Jay and Silent Bob Reboot review
The question asked of every reboot ever seems to be: who asked for this? As for the View Askewniverse, starring Jay and Silent Bob, Kevin Smith himself asked that question, multiple times. The answer: he did, and thus we were graced with Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, whether we want it or not.
When the first trailer dropped, it was clear that Kevin Smith wasn't pulling any punches. The whole premise of the film is that Jay and his hetero lifemate Silent Bob were trying to stop a reboot movie about characters based on them from happening.
It's a hard sell: come watch a reboot about us trashing reboots. But if there is anyone who could pull it off, it's Kevin Smith. It's well known that part of the reason so many familiar View Askewniverse faces returned for the reboot was because Smith suffered a near-fatal heart attack and, in his words, used it to guilt people into being in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
And it worked. From Matt Damon to Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams to Justin Long, a whole host of stars returned – even the unthinkable Ben Affleck, reprising his role as Holden McNeill from Chasing Amy (rather than 'Ben Affleck' from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Bartleby from Dogma or Shannon from Mallrats). It is McNeill who is responsible for Bluntman and Chronic, the movie being rebooted that Jay and Silent Bob are trying to stop.
The layers of meta-references are impossible to count and any diehard Smith fan will undoubtedly revel in them. It's tough to criticise a niche, fan-service film for being niche, but a casual fan who maybe has only seen Chasing Amy or Dogma may walk away mildly disappointed.
If they do, they've missed the bigger picture.
Smith is undeniably relying on the familiarity of his previous works and how they've wormed their way into the greater pop-culture consciousness for many of his jokes to land. By aiming not only at himself but at other reboots, there is still something for even the most casual movie fan who rolls their eyes every time 'returns' is pegged to a movie title.
We've always known that Smith makes his movies mostly so he and his friends can hang out, work together, get paid and have fun. This doesn't always culminate in an enjoyable movie. But in the case of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, it mostly does.
Some jokes are tasteless, bordering on problematic, but there is so much self-awareness throughout Jay and Silent Bob Reboot that you almost forgive it. And other moments are laugh-out-loud funny, so you overlook the jokes that fall flat.
The destination the titular heroes are trying to reach is incidental. Unsurprisingly, it's the journey along the way that matters. Luckily, the journey is laced with enough weed jokes and funny cameos that the rote conceit doesn't diminish the film.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot isn't more than the sum of its parts – it is entirely parts, bits sewn together with a vague goal at the end that ties a neat bow, surprisingly emotionally, for the viewer. It is slightly lazy and definitely crass, but it's Jay and Silent Bob: what did you expect?
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is out in UK cinemas on November 29.
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