The Kevin Smith Collection: Clerks, Chasing Amy, and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back A Blu-ray Review	A Review by The Dude on the Right

Hmm, how to explain?  Okay, “Clerks” is the classic, shot in black and white, the film that most people will say put Kevin Smith on the map, but really, does it need to be on Blu-ray?  Even Kevin, during an introduction “exclusive” to the Blu-ray, comments that the movie doesn’t need to be on Blu-ray, and he would feel bad for making people buy it without getting something new.  So, what do they do since, over the years, most every outtake/commentary/extra related to “Clerks” has already been out there on various DVD releases? Well, on the “Clerks” Blu-ray, as the added bonus, you get “Oh, What A Lovely Tea Party: The Making of Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back.”  It’s a nice extra but really, what the hell is it doing on the “Clerks” disc in a box set that includes “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back?”  I’ll explain that more a little later.

The second disc is “Chasing Amy,” the movie that brought Kevin Smith back to good movie graces with most people after “Mallrats,” and in this collection I have to say that this disc is probably the only one that really gives you something new for buying the Blu-ray.  Sure, the movie looks a little better for your big-screen, but in learning about everything “… Amy”, this disc gives you a nice, little Q&A session with some of the cast, extra audio commentary, and a hugely detailed documentary about how the movie got made, especially with the $250,000 budget the Miramax folks gave them.

And finally comes “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” which, for this Blu-ray set, probably looks the best, but in terms of extra, it’s kind of like “What the fuck?”  Sure, there is the commentary track, but other than that you get squat.

So, here’s the deal I suppose – If you want a nice little box set of Kevin Smith movies on Blu-ray, a sort of Trilogy but not, the little box set is fine, but as a “box set” grouping it is kind of an afterthought because for “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy” this is the first time those two movies are on Blu-ray, and you can buy them separately if you please, especially if you already own “Jay and Silent Bob” on Blu-ray.  I would have thought it been cooler if they just sold the “Chasing Amy” disc by itself and then did something a little more cohesive by selling the “Jay and Silent Bob” disc with the extensive documentary “Oh, What A Lively Tea Party” as an extra, and then include the “Clerks” Blu-ray for free, or something like that.

So, as someone who has ordered signed copies of Kevin Smith movies, bought signed copies of the screenplays because I thought they would help me figure out how to put my screenplay idea on paper, and proudly displays my Buddy Christ on my desk, I have to say that the “Kevin Smith Collection” box set seems kind of silly, especially when you can buy the “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy” on Blu-ray as separate entities.  I guess the only bargain would be if you haven’t already bought the “Jay and Silent Bob” Blu-ray because then, as a set you save a few bucks rather than buying them individually.

Okay, as movies, “Clerks,” “Chasing Amy,” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” are 4 and 5 star flicks, (copies of our previously posted reviews of “… Amy” and “J & SB”  are below), and it’s nice finally having “Clerks” and “Chasing Amy” on Blu-ray, but if the movie folks are really planning on doing a “Blu-ray” box set of Kevin Smith films, maybe it’s time for a full-blown revisiting/repackaging, especially since most every extra worth being an extra is now on some kind of DVD. Let’s finally do a grandiose box set instead of having people buy this set, only to have another one probably be released a few years down the road.

That’s it for this one!  I’m The Dude on the Right!!  L8R!!!

Chasing Amy
- A Revew by Stu Gotz

The movie's premise was simply put to me "it's a romantic comedy where a geeky cartoonist falls in love with a lesbian." "Hmmm. . ." I thought, "A romantic comedy with lesbians. Has potential." Then when I found out who wrote it, well, "Chasing Amy" rose to the top of my "must see" list.

"Chasing Amy" was written a directed by Kevin Smith of "Clerks" fame and "Mallrats" flame (as in disaster). I loved the dime budgeted "Clerks" and actually was one of the few people who didn't demand an apology from Kevin for "Mallrats." I think Kevin learned a lot from his poorly received second movie and it shows in this, the third installment of his "Jersey" trilogy. What I think he learned is that he is best at writing witty and sharp dialog between characters and that he doesn't need big sets, stunts, or good acting to get his point across. Basically, in "Chasing Amy," Kevin concentrated on what his characters would say and how they would react. When his characters do speak and react it doesn't come off as being contrived or "Hollywood Cookbook" dialog mishmash. What I'm trying to say is that the movie feels real.

So we know the movie is about a dork falling in love with a dyke and we can all assume there will be turmoil there from, right? Right. But the movie is so much more. I don't want to over analyze this thing, however, the movie really does do a great job of bringing out romantic and friendship emotional issues in a way that's not dull and often funny.

