My Favorite Movie of 2001: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Choosing between Jay and Silent Bob and Blow as my favorite movies of 2001 was VERY difficult. The reason why Blow does not get the number 1 spot for 2001 from me is because Jay and Silent Bob does a better job of reminding you how things were exactly before a post- 9/11 world. For all intents and purposes, Jay and Silent Bob are terrorists and willingly help terrorists throughout the entire movie. This movie also marks the transitional period between Kevin Smith making movies for laughs rather than shock value or pretentiousness. Kevin Smith has been well-known for being a self-admitted geek and his passion for comic books along with his talent for writing eventually got him recognized by DC and Marvel. While writing for Marvel, Smith was notorious for never meeting scheduled dates and was allowed to put off numerous mini-series almost infinitely. At DC, Smith is well-known for writing very questionable dialogue or facets of knowledge that make you think, "Why the hell would you even write that? I mean, it does make sense in a logical way, but the information doesn't have to be written, in can be drawn."

Jay and Silent Bob are 2 characters that have appeared in (almost) every Kevin Smith movie, which until Jersey Girl, were all contained in a shared universe. For example, although Dogma is not a sequel to Clerks, it contains numerous references and characters from the previous movie that you would only understand had you watched it. Jay and Silent Bob originally appeared as drug dealers who liked to hang outside the shop from Clerks. Silent Bob was played by Kevin Smith himself, deliberately inserting himself into his own movie as a director cameo with only 1 scene of dialogue, but appearing throughout the rest of the film with the extremely talkative Jay. Although they continued to appear in Mallrats and Chasing Amy, the characters of Jay and Silent Bob did not become as central to the plot of a movie until Dogma where they had apparently become prophets. Having these two comic relief characters in an otherwise serious film about Smith's views on Catholicism and religion in general made them stand out and fans started asking for Jay and Silent Bob to get their own movie.

Come 2001, we were treated to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, a completely nonsensical film that can be viewed in any order of scenes and still be hilarious. The main plot is supposed to be that Jay and SIlent Bob's friend, played by Jason Lee, has written a superhero comic using their likenesses, Bluntman & Chronic, and a particular movie studio has contacted him about making a film version. Jay and Silent Bob are not going to be given any royalties for the movie since they contributed nothing other than their likenesses, so they decided to go to Hollywood to stop production of the movie unless the studio executives decide to give them royalties. Thus, ensues a typical road trip movie, but rife with comic book references and skewering of celebrities along the way.

The fun REALLY doesn't start until they finally reach the movie studio where Jay and Silent Bob run into the making of Scream 4, starring Shannen Doherty (because the studio couldn't get Neve Campbell), the making of Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season (having Ben Affleck and Matt Damon play themselves after previously appearing in Dogma as the main villains), and the 2 actors who will be playing themselves in the Bluntman & Chronic movie, James van der Beek and Jason Biggs. I can't even begin to describe the number of references to all these actors' previous works and why (at the time) all these movies were seen as unbelievably absurd, but today it would not surprise anyone if Good Will Hunting received an action movie sequel.

After a few more cameos and ridiculous references along the way, Jay and SIlent Bob meet the executive who was behind them not getting royalties and it's... their friend played by Jason Lee? No, it's actually a completely new person who is ALSO played by Jason Lee. That's the beauty of this movie and the View Askewniverse in general, Jason Lee and Ben Affleck can play 2 or 3 roles within the same movie and no one questions it because that's just how effectively Kevin Smith can make a movie. After receiving their royalties, Jay and Silent Bob return to New Jersey, content that their job is done and they can continue not doing anything in life and get paid for it.

I can't even begin to describe why this movie is not stupid. The movie must be watched and experienced to truly understand exactly how good it is and why I swear to God I'm not crazy in saying that Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is the best movie of 2001, but only slightly better than Blow. Next week is my favorite movie of 2002, the coming-of-age story dealing with the transition between high school and college, Orange County.