Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Written and Directed by: Kevin Smith

At some point, writer / director Kevin Smith lost his interest in the View Askewniverse that he had created. But as one last hurrah he decided to give Jay and Silent Bob - previously only supporting characters - their own film. He also decided to cram as many inside jokes and geek references into the film as possible. The result: "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."

The film's plot is paper thin, but worth discussing. Jay and Silent Bob, who were influences for a comic book series (as seen in "Chasing Amy") find out that their comic book is being turned into a movie. They decide to head to Hollywood, but along the way they become scapegoats for a jewelry heist. The two continue on their way, encountering numerous celebrities (appearing both as themselves and sometimes as characters). Eventually, they're exonerated for their crime and get the money that started the whole fiasco.

Although the film originally received much criticism, I feel that it needs to be viewed with the same lens with which it was written and made - that of a love letter. Smith made this movie to be the glorious send off to his two most cherished characters, pulling no punches to make it the grande finale of the universe he created. As such, he succeeded.

Smith made the movie he wanted to make. It has characters returning from previous movies as well as repeated references to those films. It also has jokes based on the things he and his friends enjoy (or, at least, enjoyed at the time), and it doesn't matter if you don't understand them all - they're not for you. This movie wasn't necessarily intended for a vast audience to enjoy. It was more of a home-movie that teenagers make, writing it based on whatever they like and inviting all their friends to be in it, then showing it off whenever they get the chance to whoever will watch.

I definitely enjoyed all the random roles and cameos from celebrities and pseudo-celebrities. The scene when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon "prepare" for their roles is hilarious, and it was fun to see Jason Biggs and James Van Der Beek poke fun at their own limited roles. Carrie Fisher pops up as a nun who unintentionally spews innuendo. Even Mark Hamill - most famous for being Luke Skywalker - shows up as the super-villain in the "Bluntman and Chronic" movie-within-a-movie.

That being said, there is some room for criticism. At times it felt like the movie was too far-reaching and attempted to include every joke that could be made, rather than selecting only the best gags. As with most comedies, the story was convoluted and disjointed, so that by the end you had been distracted so many times that you had basically forgotten where they were going or why they were trying to get their.

To truly appreciate this movie, you have to remove the irony from your viewing. You must accept that this movie wasn't made for you, but that you are allowed to enjoy it. Once you get past that, you can see the heartwarming center of a writer / director saying good-by to his beloved universe. (But try not to think about how he brought it all back - one more time - for "Clerks II.")

The Other Guys

Directed by: Adam McKay

Written by: Adam McKay, Chris Henchy

There's something downright alluring about the buddy-cop genre of film, whether it's being played straight as an action movie or being parodied as a comedy. Hollywood has used this archetype numerous times over the last few decades, altering it only slightly, while never quite reaching the idealistic peak for which they shoot.

"The Other Guys" follows a typical plot-arc for a buddy-cop film: Two seemingly mismatched cops accidentally uncover a massive criminal plot. In this case, the plot is a Madoff-style ponzi scheme which involves both the mob and the police pension plans. Chaos and hilarity ensue.

One of the problems with "The Other Guys" is that it fails to escape the gravity of influence of every other buddy-cop movie. When compared to other recent additions to the genre - "Cop Out" and "Hot Fuzz" - it's hard to see what the difference between the three films is (aside from the fact that "Hot Fuzz" was British). The same problem applies to Will Ferrell's performance - it's hard to differentiate between his character in this film and in most of his other films.

That being said, "The Other Guys" is pretty funny, but that humor is unbalanced. The jokes dramatically shift from slapstick silliness (the "bribery" scene) to more cerebral meta-humor (the running gag of Michael Keaton unknowingly quoting TLC songs). Mark Walberg's character is uneven and randomly morphs from the classic straight-man to a mindless gag and back again at the whim of the script. For example, when he is in the car with Ferrell he plays his part completely seriously with a bit of synicism, but mere moments later when he is having dinner at Ferrell's house he is reduced to a bumbling idiot when trying to talk to Ferrell's wife (played by Eva Mendes). I thought the scenes with Mendes were great, but the total shift in character made for a lot of dissonance, which is hard to take in a comedy that is already asking the viewer to suspend their disbelief beyond most films.

One highlight of the movie is the early use of Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock (aka Dwayne Johnson but forever known as The Rock) as walking parodies of macho man cops that often appear in more serious cop films. Both actors play their parts with such absolute seriousness which is repeatedly turned on its head with moments of complete absurdity. Both players over-act to the point of humor without giving a hint of self-consciousness, which allows their scenes to play both as action sequences and parodies of action sequences.

I appreciated and enjoyed "The Other Guys," but it's hard to recommend it over any other buddy-cop type of comedy. (Except maybe "Cop Out," though I think that speaks more to the weakness of "Cop Out" more than anything else. Sorry Kevin Smith.)