Starring Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Will Ferrell and "Susanne"
In conversation, that means recalling a previous conversation when you either blew it with a fine member of the opposite sex or said something quite funny. In movies, it’s that “sequel” feeling where plot points instantly recall previous adventures in the first film.
But in the year of sequels, when every character seemed all too familiar, there’s one sequel that managed to do things right -- with a few original jokes to spare.
“Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” (Miramax, R) written by, directed by and starring Kevin Smith, fully acknowledges that four movies previously featured the exploits of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith). It also acknowledges the fans’ love for “Clerks,” “Mallrats,” “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma,” – a fanatical, groovy kind of love reciprocated in intricate DVDs and plenty of interviews by just about everyone involved. In some distant corner of the Internet, the key grip probably has a makeshift fan site.
To go over the plot would mean performing amazing acrobatic leaps of logic that only the initiated can understand. But instead of learning a secret handshake, check out the older movies before venturing into this stumbling gold rush. Only then will you truly want to check out the new movie.
Then you’ll feel that odd, yet familiar feeling – like coming home again and finding new wallpaper in your bedroom. We enter a world where nerdy pop culture can illustrate comedic plot points, mostly through long stretches of dialogue that figuratively and literally do the talking for the film.
Skip all of the plot for a second and look at one of the funniest moments in the movie: a depiction of “Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season,” starring Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. This time, let’s just say Hunting has traded in his calculator for something a bit more ... destructive.
This wink-and-smile at both the movie business and the art of a sequel carries “J&SBSB” into the realm of fitting closer to the Kevin Smith New Jersey series of movies. And while certainly not the strongest of the group, there really was no other way to finish things other than a full-out ensemble assault with all the curse words and “Star Wars” references that have marked Smith’s contribution to film culture thus far.
The supposed last adventures of Jay and Silent Bob bump into a variety of older characters, many of them played by Affleck and Jason Lee. Instead of adding comic relief to others’ travails, this time Smith has chosen a front and center swan song.
This decision makes big laughs quite easy. But when the one-liners stop and the plot must sputter forward like a moped, that’s when things drag on – through no fault but the conventional narrative structure.
Soon enough, though, the super-id of Jay, with his mondo drug and references, sends the story careening into enough unpredictable directions so that when they finally make it to Hollywood, we still want to know what will happen next.
Sure, there may not be some of the more ambiguous trail-blazing that made “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma” such fine underdog movies. The deepest thought we get is that a chimp named Suzanne deserves as much love as a leather-clad jewel thief. But you know what? That’s OK, because a lot of smarts went into this “thoughtless” comedy.
And what awaits our characters, ones we have grown up with through the wonders of home entertainment, after the final “The End?” The actors – from Mewes and Smith to Shannon Elizabeth, Eliza Dushku, Carrie Fisher, Ali Larter, Tracy Morgan (deep breath), Scott Mosier, Jason Biggs, James Van Der Beek, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Mark Hamill and Joey Lauren Adams – all obviously have had the type of fun an actor dreams about.
And for the fans? They’ll have an ode to themselves, enough to make even the biggest geek feel warm inside knowing that the story’s over. There can be no sequel for that kind of fandom.
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