Here's how it breaks down. Holden (Ben Affleck) and Banky (Jason Lee) are life long friends that have found success together as the comic artist team for "Bluntman and Chronic" (which is a loose spoof and interpretation of their old friends Jay and Silent Bob from Jersey). All is going well for the artistic duo until Holden falls for a cartoon artist he meets at a trade show. Alyssa Jones (Joey Adams) is a talented blonde knock-out with a thing for girls. Banky realizes this is a love that cannot be, and tries to save his buddy from heartache, but Holden won't accept that. He pursues Alyssa nonetheless under the false pretense of friendship. As you might expect things come to a head, Holden bares his soul, Alyssa freaks out, and the two fall in love. HUH?!? I thought she was gay. I guess she, and the movie so quaintly puts it, "just needed some dick." All is going well until Banky tries to bridge the gap created by Alyssa by digging up some dirt on her, and boy does he find some ugly shit! This shit he finds is so ugly that Holden foolishly thinks he can't live with it. Remember in "Clerks" how Dante couldn't deal with the fact that his girlfriend had sucked 36 cocks before his? Well Holden takes that feeling to the 10th power, and there ends the romance and the artistic duo's friendship too in somewhat of an unexpected confrontational ending (I won't give it away). So sad.

So what is the lesson we are supposed to learn? Well, aside from the fact that females are evil I think Kevin wants to say that the past is just that and in a relationship look to the future. Ohhh, how sweet. "Chasing Amy" is not a hugely romantic comedy and has some mixed acting, but nonetheless it is a movie I would recommend seeing for its dialog and creative character scenarios. In my mind "Clerks" is still an edgier movie, but "Chasing Amy" is a close second. I liked "Chasing Amy" and I give it 4 out of 5 stars and I'm Stu Gotz. 'nuff said.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
- A Review by The Dude on the Right

Oh my Buddy Christ! I haven’t laughed that hard during a movie in a really long time. It really felt good. The movie was "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and you’ll laugh too, unless of course you are offended by bad language, gay jokes, racist jokes, jokes on the Hollywood institution, jokes about guys lusting over woman, jokes poking fun at individual movies, jokes about drugs, and jokes about screwing a pie. You’ll laugh a lot if you aren’t offended by things like that, and you’ll laugh a lot more if you are familiar with the works of Kevin Smith.

The story of the movie goes loosely like this. Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) are the likenesses of the comic book heroes Bluntman and Chronic. Unbeknownst to them their likenesses have been sold to Miramax for an upcoming movie, but they aren’t getting their cut, their movie money as it was, and track down Holden (Ben Affleck). He can’t help with their movie money, but he does introduce them to the world of the internet where their comic book characters, aptly named Jay and Silent Bob, are being dissed by many an internet poster. Now the real guys, Jay and Silent Bob, are pissed, not because they aren’t getting their money, but because their names are being turned into mud on the internet and this may lead later to their not getting to sleep with women. So they take it upon themselves to head to Hollywood from their Jersey home to try and stop the movie from getting made.

As the movie goes on we get to see their crossing the country antics, trying to hitch rides (George Carlin has his way – they have theirs), hooking up with the Scooby Doo gang, and finally getting hoodwinked into working with a group of hot babes as would-be animal right’s activists. Finally it’s on to the Miramax lot where our heroes infiltrate the set and try to stop the film.

Sure, the premise doesn’t sound that funny, almost generic, but for this review I’m trying to give as little away so I don’t ruin any of the jokes for you, and the movie is so full of jokes I probably could give some away and it wouldn’t spoil anything, but I’ll keep my yap shut this time.

I will, however, give you a little warning – if you aren’t familiar with any of Kevin Smith’s earlier works involving the Jay and Silent Bob characters, well, there will probably be many times during the movie when you wonder what some of the other people in the audience are laughing at. This is because some of the jokes in "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" relate back to Kevin Smith’s movies like "Clerks," "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," and "Dogma," and this movie has cameos from just about every influential character present in each of those films. But even if you haven’t seen any of those movies, don’t worry because "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" is still filled with tons of laughs for you Kevin Smith virgins out there because this movie is really a no holds barred laugher at the movie industry as well as a deeper look into our heroes.

To get the most out of "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" I almost recommend the following. On Saturday morning head to your local video store and buy "Clerks," "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," and "Dogma" if you haven’t already done so. Invite your friends over, and starting at about 11AM, plop yourselves on the couch to reacquaint yourselves with the cast of characters. It will now be around 8PM so head over to your local gigaplex, get your tickets, popcorn and soda, and be prepared to laugh your collective asses for what I found to be the funniest in the series of comedic yet edgy body of work by Kevin Smith.

With that I have to give "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" 5 stars out of 5. Sure it’s vulgar, sure it makes fun of just about anything possible, sure it has references to blowjobs and fucking, but there isn’t any nudity (well, alright, Jay shows his ass but that’s not the nudity I was looking for). I guess you )" onMouseOver="FP_changeProp(/*id*/'House',1,'style.visibility','visible')">