" come on , silent bob !
we 're going to hollywood .
" starring jason mewes , kevin smith , will ferrell , shannon elizabeth , seann william scott , chris rock , jason lee , ben affleck .
directed by kevin smith .
rated r .
jay and silent bob strike back is a dumb movie disguised in a smarmy interior .
kevin smith , coming off the wonderful , challenging dogma
, fills it with sub - road trip gross - out jokes and expects us to buy it because he 's just oh - so - ironic .
but when a movie is so self - aware
it becomes about nothing but itself , we can hardly be expected to pay for admission .
jay and silent bob , two new jersey stoners who hang out at the doorstep of convenience store selling pot , have appeared in almost all of smith 's movies but , if i 'm not mistaken , have not starred in one until now .
they find out that there is a movie based on the comic book that is based on them being made in hollywood .
this presents two problems : a ) they have n't received a penny in royalties and b ) nerds on the internet ( " what 's the internet ? " )
are talking trash about them .
what is there to do except go to hollywood and stop this movie from being made ?
on the way -- they 're hitchhiking , because who knew you needed tickets to take a bus ?
-- they run into a group of hotties who pretend to be with an animal - rights group , but are really jewel thiefs who parade around in charlie 's angels - style outfits .
of course , they set jay and silent
bob up to look like the thieves , so that there is a massive manhunt going on during the second half of the film .
will ferrell , who again proves himself incapable of doing anything but sketch comedy , shows up as the wildlife marshal inspector who thinks the two have stolen a monkey .
the movie will probably please only smith 's die - hard , undiscerning fans ; everyone else will be critical of this mind - bogglingly stupid effort following some the sophisticated cinema that he churned out in years past .
any appeal the movie has will come from the " in " jokes , most of which i think i understood , but the movie is " in " to the point of absurdity .
there needs to be something holding it together other than its own smugness .
once jay and silent bob get to hollywood , the movie
abruptly switches gears from gross - out comedy to ridiculously broad hollywood satire . countless " hot " movie stars and personalities make an appearance , from smith veterans matt damon and ben affleck to wes craven , but jay and silent bob strike back resorts to such low - brow gags as another scream sequel with a monkey as the killer .
get it ?
they 're so desperate for another movie , they ran out of ideas and used a monkey !
a monkey !
as often happens with writers who are working below what they are actually capable of , most of the really good lines are throwaways , while the big , painstaking gags mostly fall flat .
one of the funniest lines in the movie flies by : when asked to comment on the clitoris ( do n't ask ) , jay responds :
" the female clitoris ?
"
kevin smith is a talented writer ( though i agree that his films would be better off if he 'd let a real director take the helm ) , and jay and silent bob strike back holds true to his promise to make a more facetious film .
unfortunately , it 's also shapeless , pointless and largely unfunny .
smith 's " verbal trampoline , " as ben affleck once called his distinctive dialogue , takes a back seat to his dubious instincts as a populist filmmaker .
this was supposed to be the movie that did n't offend anyone , but it 's offensive because it 's terrible .
it 's also shapeless , pointless and largely unfunny resorts to such low - brow gags everyone else will be critical of this mind - bogglingly stupid effort a dumb movie disguised in a smarmy interior again proves himself incapable of doing anything it 's offensive because it 's terrible to the point of absurdity most of the really good lines are throwaways , while the big , painstaking gags mostly fall flat fills it with sub - road trip gross - out jokes and expects us to buy it because he 's just oh - so - ironic abruptly switches gears from gross - out comedy to ridiculously broad hollywood satire