An evening with Kevin Smith, the title of one of his dvd’s, but this topic isn’t just about that, it’s about all of his stuff and the good and bad things I like about his material and about him himself, but first his movies. Kevin Smith and his films first came to my attention when a friend told me to watch Clerks, so I did, and I loved it and I then went on a Kevin Smith watching spree and started to watch his other films. If you haven’t seen his stuff I am about to mention then go rent or buy them and spend an Evening in with Kevin Smith, but not too often, you might seem a bit weird, or become a fanboy tosser. (More on that later).

The films take place in what is known as View Askewniverse, a fictional universe, all of the films connect with one or more of the other films in some form, so when you watch the films you will often get references to the other films in some fashion either in character or dialogue form, as well as the characters themselves re-appearing in the different films, that’s one of the things I like about these movies, even when you have finished watching them there is still so much to find out about the films that you wouldn’t of noticed first time around.

First up is Clerks, Filmed in black and white, it stars Brian O’Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves and they play two store clerks, Dante works at the Quick Stop and Randal works at the video store but spends his time at the Quick Stop mostly, and the film revolves around them for a day. The character of Randal was originally meant for Kevin himself, but because he felt like he couldn’t do everything at once with the allotted time he had to do everything he gave that up, and instead cast himself as Silent Bob, which is just as well really as Kevin cannot act.

The plot is a simple one and basically revolves around them and and the people they encounter during the day. Without describing the scenes one by one there isn’t really much else to say, the film works because the conversations they have are funny, often crude and rude, and the encounters that happen are funny, again, rude and crude, but there really isn’t much of a plot to speak of bar that. The film also has the debut of the now famous Jay and Silent Bob characters, who would have many funny moments in Kevin Smith’s other films, and then a film made especially for them. The film was made for less than 30 thousand dollars and has made over 3 million dollars to date and took just 21 days to make. I think this film best shows Kevin Smith’s talents and also the sense of humour he has. The film doesn’t have much of a plot, only one location is basically used and not much money to do much else even if he had wanted to, the film still remains interesting all the way through, when it could of easily had been dull. I read once Kevin Smith wanted this film to be in colour and had he had the money he would of done that, but I am glad it is in black and white, it just adds to the whole Indie low budget feel to it and gives you more reason to like it.

Next up is Mallrats, even though the film was released after Clerks, it actually takes place in View Askewniverse the day before Clerks. The plot is again a simple one, T.S splits up with his girlfriend who is going to appear on a dating show, his best friend Brodie (Played by Jason Lee) also splits up with his GF so they decide to go to the mall. While there they find out the dating show T.S’s girlfriend is to appear on is being shot there, and from then all sorts of fun are to be had with different characters, including the returning Jay and Silent Bob who feature a lot more than in Clerks and have probably the funniest moments in the film. Much like in Clerks the plot is simple and the acting isn’t up to much, and while it is nowhere near as good as Clerks the film still does enough to work, although it is a bit disjointed. This is also the film as well where Ben Affleck is excellent, he plays a character called Shannon Hamilton, who is trying to get it on with Rene, the ex gf of Brodie and he plays his character very well and has a few very funny moments in the film. Jason Lee also makes his film debut in Mallrats, he had no acting experience prior to his role as Brodie and was previously a professional skateboarder. The film was canned a bit when first released and didn’t do too well at the box office, but has since gotten a cult following (Mostly with fanboys).

The next film released by Kevin Smith was probably his best film, and that is Chasing Amy. It stars Ben Affleck who plays Holden McNeil, Jason Lee who plays his friend Banky Edwards and Joey Lauren Adams, who plays the ‘lesbian’ character Alyssa Jones who ends up in a relationship with Holden. The film revolves around Holden’s relationship with Alyssa and the fact Banky doesn’t like her, and unlike the previous two films Chasing Amy feels much more like a proper film and much more story orientated but also doesn’t lose the things we loved about Clerks and Mallrats either, it all gels together well. Jay and Silent Bob also appear again with Silent Bob giving the longest speech he does in any of the films, which isn’t saying much. The film is funny but also has a lot of points to it as well, it’s a much smarter film then the previous 2 and you just gotta love Jason Lee, you just gotta, and anyone who says Ben Affleck sucks hasn’t seen him in Kevin Smith films (Although he isn’t overly great or anything, but Kevin Smith gets the best out of him, though it’s a fair point that Ben Affleck has sucked in a lot of stuff, but not everything).

