Back in 2001, an American stoner comedy movie called Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was born. The movie, derived from the movie Clerks and directed by Kevin Smith, was an instant hit with me personally as well as many others. Here are my ten top reasons why you need to watch the film.
Movie Plot…
The movie starts with stoners Jay and Silent Bob casually hanging out at their local Quick Stop convenience store, but when Dante and Randal (Clerks) get a restraining order to stop the guys selling drugs outside their store, they find their lives become somewhat boring.
The New Jersey duo then hear word of a movie being made that is based on them in real life, so they head to Hollywood. But not for their cut of the money they would be entitled to, but to stop people slandering them on the Internet. On the way, they end up getting tangled in with some jewel thieves and other antics.
Although the following top ten list is for people who haven’t seen the movie yet I hope for all of you who have seen it that you will agree with my list.
10 – Jason Mewes
Jason Mewes is the guy who plays Jay and his character is amazing. In fact, without him, the film would have been pointless (as he is the main character), but also because he is the one who brings the most comedy to the film.
Jason Mews himself has been very open that he used to have a substance addiction since his 20s and has been battling this issue for most of his life. With the help of Kevin Smith, Jason is now reportedly clean and Kevin even created the weekly podcast Jay and Silent Bob Get Old to help him express his feelings on the subject.
9 – Stifler – Seann William Scott
Like most people, you will probably know of Seann William Scott because of his role as Steve Stifler in the comedy teen movies the American Pie series. But when Mr William Scott plays roles for other movies, they are usually loosely based around his character Stifler in some way. Although Seann only makes a cameo appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the character he plays, Brent, is hilarious. Brent is a guitar playing hippie that is part of Kansas State chapter of SAAC (students against animal cruelty) that follows other characters in the film in the back of a van.
8 – Dropping the F-Bomb
If you don’t condone the use of profanity in films (something which has always been controversial) then this is not the movie for you! The use of foul language has been more accepted in films over recent years and some characters such as Jay are based around the whole concept of using inappropriate language and running their potty mouth.
7 – Written and Directed by Kevin Smith (Silent Bob)
Silent Bob’s real name is in fact Kevin Smith and he wrote and directed the movie. I sometimes feel actors can come across as “greedy” and “big headed” when they wish to stamp their name on every part of making a movie (just like when a signer decides to act as well as sing), but I never got that vibe with Kevin Smith.
Although Silent Bob is silent, hence the name, he does in fact speak twice in the whole movie. I guess this happens to just add more comedy to the film – which works well. Kevin Smith never intended to play the role of Silent Bob and the role was in fact written for a friend who never turned up to film. Also, another few interesting facts are that in the movie, baby Silent Bob is played by Kevin Smith’s daughter, Harley Quinn Smith and Jennifer Schwalbach Smith who played Missy is Kevin Smith’s real-life wife!
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6 – A Ton of Cameo Appearances
Unless you have watched it more than a few times you might not have noticed all the cameo appearances from some big movie stars: Jason Lee, Chris Rock, Will Ferrell, Matt Damon and even Batman himself Ben Affleck!
The budget for the film was apparently $22 million (£17 Million) so he could have afforded a few hours of the cameo appearances’ time. But, Kevin Smith is a nice guy; I am sure he pulled a few strings and he probably knew some of them. After all, the film stems from the movie Clerks.
5 – Shannon Elizabeth
Shannon Elizabeth, or to me and you Nadia from the American Pie series, also has a big part in the movie. She plays the character Justice and just like Eliza Dushku character is also part of an animal liberation group (same one as Seann William Scott too). Her character ends up falling for Jay in the movie, and because of her lust towards Jay, things never go as well as planned.
Oh, Shannon Elizabeth, Seann William Scott, Jason Biggs; all of which appeared in Jay and Silent Bob; were filming American Pie 2 around the same time as appearing in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Apparently, Heather Graham was originally supposed to play Justice, but she turned the role down as she couldn’t figure out why her character would fall in love with Jay.
4 – Perfect Beer Drinking Film
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is the perfect movie to have a few beers with. After drinking a few cold ones, not only does the humour get better, but the following applies.
A few factors that will tell you if a movie goes well with beers:
Is the movie easy to follow?
Can you talk throughout the movie and still pick up from where you last left off with no confusion about what has happened?
Does the movie need to be paused for bathroom breaks just in case a crucial part is missed?
Does the movie get funnier the drunker you become?
If the answer to any of those questions is yes then its the perfect beer drinking movie, just like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is.
3 – Movie Poop Shoot
In the film there are a lot of references to a website called Movie Poop Shoot. In fact, you see Jay and Silent Bob check into Mooby’s (a made up fast food restaurant for the film – yeah, I too thought it was real at first) to use the internet to check the site and reply to internet trolls.
Kevin Smith actually bought the domain back in 2001 and used it to promote Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back; Kevin also used it to promote SModcast. But in 2010 he gave the site up for no apparent reason.
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2 – Eliza Dushku
If you are an Eliza Dushku fan – and let’s face it, why wouldn’t you be? – then you will be pleased to know that she plays a big part in the movie. He character Sissy is part of an all-girl (well, apart from Seann William Scott) animal liberation group which Jay and Silent Bob meet on their travels.
1 – There is something for everyone
From Cameo-roles to non-stop jokes. This movie has something for just about everyone no matter how old you are. While I can’t suggest anyone under the age of 18 watches it, for those of us old enough its one of those movies you need to see before you die. But if you don’t agree, do let me know in the comments below!