It's the end of an era for writer/director/actor Kevin Smith. The 31 year old filmmaker who has redefined modern day pop culture with his gorilla-style filmmaking, witty dialogue and reliance on "dick and fart jokes" brings closure to the "slacker" chapter of his life with JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK the last of his five-part New Jersey Chronicles. And, boy, does he know how to go out in style.
In the feature that pits its titular duo on a quest to stop the production of a BLUNTMAN AND CHRONIC movie (characters based on their own likenesses), Smith includes nearly every character/actor he has ever worked with, along with a few surprises. In doing so, he takes a cue from comedies past setting his film on the road (Jay and Silent Bob travel from Red Bank, New Jersey to Hollywood, California in three days), allowing for any number of big name actors to make memorable cameos.
For those who can remember, Smith burst onto the scene back in 1994 with his cheaply produced black and white feature CLERKS. Respected for its intelligent dialogue and the realistic portrayal of what has since been dubbed the "Generation X lifestyle," it was the antics of side players Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) that stand out in most people's minds. Parlaying that performance into more memorable appearances, the duo has since made cameos in MALLRATS and CHASING AMY, finally managing to land starring roles in the supernatural comedy DOGMA. Their hip, irreverent humor has made indelible marks on all of Smith's films, elevating their creator to the status of Gen X's most championed indie filmmakers. Thus, leaving these characters behind and moving on to "greener pastures" was not a decision Smith made lightly.
Kevin Smith (right) directs Alanis Morissette and Alan Rickman
© 1999 View Askiew
"I just felt like it was time to do something else time to leave the party before I'm the last guy there," says Smith. "I want to have people remember the characters kind of fondly and want to go out with audiences liking us rather than like, 'Yet another movie with these f****rs comes out.' So it just seems like it's time to get out get out while the getting's good."
Of course, some can argue that Smith's ascent into fatherhood is the reason for ditching the foul-mouthed duo. After all, as a good Catholic father Smith must set a positive example for his little girl. However, the director believes that his run of "slacker" films will provide a sort of common ground that he and his daughter will be able to meet on some day.
"I'll show the kid the movies as soon as she can understand and that will open up a whole new relationship, like, 'What's cock?'" jokes Smith. "But no, the father thing never really factored into it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made this movie because she was alive. She's in the movie and [the fact that] maybe I shouldn't be doing this movie because of her never really crossed my mind. I'm not one of those people that thinks language is a bad thing. I am sure by the time she is nine, she will have heard everything that's in the movies anyway and the movies will seem tame by comparison."
The director is more concerned with the self-imposed crutch Jay and Silent Bob have become. He feels that because of their popularity, he has never really had to challenge himself as a writer. On the contrary, he has found himself relying on his "faithful" characters to help get him through some of those more difficult writing moments.
Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes are "wowed" by the wonders of Hollywood in JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK
© 2001 Dimension Films
"There's a degree of wanting to try to make a movie without the safety net of the familiar characters," says Smith. "[For example], in the case of CHASING AMY, I was really into what I was writing, but then I got really scared. I was like, 'Oh, s**t. I'm going to alienate our audience.' So [the next thing you know], Silent Bob and Jay pop up in a scene. It would be nice to make a movie where that doesn't happen where I don't have a safety net and if it works, it works because it works and not because of, 'Oh, these guys. I remember them from the other movie.'"
For the director, however, the end of Jay and Silent Bob does not necessarily mean the end of New Jersey as a setting for future films.
"I think that, given my druthers, if somebody was like, 'You can make a movie and set it anywhere in the world,' I'd still probably set it in New Jersey," confesses Smith, "just because the state could use some good press."
So what does the future hold for Jay and Silent Bob? After all, Smith's very vocal fans can be expected to begin clamoring for more just as the JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKES BACK DVD hits store shelves across the country. According to the director, the duo will not disappear completely there are other mediums Smith has made a name for himself in.
Ben Affleck explains the Internet to Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith in JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK
© 2001 Dimension Films
"I'll still do Jay and Bob in comics and in the cartoon movie," says Smith. "[Scott Mosier] wants to do a CLERKS cartoon movie and I'm like, 'Dude, the TV show tanked. Didn't you notice we got kicked off ABC?' But he's like, 'No, no, we can do it as a feature and we can shoot it for like seven million bucks and use any voices we want. It'll be great.' That's fine by me; I'd still do the characters there because in the comics and the cartoon they can be forever young. I don't have to worry about Silent Bob in the comic book or in the cartoon getting fatter, but I do have to worry about Kevin Smith getting fatter. So why do it live action any more? I can still do them in the comics and the cartoon, but live action? Nah."
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