Next was Dogma, the most controversial Kevin Smith film, infact he even got death threats for it. The film stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon who play two angels who were ‘expelled’ from heaven and find a way to get back there but have to destroy God and mankind as a whole to do so, and it’s up to Jay and Silent Bob, a woman named Bethany (Played by Linda Fiorentino), aided by Alan Rickman who plays an angel, Chris Rock who plays the 13th apostle who was left out of the bible because he is black and Salma Hayek who plays Serendipity, a muse turned stripper, to stop them. The film was criticized for being anti-catholic and protested against, and even Kevin Smith joined in one of the protests! Watch it [Here]. Dogma is my least favourite Kevin Smith film, I don’t dislike it, but I don’t like it that much either and at times found myself pretty bored by some of the scenes, although it does have some very good scenes as well as you will always get with Kevin Smith, I think the word I am looking for to describe this film is inconsistent.

Following Dogma was the Jay and Silent Bob feature film. I was weary before watching this because I felt what worked for them in previous films is the fact their roles were pretty much cameo roles, every now and then they would come in, do there silly humour and leave, and it worked, but with a feature film I thought it would be pretty tedious and in a way it was, but I enjoyed it for what it was still, which was a simple and stupid humoured film that is worth a watch if you like the kinda stuff they did in the other films, but not one that is worth repeated viewings, at least not without a nice time gap between viewings. This film also has a TON of references and connections to the other films, there is literally loads of things to look up and find out about that you won’t notice while watching it, which is why I think only Kevin Smith fans will enjoy the film really, lots of inside jokes are made, it’s a Kevin Smith movie for Kevin Smith fans and I completely understand why people wouldn’t like it.

In 2004 Smith went in a different direction and failed miserably with Jersey Girl, the film mainly got negative reviews, didn’t do to well at the box office (Tho still made a profit when you include dvd sales etc) and basically sucked and wasn’t interesting in the slightest. Saying that I do like the fact Smith tried something different and even though it didn’t work out overly well for him I would rather see him keep trying this then rehashing the older stuff which in my opinion should be put to bed now, it’s over done and it’s time for Smith to move on.

But move on he didn’t, with the release of Clerks 2 in 2006 Smith went back to do a sequel to my favourite Kevin Smith film. before watching this I thought I would enjoy it, and I sorta did. First off, it isn’t as good as the first Clerks and anyone who says it is is needs there head examined. Much like the first film the acting is generally average to terrible (Much like Kevin Smith films in general), and there isn’t too much of a plot, instead of Dante and Randal working as clerks they now work in the fast food industry and are joined by Rosaria Dawson and Trevor Fehrman. The usual shenahigans happens as you would expect and Jay and Silent Bob also return. If you liked the first Clerks film you will probably like this, it’s decent enough and has some funny moments, I enjoyed it for what it was, although it got mixed reviews amongst critics, and one review in particular was scathing, and that was from British film critic Jonathan Ross, who hates all Kevin Smith films and gave Clerks 2 a very bad review, which you can watch [Here]. In some ways I think he has a point and I can understand his criticisms, I don’t agree with all of them but I can see where he is coming from, most of Kevin Smiths stuff isn’t for everyone, but if that sorta stuff is for you it’s a decent film with some good and very good moments, although I would like Smith to carry on trying other things and not going back to his old tried and tested formula which can now get a bit tedious, if I want to watch a Clerks like film I will watch Clerks, there wasn’t really much need for Clerks 2, it adds nothing new, it’s a bit stale and tedious at times and while I still thought it was pretty decent I understand the people who criticize it, like Jonathan Ross. Also on a sidenote Smith originally wanted his wife to play the role as Becky, but it was decided not to do that, and thank god for that, because sorry, she is just as bad as an actress as Kevin is as an actor, even in her minor role in this film she is terrible. (Don’t mean to be scathing there, I know she isn’t a proper actress or anything, but she can’t act and it needs to be said).

In terms of his movies that wraps it up, they are worth watching and I am sure you will like something he did even if you don’t like everything, despite the acting being generally poor and plots thin and humour stupid, it’s hard not to laugh at a lot of it, just don’t take it seriously, Smith is a good writer at this sort of stuff, his films almost seem autobiographic in terms of the humour and dialogue used and while it won’t be everyones cup of tea as I said it’s hard not to laugh at some of it at least in each film. Also it is worth mentioning the extras on his dvd’s are excellent, if you purchase a dvd you certainly get your moneys worth.

