View Full Version : What's your favorite Kevin Smith movie?


CliffClavin
09-17-2005, 05:14 PM
I love' em all.

Clerks. (1994) Presents a day in the lives of two shop clerks and their acquaintances.

Clerks. was Smith's first film, and introduces several characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob, who reappear in his later films. The film is in black-and-white and roughly edited due to a budget of less than $30,000; it became a surprising success after it was taken by Miramax Films and polished with additions to the soundtrack.

The MPAA originally gave Clerks. an NC-17 rating, based purely on the film's explicit dialogue it contains no real violence, and no clearly depicted nudity. This was a financial death sentence, as very few cinemas in the United States will screen NC-17 movies. Miramax hired civil-liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz to appeal the decision; the MPAA relented and re-rated the film with the more commercial 'R' rating, without altering any frame or word.

Mallrats (1995) Is part 2 of his 5-episode Askewniverse series. As in the other movies, Jay and Silent Bob figure prominently, and several regular cast members star, including Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, and Joey Lauren Adams. The movie was filmed at Eden Prairie Center, a mall in the city of Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Mallrats was the subject of much critical derision when it was released, with many critics comparing it extremely unfavorably to Smith's prior film, Clerks. Smith even went so far as to apologize for Mallrats, although he later revealed the apology to be in jest.

Chasing Amy (1997) Chronicles how Holden & Alyssa fall in love and the difficulties they face. One of their main obstacles is that Holden's best friend and partner in comics, Banky Edwards, played by Jason Lee, disapproves of the relationship both because he's homophobic and jealous of Alyssa's role in Holden's life.

The movie is notorious for its incredibly frank sexual dialogue, and was originally inspired by a brief scene from an early movie by a friend of Smith's, Gwen Turner's Go Fish, wherein one of the lesbian characters imagines her friends passing judgement on her for "selling out" by sleeping with a man. Dave Pirner of Soul Asylum was the Musical Consultant / Producer on this film and wrote music for it and numerous other Kevin Smith films.

Dogma (1999) The comedic portrayal of the Catholic church throughout the film caused organized protests and much controversy in many countries, which resulted in long delays in releasing it and also a death threat against Smith (who was himself raised Catholic).

Aside from some scenes filmed on the New Jersey coast, most of the movie was filmed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) At the time Smith said that this would be the last of his films to feature Jay and Silent Bob. He has since announced that they will appear in the film Clerks II: Passion of the Clerks. It includes numerous references to Smith's earlier films, including brief appearances by many characters from those films. Actors reprising past roles in Smith films include Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Joey Lauren Adams, and Brian O'Halloran.

This movie is a prime example of the phenomenon of fanservice. While maintaining its own plot, the movie has nearly constant references to past Kevin Smith/Jersey Trilogy movies, contains myriad cameos from actors ranging from George Carlin and Chris Rock to Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, in-jokes, and homage's to pop-culture icons, especially the aforementioned Star Wars movies.

The soundtrack to this film features the 2001 Afroman hit, "Because I Got High", whose music video was directed by Kevin Smith and featured the characters Jay and Silent Bob.

Jersey Girl (2004) Kevin Smith's first "grown-up" film outside his "View Askewniverse" or "Jersey Trilogy" that encompassed his first five films and centered on stoner layabouts Jay and Silent Bob.

Nighthawk76
09-17-2005, 05:17 PM
Chasing Amy

I also like Clerks, Dogma and Jersey Girl.

CliffClavin
09-17-2005, 05:19 PM
Some good news:

Kevin's going to make a sequel to Clerks. called The Passion of the Clerks. coming in 2006 . Kevin Smith has stated that the only characters from the original film will be Dante, Randal, and Jay and Silent Bob. Unlike Smith's previous New Jersey films, this film will not be laden with cameos and Jay and Silent Bob's screen time will be similar in scope to their time in the first movie, as Smith states the films are about Dante and Randal. Shooting is due to start in the fall of 2005. Smith's wife is also expected to be among the cast.

Also:

Another Fletch movie's coming out called Fletch Won & is going to be directed by Kevin Smith, which is currently in development. Smith was a fan of the 1985 novel, and convinced Miramax head Harvey Weinstein to pick up the rights to the novel when they became available. Smith has said that he plans to follow the original novel much more closely than either Fletch movies.

CliffClavin
09-17-2005, 05:21 PM
What no love for Mallrats or Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back?

I'm just jokin' I know alot of people don't like those.

Brian Damage
09-17-2005, 05:47 PM
I'm not the biggest Kevin Smith fan, but I liked Clerks.

Skywalker
09-17-2005, 07:24 PM
Clerks

Jrnygrl
09-17-2005, 11:24 PM
Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma.