Review by Les Winan

A combination road movie, pop-culture satire, and self-proclaimed dick-and-fart movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the fifth directorial offering from Kevin Smith, is a broad comedy in the vein of Smith's second film, Mallrats. Ostensibly a film about two guys traveling from New Jersey to Hollywood in order to halt production of the Hollywood film based on their lives, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back incorporates enough other elements to never let it feel like a simple road movie. While a little disjointed and with several slow points, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a worthy culmination of the Jay and Silent Bob era.

Smith has said that this is the final cinematic outing for Jay and Silent Bob, and fans of Smith's movies will not be disappointed. The film is one gigantic in-joke directed at them. Imagine you were given tens of millions of dollars to make a movie filled with every joke from the past ten years of your life, and you were able to cast dozens of famous people in the film. This is Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

The story involves two Leonardo, New Jersey marijuana dealers being tipped off that the comic book based on them is being turned into a movie based on the comic book. Seeing as they've been getting royalties from the comic book and have heard nothing about the movie or the money for that, they decide to investigate. When they discover that the Internet ("What's the Internet?") has become a breeding ground for movie criticism and they're the prime targets as a result of the upcoming film, Jay and Silent Bob decide to head to Hollywood to put a stop to it.

Now, normally at this point in a review of a different film of a similar tone, a generic "and high-jinks ensue" would suffice, but with Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, that would be an understatement. Smith packs in as many parodies and bizarre situations for his two main characters to run into as possible. Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith himself) run into a wide assortment of not only the Kevin Smith Acting Troupe, but also a large cast of recognizable Hollywood faces.

The first third of the film, as the set-up is explained, is rather like that moment in any Bond movie where the villain explains the entire plot (also parodied by Smith in Dogma), but this is far more long-winded and, in the case of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, almost all of it is done to wink at Smith's loyal audience. Characters from previous films are brought in and out and it would be easy to spend the entire film just looking for all of the small things that Smith does to acknowledge both his audience and his previous films. Part of the problem with this is that it serves to nearly kill any momentum the movie has built. For those who haven't seen Smith's earlier films, it will be either an exercise in extreme confusion, or a quick education on the View Askewniverse. For instance, anyone who has never seen a Kevin Smith movie will likely wonder how Jason Lee can play two different characters, differentiated by facial hair, or how Ben Affleck can play both himself and a totally different character.

Once the dynamic duo hit the road, they begin a series of encounters and misadventures that, among other things, lead them to be involved in a diamond heist, acquire a monkey, and attempt to perform oral sex on a nun. The final third of the film takes place on the Miramax lot. To give away much more would spoil the fun, but it is truly exhausting to try and keep up with the barrage of in-jokes, both View Askew and general Hollywood, and Miramax mockery.

The film truly takes off once Jay and Silent Bob get to Hollywood. It's there that the full scope of Kevin Smith's wit, and Miramax's willingness to be mocked in one of their own movies, take the film to another level. Two of the better bits in the film involve directors Gus Van Sant and Wes Craven. However, by far the biggest butt of Smith's jokes is Ben Affleck, appearing in his fourth Kevin Smith film and showing a willingness to mock himself of which all of Hollywood should take note. Once Jay and Silent Bob hit Hollywood, there isn't a five-minute span of the film that isn't punctuated by a shot at Ben Affleck, either from Affleck himself, Matt Damon, Jay and Silent Bob, or any other person on-screen.

There are few supporting actors in the film long enough to establish much presence, but the three main leads, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, and Shannon Elizabeth, all acquit themselves surprisingly well. Mewes is sturdy, very funny, and easy to follow as the true lead of the film, though the biggest surprises by far are Smith and Elizabeth. While he has only a few lines, Smith's Silent Bob manages to portray just as much with a series of shrugs, hand motions, and facial contortions. It's a surprisingly nimble performance. It is a shame that just as Smith hits his stride as Silent Bob, he's hanging up that particular overcoat. Shannon Elizabeth, on the other hand, relies for the first time in her career less on her looks and physical performance (though they play a big part of her role) and more on actually speaking the lines and being believable. She is surprisingly well-cast in what amounts to a romantic role opposite Mewes.

Among the main supporting cast, Will Ferrell, Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter, and Smith's wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith all carry themselves well in what are somewhat underdeveloped roles. The rest of the huge cast tends to play their roles with one eye winking at the camera, as written, and they frequently pause to look directly into the camera when delivering a particular punch-line. It's surprisingly effective and the choices Smith makes at those points allow the bit to be used several times without becoming annoying or distracting, particularly during the scenes in Hollywood. I would happily pay to see more of Affleck and Damon mocking each other's career choices and preparing for Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season. The commentary on the role of the Internet in the movie industry is very funny and self-aware, Smith's own fans being chief among those he is mocking, but the film would have been better served getting Jay and Silent Bob to Hollywood quicker and building on Kevin Smith's obvious love of his job and his love of mocking it.

Stylistically, this is Smith's most polished film. Often unfairly criticized for being unimaginative visually, Smith admittedly prefers to focus on his dialogue. However, his previous film, Dogma, represented a huge step forward for Smith. As his budgets have grown, so have his visuals, a correlation that is often overlooked. While he'll never be accused of usurping David Fincher or Martin Scorsese in terms of visual acuity, Smith's films have their own specific and distinctive style, something that is in full effect in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Using the same director of photography and production designer that he used for Dogma, Smith utilizes his budget to provide a colorful and unique world for his characters. It all looks a bit like something out of a comic book, which is unsurprising, given Smith's interests and side job writing comics.

While Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back will likely be a near-orgiastic experience for loyal View Askew fans, people new to Kevin Smith films may find it a bit confusing. Luckily, the vast majority of the film is funny and enjoyable to watch, which should allow the general public to get past any confusion. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a terrific commentary on the role of the Internet and the Hollywood system, and a worthy end to the first chapter of Kevin Smith's career.