Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 film written by, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks. It focuses on the two titular characters, played respectively by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith.
The film features a large number of cameo appearances by famous actors, actresses and directors.
The title and logo for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back are direct references to the second-released Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back.
Smith originally intended this to be the last film to use his View Askewniverse, or to feature Jay and Silent Bob. Five years later Smith changed his mind and decided to close out the series with Clerks II, resurrecting Jay and Silent Bob in supporting roles. In the end credits for that film it states the two might return someday.
Plot
Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) find out that Bluntman and Chronic, the comic book based on their likenesses, has been adapted into a film in production by Miramax Films. Upon learning of the movie, as well as the negative reaction the movie has received so far on the internet, the two set out on a quest to Hollywood, to prevent the movie from being made and tainting their "good name", or at the very least "get [their] motherfucking movie check" from the royalties due them.
On the way, they befriend an animal liberation group, consisting of four women: Justice (Shannon Elizabeth), Sissy (Eliza Dushku), Missy (Jennifer Schwalbach), and Chrissy (Ali Larter); and one man, Brent (Seann William Scott), who they had picked up for the cause. It is revealed that the organization is a front; Brent is a patsy, intended as a diversion by freeing an animal from a testing laboratory while the girls rob a diamond depository nearby. Jay tricks Brent and throws him out of the van in order to get closer to Justice, the most compassionate of the women and the one with whom he finds himself smitten. She then reluctantly accepts Jay and Bob as the new patsies.
While the girls are robbing the diamond depository they accidentally set off the alarm (by letting out a major fart, referred to when Chrissy said girls don't fart), prompting them to break the glass and steal the diamonds. While this is going on Jay and Silent Bob free the animals (taking an orangutan, Suzanne, with them and letting the others loose). They escape outside to see the police arriving and the van exploding, which they believe has killed the girls.
Jay then takes the orangutan with him as a memorial to Justice. Quickly afterwards, Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly (Will Ferrell) shows up at the scene. (The character's name is a homage to the main characters of "Land of the Lost" – Dr. Marshall, Will and Holly – and gains some humor retroactively by Farrell's later role as Dr. Marshall in the series' 2009 big-screen adaptation.) Blinded to the diamond heist, he claims to have jurisdiction because "somebody let out all these animals". He learns that all the animals have been recovered except for the orangutan.
When the officers later have the trio cornered inside a diner and threaten to open fire, Jay and Silent Bob dress the orangutan as a child and walk out, claiming that they want to get their "son" out of the danger zone. Marshal Willenholly, thinking about the political repercussions of an alternate-lifestyle family going back to their liberal-minded city with tales of prejudice and bigotry from Utah, decides to let them leave, but he quickly realizes his mistake and resumes the chase. When they jump into a sewer system, only Willenholly himself follows them, and he is soon tricked into jumping off of a dam.
Having escaped the law, Jay and Silent Bob once again return to their quest to reach Hollywood only to have Suzanne taken by a Hollywood animal acting agency car. Now on a quest to get their ape back and to clear their names, the two once again embark to Hollywood.
On their arrival in Hollywood, the two find themselves in the background of a E! News newscast (ironically about their kidnapping Suzanne) that Justice is watching. While Justice takes the diamonds and goes to Hollywood to set things right, Marshal Willenholly learns of their mission to reach Hollywood and leaves to find them.
After a long chase with Studio Security and reclaiming Suzanne, Jay and Silent Bob end up in Jason Biggs and James Van Der Beek's dressing room, where they quickly realize that these are the actors that will play the roles of Bluntman and Chronic. (Ironically, Jay asks Jason Biggs "did you get the third base from that Russian chick like in the movie" referring to the character of Nadia in American Pie portrayed by Shannon Elizabeth.) Suzanne beats both of them up effortlessly and Jay and Silent Bob assume the roles of their characters, Bluntman and Chronic. Being forced into their costumes and thrown on stage, they must engage in a duel with Cock-Knocker (Mark Hamill), eventually taking a break from the scene when Willenholly interrupts to capture Jay and Silent Bob. During this final scene, Justice and her former jewel thief team arrive, and a climactic final battle ensues, after which Jay and Silent Bob get their royalties to the film, and Justice turns herself and her former team in to Willenholly in exchange for a shorter sentence and letting Jay and Silent Bob go.