My favourite Kevin Smith releases though aren’t any of his films (Although I love Clerks), it is his An Evening With dvd’s. These feature Kevin in question and answer sessions at various colleges/universities, and what they do is show that he is a naturally witty and very very funny guy, I laughed much more on these dvd’s then at any of his films, some of the stories are hilarious and his natural witty responses just make it even funnier. I highly recommend these whether you like Kevin Smith films or not, you will probably like these dvd’s if you have a sense of humour, they are just as funny as a lot of stand up dvd’s I have seen with proper stand up comedians, but the fact this isn’t really scripted just adds to it all. However, these dvd’s also made my view on something I dislike about him even stronger, which brings me onto the negative Kevin Smith part of this article and his fanboys.

Even though he has a good sense of humour and can take the mick out of himself (Like his weight) and does seem down to earth in some ways, there has always been something about him I haven’t liked, from listening to his dvd commentaries and reading some stuff online I have always felt he is pretty pretentious in some instances and the Evening With dvd’s made that feeling stronger.

The main gripe I have when it comes to Kevin Smith is that the biggest Kevin Smith fanboy seems to be Kevin Smith himself, he seems to have spent far too much time on his forum with the fanboys that he now has the same exact characteristics as them and thinks that he and his stuff is better then it is. (Although maybe he has always been like that). Kevin Smith loves to criticize others, other people who are MUCH more talented then he is, yet gets so defensive and over-reacts so much when someone dare do the same back to him, he loves to give it out yet hates to take it back. He also seems very narrow minded when it comes to his stuff, what he thinks is 100% right and anyone who disagrees is a moron, probably why he gets so defensive a lot of the time. Below is two articles with two different people saying why they dislike Kevin Smith, and valid points are made in both (Some of which I have already made). [Why I dislike Kevin Smith] and [I hate Kevin Smith]

Kevin Smith is a good writer, he’s done some decent stuff, there is a lot to like about him, but he doesn’t deserve the pedestal the fanboys have put him on, his films while decent are also simple plot wise, simple humour and with crap to average acting and the films are pretty amateurish, but then for me that isn’t a criticism, I like that about his stuff, it doesn’t try and be anything else, but it also doesn’t mean he’s some sort of film god either, there is a reason a hell of a lot of people dislike his stuff , oh and as a director he isn’t all that either. I’d like to see him do some successful films away from the generally simple and predictable stuff he has already done before claiming him to be some sort of great. Right now I look at him as good at what he has done, but a one trick pony as well who has milked it for all its worth. I would rather watch him make another 5 Jersey Girls then watch a rehash of one of his other films, least he is trying something else. And please don’t do another Jay and Silent Bob movie, that’s a bit desperate, hasn’t those one dimensional characters become tedious enough? Saying that according to Wiki a future project is a horror film called Red State, I will look forward to seeing how that turns out, the fact he is doing something completely different is good and I am very interested to see how it pans out.

Dislike for Kevin Smith seems to grow by the week on the internet I have noticed as well, some fair, some unfair, but it is his fanboy fans that I think annoy people the most. Fanboys on anything are annoying tossers, but Kevin Smith fanboys are laughably bad, I have had the misfortune to ‘interact’ with them and let me tell you, I would rather be Rick Rolled and have Rosie O’ Donnell do a striptease in front of me then ever interact with them again. The pedestal they have put Kevin Smith on and the fact they are so blinded by the god like status they have given him just cracks me up. Now, I don’t care whether someone thinks he is great or not, I do ‘care’ when they are so blinded by it that they can’t take any criticism about him or his stuff at all and get all defensive.

Now, that is just my views from looking from the outside in, I obviously do not know Kevin personally and wouldn’t claim the above as fact, but I can only go by what is put in front of me. With that being said, do I dislike Kevin Smith? Nope, if someone asks me if I am a Kevin Smith fan I will always answer yes, but I will make sure it is known I am not a fanboy either like a large majority of his fanbase. He’s good, but he isn’t that good, not yet, he still has a lot to prove as far as I am concerned, but there is certainly more to like about him then dislike.

If you have read all of this then kudos, I hope you liked it, if not then I don’t really care, I mean right now I have the image of Rosie O’ Donnell stripping in my head, I mean C’MON NOW!! Let’s hope I don’t do anything stupid to that later which I could regret tomorrow.

But, I’ll leave you with a joke

What’s the difference between an annoying tosser and a Kevin Smith fanboy?

It’s a trick question, there is no difference HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I still got it!

• Do you like Kevin Smith? Do you dislike him? What are your thoughts on him and his films?