At first, it seemed very much like Smith hit a homerun. And yet, just a few months later, audiences have seemingly turned completely against it, with the movie being slammed over and over in user-reviews and in comments sections all over the internet.
And where do I find myself in all of this? Well, I'm... kind of in the middle if I'm to be honest. On one hand, yeah. I can kinda see where the negativity is coming from. "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" is often messy, at times unfocused and at its worst... even occasionally nonsensical. It's less a movie and more a string of skits tied together with the flimsiest of plots. But on the other hand... I actually had a really good time watching this film. I laughed quite a bit, was won over by the heart of what story there was, and had a wonderfully warm feeling of nostalgia throughout. On an objective level, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the heck out of the experience. It's just unfortunately a bumpy ride at times.
Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith) must set out to Hollywood once again when they discover a new film is being made out of the old comic-book "Bluntman and Chronic," which of course was based around them. Along the way they get into various misadventures, as Jay meets his long-lost daughter (Harley Quinn Smith) and her multi-cultural group of friends, they get into a tangle with the Ku Klux Klan, and discover they must infiltrate a massive fan-convention where a key scene from the film is being shot. Oh, and there's cameos galore as many familiar faces from the "View Askewniverse" make appearances, often in very surprising ways.
Part of the great appeal of the film is having one more chance to catch up with the characters we love, and it is a genuine pleasure to see them again. Despite having aged quite a bit since their last outing, Mewes and Smith slip right back into the shoes of their stoner alter-egos and are as entertaining as ever. I also really enjoyed Harley Quinn Smith in a role that actually made her stretch her chops as an actress. And appearances from frequent Smith collaborators including Jason Lee, Brian O'Halloran and even Ben Affleck are welcome and help tie the film- and the series- together. I was particularly taken with Affleck's scene, as it has quite a bit of weight given his past appearances in the View Askew universe. It all gives the film a lovely sense of nostalgia that I found quite appealing.
And while it may be subjective, I did laugh quite a bit throughout the movie. It's definitely not one of Smith's better-made films and it obviously suffers a low-budget, but there are some genuinely clever scenes at play. Particularly during the protracted climax set in the "Bluntman and Chronic" fan convention. I won't spoil anything, but be prepared to laugh if you're a longtime fan of Smith's work, both on-screen and off. I was also really impressed by the heart of the film- Jay's realization that he has a long-lost daughter that he wants to reconnect with. It gave the film a little extra emotional "oomph," so-to-speak, even if it's not always the main focus.
Unfortunately, the trade-off to this is the quality of the writing and the general execution, which is where the film loses a few points for me. For all the film does right in the nostalgia department and in the humor, it's just not all that well made. You can tell they had a lower budget this time around, and Smith doesn't always make the most of it. It's often very flat looking, and doesn't really have a sense of scope. For a road-trip movie... it feels like it was all shot on studio-backlots and sets. And the writing is about as flimsy as it could be. While the emotional storyline of Jay and his daughter "Milly" is genuinely well-executed, the rest of the script is really patchy and uneven. Like I said above, it's more a collection of skits than an actual film. I also had some minor issues with the pacing, as some scenes did go on a bit too long, and some of the cameos felt kind of stretched out. A far superior film could have been made if they just trimmed about ten or so minutes of "fat" from the story. And my god... I really didn't understand a bizarre running joke about "Hater Tots," and wish that whole "subplot" had been cut out entirely.
But as it stands, I can't help but give the movie a mild recommendation to longtime fans of Smith and his work. As wonky as the execution may be, the charming cast and good humor made the experience a worthwhile one for me. I laughed at the jokes. I enjoyed the film's more emotional scenes. And I really dug the nostalgic throwbacks to the earlier films. "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" might not really be a good film. But it is good fun. And while your mileage may vary, that was enough for me.
Strictly as a Kevin Smith fan, I'm giving "Jay and Silent Bob" reboot a solid 7 out of 10.