The film ends with Jay and Silent Bob spending their royalty money on finding everybody who expressed negative opinions about the movie and characters, ranging from kids to clergy, and traveling to their town to beat them up, followed by Jay and Silent Bob with most of the cast enjoying a performance from Morris Day and The Time.
Cast
Soundtrack
Music from the Dimension Motion Picture Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the soundtrack to the film, was released on August 14, 2001 by Universal Records. It alternates film dialogue with songs of various genres that appear in the film. It features the 2001 Afroman hit, "Because I Got High", whose music video featured the characters Jay and Silent Bob.
Track listing
- Interlude: Cue Music – Jason Lee as Brodie Bruce – 0:03
- "Jay's Rap 2001" – Jason Mewes as Jay – 0:32
- "Kick Some Ass" – Stroke 9 – 4:05
- Holden on Affleck – Ben Affleck as Holden McNeil – 0:28
- "Tube of Wonderful" – Dave Pirner – 1:45
- Cyber Savvy – Ben Affleck & Jason Mewes as Holden & Jay – 0:07
- "Choked Up" – Minibar – 2:58
- Doobie Snacks – Jason Mewes as Jay – 0:08
- "Magic Carpet Ride" – Steppenwolf – 2:43
- Jay & Justice – Shannon Elizabeth & Jason Mewes as Justice & Jay – 0:11
- "Bad Medicine" – Bon Jovi – 3:55
- Stealing Monekys – – 0:08
- "This Is Love" – PJ Harvey – 3:45
- Advice From Above – – 0:23
- "The Devil's Song" – Marcy Playground – 2:52
- Idiots vs. The Internet – – 0:06
- "Tougher Than Leather" – Run-D.M.C. – 4:23
- Willenholly's Woe – Will Ferrell as Willenholly – 0:09
- "Bullets" – Bob Schneider – 4:22
- Touching A Brothers Heart – Jason Mewes & Tracy Morgan as Jay & drug dealer – 0:23
- "Hiphopper" – Thomas Rusiak featuring Teddybears STHLM – 4:46
- Two Thumbs Up – Chris Rock as Chaka Luther King – 0:07
- "Jackass" – Bloodhound Gang – 2:26
- A Smooth Pimp and A Man Servant – Jason Mewes as Jay – 0:16
- "Jungle Love" – Morris Day and The Time – 3:03
- NWP – Chris Rock as Chaka Luther King – 0:14
- "Because I Got High" – Afroman – 3:18
Reception
Up until its theatrical release, the film had a lot of hype due to the fact the two main characters were already well-known names, and the fact it was supposed to be the last live action Jay and Silent Bob film until Clerks II was released. The film was met with mixed reviews. It did, however, become a surprise seller when released on VHS and DVD, and is also a big favorite with Kevin Smith fans, giving the film a strong cult following.[citation needed]
The film made $30,085,147 in the domestic market, and an additional $3,703,014 overseas, for a total of $33,788,161 gross in theaters.
MPAA rating and GLAAD controversy
In August 2001, three weeks before the theatrical release, the film came under fire from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), for its "overwhelmingly homophobic tone"[2], which included an abundance of gay jokes and characters excessively using the term "gay" to mean something derogatory. The scenes deemed particularly offensive included the Jay character's vehement refusal of giving oral sex to a male driver when hitchhiking, and Jay chastising Silent Bob for being willing to perform fellatio on the security guard (Diedrich Bader) when necessary. Following an advanced screening of the film, former GLAAD media director Scott Seomin asked writer-director Kevin Smith to make a $10,000 donation to the Matthew Shepard Foundation, as well as to include a reference to GLAAD's cause in the ending credits.[3][4]
On the bonus disc of the 2-disc DVD, Kevin Smith explains in the on-camera intros of the deleted scenes that several scenes had to be cut from the theatrical release, due to the film initially receiving an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. He also mentions in the audio commentary of the feature film that it took three submissions to the MPAA for the film to earn an R rating.
See also
References
External links
