Before I start, I would like to make clear that this is NOT an official review of JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK. I am not the movie critic here – that title belongs to JoBlo. Besides, asking my opinion on a Kevin Smith film is like asking Paula Poundstone if she likes the Olsen Twins. It’s a no-brainer. I could never give a Smith film a bad review (although for me, DOGMA was a bit of a disappointment) considering I spent the latter part of my high school years acting out scenes from CLERKS in a drunken stupor. But I’ll give you an idea as what to expect when you see this film on August 24th.  There are some minor spoilers ahead so what I did was whited them out and if you want to read them, you can swipe the text.  If not, you can skip right over them without ruining the movie for yourself (which is a good idea, cause there's a lot of surprise jokes).

If you’re the slightest bit familiar with my portion of this site, you know that I tend to drone on about my own personal experiences before getting to the meat and potatoes. I plan on doing that again now so if you don’t want to hear about Joey’s adventures in New York City, click here to skip to where I actually discuss the film. Still there? Good.

The two guys looked at each other clumsily and then simply wrote their information on the back of the invite and stood there and looked dumbfounded. But what should I do? I don’t even have an invite. I was this close (I know that doesn’t really work without the visual but trust me, I was close) to just leaving and finishing off the psychotic AKIRA-induced killing spree that I managed to avert months ago, but something struck me. I needed answers and I needed them now. "I don’t have an invitation, I’m from the press. Joey Baloney from JoBlo.com," I said as a mixed look of confidence and desperation washed over my face.

It actually worked! I could say that I’m Joey Baloney from JoBlo.com a hundred times and no one would care but somehow, someway, it actually worked. I couldn’t f***ing believe it! The next half-hour I sat and watched the rest of the poor souls get rejected by the woman at the door. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud. That’s supposed to be me out there! MUAA-HA-HA-HA!!!

Later, we were ushered into the theater (press went first so I got prime seating) which was a small, cozy room with a big screen and the most comfortable seats ever. They were wide, plush chairs that offered more leg room than I could’ve asked for. I checked out the audience around me so I could see exactly who the film was playing to. Press made up only about 1/5 of the crowd there and the rest were what they refer to as "recruits." The audience was an equal division of male/female and most everybody was between the ages of 18-30 with the exception of this one frightening old woman wearing a fanny pack and an exercise outfit. Anyway, I’ve wasted enough of your time.   My thoughts on JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK:

J&SBSB is funny. Damn funny. Easily the funniest movie I’ve seen this year. In fact, it’s easily the funniest movie I’ve seen in a long time – probably since THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY. My biggest concern was that this film wouldn’t reach an audience beyond those already fans of Kevin Smith; that they just wouldn’t "get" the humor. I don’t think I have anything to worry about. As long as the film is promoted properly (which I believe Miramax can and will do), it could and should be a huge success. Sure the film is populated with a majority of the characters from previous View Askew films but they serve as merely a framework – a jumping board to get Jay and Silent Bob flying and then a cushion to help them land. In between are jokes that everyone can understand and enjoy, as long as you’re not offended by (swipe to read): fuck, cock, clit, bitch or shit. The audience was half-female and they laughed just as hard as all the guys at the "dick and fart" jokes (as Smith so delicately puts it).

That being said, J&SBSB has its technical flaws, as can be the case with Kevin Smith movies. But here Smith acts as a magician, using comedic slight of hand to distract you. You’re so busy holding your gut and laughing your ass off you hardly realize the mistakes. That’s not to say that Smith hasn’t come a long way, visually, as a filmmaker. In this film we have (swipe to read) CGI, explosions, choreographed fight sequences complete with lightsabers and the camera expands further than the traditional View Askew "two-shot."

Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith do a wonderful job as Jay and Bob in this film where they (for the first time) are carrying the picture. Normally supporting characters flounder when they become the main focus (imagine Lenny and Squiggy on their own…). But here, they play off each other brilliantly and when Jay goes off on his usual raps, rants, dances and gestures, its all to the amusement of Smith who you can see is barely holding in his own laughter during several scenes. One of their funniest moments comes when Eliza Dushku, as Sissy, asks Jay to talk into her camcorder about (swipe to read) "the clit". He goes off on a spastic tirade miming his actions on a fictitious female partner while boldly proclaiming himself (swipe to read)"the clit commander!" while a shy Bob stares blankly at the camera.

While Jay and Silent Bob are the focus of the film and the source of most of the humor, some of the funniest moments occur during the myriad of cameos Smith has managed to squeeze into this film. My favorite moment came in a scene with Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (swipe to read)on the set of GOOD WILL HUNTING 2: HUNTING SEASON. The two go back-and-forth criticizing each others choices in movie roles with dialogue so quick I’m afraid I laughed through half the jokes. The scene ends with (swipe to read) Jay being dragged off the set yelling, "Ben Affleck, you were the bomb in PHANTOMS!"

In addition to the cameos, J&SBSB is blessed with a wonderful supporting cast.   Smith seems to have surrounded himself by actors and actresses that he admires and enjoys and it shows.  As writer and director, Smith knows how to use his cast to the best of their abilities.  We finally get to see Shannon Elizabeth in a role that suits her comic abilities instead of wasting her in tripe like TOMCATS or using her for a cheap tit shot in AMERICAN PIE.  She plays (swipe to read) bad girl gone good Justice with a sweet sensibility that initially makes you wonder why she's so smitten with a foul-mouthed stoner like Jay.  But she plays the part with such conviction that you're never hung up on it for long.  Will Farrell isn't as funny as I expected him to be but he still provides a few good laughs (swipe to read)(though it's been done before, the FUGITIVE parody is pretty good).  Eliza Dushku plays the bitch well but I expected to see more of her and Ali Larter (playing the "tough girl" with a Farrah Fawcett haircut and a (swipe to read) propensity to fart and the most inopportune moments).  Sean William Scott had some good laughs playing against type as a guitar strumming geek who looks a lot like (swipe to read) the young Ben Stiller from THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY.

Unlike Smith’s previous two films (CHASING AMY and DOGMA) this film isn’t really about much of anything but I think Smith intended it that way. Different than either of those films, J&SBSB is the bastard child of MALLRATS and CLERKS and its silly antics make you forget its brainier siblings. If it must be about something, it’s about the internet and how the advent of this medium has changed our lives. This film is primarily a discourse on the events that took place while DOGMA was being filmed. An early draft of that script was leaked on the web and once the Catholic League got their hands on it, they had a new whipping boy. Then the posts came – Violent posts defaming Smith and his character for making such a "blasphemous" film. As Banky (Jason Lee) says in the film, the internet was created and exists solely for the anonymous slander of others. In J&SBSB Smith finally gets to vent his frustration. And vent he does. In the film, Jay and Silent Bob (swipe to read) post a response to all their critics that’s hilarious in all its complicated vulgarity (it’s almost funnier when Jules Asner of E! News Daily reads it on air with "expletives deleted").

JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK is funny from beginning to end in more ways than I could have imagined. Will you enjoy it? If you’re a fan (of Kevin Smith, movies, comics OR the internet), absolutely. If you’re not a fan, I still think you’ll laugh your ass off during this flick. (swipe to read) How can Mark Hammill playing a comic book villain named "Cock-Knocker" not make you chuckle? Just wait until you see it in person. And if that’s not enough for ya, wait ‘til you see Shannon Elizabeth, Ali Larter, Eliza Dushku and Jennifer Smith cavort and caper in their leather jumpsuits!