Indie director Kevin Smith pays homage to his fans by bringing the “View Askew” universe to a close.

New Jersey slackers Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) find out that their likenesses are being used in a feature film. Jay is outraged when he finds that people on the Internet are slamming him and Silent Bob. Jay and Silent Bob journey to Hollywood to stop the film from being made. Along the way they meet up with all sorts of interesting and strange characters.

“Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back” is a film made purely for fans of Kevin Smith and his world of characters. This world encompasses 5 films and lots of characters. The common thread throughout these five films have been the dim-witted duo Jay and Silent Bob. They bring comic relief, steal the best lines and display an image resembling a cross between “Bill and Ted” and “Cheech and Chong”. This world of 5 films is known as “Kevin Smith’s View Askew Universe” Look at the end of this review for the listing of the five films.

It’s really easy to trash and discard this film if you don’t know why it was made and where the subject matter is coming from. If you haven’t seen any of the other Kevin Smith films than this film maybe hard to swallow. The jokes littered throughout the movie have a lot of hidden meaning and it will make fans of the series howl. I have always loved Kevin Smith movies but I can see how this will lose a lot of people.

In some ways the film is very, very clever as it pays homage to the films before and pokes fun at a lot of other movies. These jokes are great for fans of the genre.

The film holds back no punches with Jay’s dialogue as sexist remarks, degradation of women and them being referred to as “bitches” are evident throughout. It’s all tongue and cheek but maybe harmful to some.

The plot is loose at best and really never holds up. If you love Kevin Smith and want to see an encore to his body of work you will really love this movie. If you don’t know what View Askew means then I wouldn’t suggest this film. But as a “fanboy” I loved the film but as a critic it was hard to swallow.

(3 of 5) So Says the Soothsayer.

View Askew Universe

1. Clerks (1994) (4 of 5)
2. Mallrats (1995) (3 of 5)
3. Chasing Amy (1997) (4.5 of 5)
4. Dogma (1999) (4 of 5)
5. Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) (3 of 5)

Spinoffs:

1. Clerks: Animated Series (2000) (Now on DVD)
2. Clerks: the Comic Book
3. Jay & Silent Bob Comics
4. Bluntman & Chronic Comics