Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

The frat-boy humor inherent in the work of writer/director Kevin Smith gets a serious workout in this road trip comedy that inspires an equal number of guffaws and winces. Supposedly the last of his "New Jersey" films and the swan song for his alter-ego characters of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith himself), this ostensible adventure is in reality a messy conglomeration of everything that composes the filmmaker's oeuvre. These include movie parodies, celebrity cameos, an ironic self-awareness apparent in the often expository dialogue, an obsession with pop culture in general and comic books in particular, plus a mind-boggling number of homosexuality-related jibes and gags involving farts, filtered through the sensibilities of a sexually retarded teenage drug abuser. The bottom line on the world created by Smith is that he seems perfectly aware of all of this, embracing it with the fiendish glee of a demented toddler given free reign over a fictional universe where it's okay to make derogatory jokes about guys having sex with other guys. Smith has publicly stated that his are the films that would result if an average, going-nowhere slacker were given the power and financial wherewithal to make a motion picture, and he's cannily right on the money. The only question left, as one of his characters puts it directly to the audience, "Why would anyone pay to see this?" The answer: If you're a skateboarding, comic book-collecting, baseball cap-wearing pot smoker, it's probably your cup of tea and you'll be delighted. If not, then it probably isn't and you've been warned. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide