Mad Ramblings of a Movie Geek 09.24.08: The View Askewniverse

Posted by Jordan Bruns on 09.24.2008

A career retrospective of Kevin Smith (except for Jersey Girl)...

Welcome to this week's edition of Mad Ramblings of a Movie Geek! This article will be going online on the 24th, which just happens to be my 27th birthday. One more year and I'll have outlived Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Kurt Cobain, all of whom accomplished more in their short lives than I could ever hope to. However, they also consumed more drugs than I could possibly imagine. I don't know why I decided to bring that up, but hey, I don't call this column Mad Ramblings for no reason.

As promised this week I am rambling about Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, which includes Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II. All six of these movies take place in the same fictional "universe." Jay and Silent Bob are the two common elements that tie each movie together. The reason I'm not including Jersey Girl is not because I hate it or refuse to acknowledge it's existence (I actually didn't think it was that bad.) It's because it's not part of the View Askewniverse...

Smith's filmmaking career had a fairytale beginning. He was manning the counter at the Quick Stop convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey when he wrote his first screenplay, a scathing satire of blue collar life. Shot after hours at the Quick Stop on a budget of $27,000, and in black and white, the resulting film was a smash hit at the Cannes Film Festival, and allowed Smith to embark on a new career. I now begin with my ramblings on The View Askewniverse.





My Mad Ramblings
This movie came out of nowhere and took audiences by surprise. It was vulgar, shocking, offensive, insightful, sentimental and hilarious at the same time. It didn't find much of an audience in theaters, but critics loved it. It has since become a cult classic.

Clerks is about Dante and Randal (Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson), lifelong friends and resident slackers who man the counter at Quick Stop and RST Video, respectively. Dante is a perpetual push-over, working on his day off and seemingly unable to think for himself. Randal is an underachieving wise ass whose only joy in life is derived from pushing people's buttons. Clerks also introduces the lovable stoner duo Jay and Silent Bob, though they don't feature as prominently as they do in later View Askewniverse works.

The film spans a single day in their lives, but what a day it is. Hockey, a love triangle, pop culture debates, an angry mob, a botched wake, and necrophilia all found their way into the script- a bit too much to take? Sure, but only if you don't get the joke. Smith took his own daily experiences from working a dead end job in a convenience store and turned them on their side. When watching the film one gets the sense that this is what a typical day in these guys' lives is like, and therein is the humor. Smith never lets up for a minute, and the result is one of the most controversial and on-target films of the ‘90's.

Following the success of Clerks, Smith was offered studio backing and a much larger budget for his next movie. Afterwards many dismissed him as a hack and wrote off Clerks as nothing more than a fluke. As a result, Smith never again allowed a studio to dictate the kind of stories he told.





My Mad Ramblings
Smith's second outing is as well-known for launching Jason Lee's acting career as it is for the thrashing Smith received by critics. Die hard Smith fans love this movie, everyone else seems to hate it.

The plot is pretty simple. Brody and T.S. (Jason Lee and Jeremy London) are both dumped on the same day, so they drown their sorrows with a trip to the local mall. T.S. is determined to appear on a dating game show to win back his ex, while Brody pretends like he couldn't care less about his… until he sees her with Ben Affleck. Along the way are some Jay and Silent Bob hi-jinks and a cameo by Stan Lee.

Much of the humor is pretty sophomoric, but what do you expect from a movie about two guys hanging out at the mall? He wasn't trying to make Casablanca here. Like much of Smith's work, it depends on whether or not you get the joke. Mallrats is not as sharp and original as Clerks, and I'm not fond of Jay and Silent Bob as a slapstick duo, but come on… who doesn't love Brody?

After being raked over the coals for Mallrats, Smith resolved to make his next effort a more personal statement. Partly inspired by his own relationship with Joey Lauren Adams at the time, he penned a comic drama about a man who falls in love with a lesbian and the complications that ensue. Shortly after completing the script for Chasing Amy, he referred to it as "the most honest and pure piece I've ever written."





My Mad Ramblings
Chasing Amy tells the story of best friends Holden and Banky (Ben Affleck and Jason Lee), creators of a comic book called Bluntman and Chronic, based on two very familiar looking potheads. When Holden meets fellow comic book artist Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), he immediately develops a crush on her. Unbeknownst to him, however, Alyssa is not interested in men.

Alyssa and Holden become fast friends, but Holden soon realizes that he's in love with her, making it more and more difficult to maintain a platonic relationship. Meanwhile, Banky becomes instantly apprehensive towards Alyssa. His bitter anger and homophobic epithets mask not only the pain of "losing" his best friend, but also his own latent homosexual tendencies.

Chasing Amy showcases a level of maturity in Kevin Smith's work. It contains much of the foul-mouthed, scatological dialogue made famous in Clerks, but also blends those elements into a very poignant and bittersweet romantic comedy. He was very daring not to include the typical fairy-tale ending. Jay and Silent Bob fans may be disappointed, however, as they are reduced to a mere cameo here, during which Silent Bob is anything but silent.

Chasing Amy was beloved by critics, many of whom felt that Kevin Smith had redeemed himself for Mallrats. There are some hardcore Smith fans that don't care for this one, though, possibly because the tone is much more serious and the subject matter is so much different than that for which he's become known. His next movie would be his most controversial outing to date. It sat on the shelf for a year and changed distributors before it was released in November of 1999. Smith decided to spoof Catholicism, and pissed off a lot of people by doing so.





My Mad Ramblings
Kevin Smith is Catholic, people! Dogma is a parody. Period. No one's going to hell over a shit demon, ok. That being said, we're looking at a ridiculously funny movie here.

Bartleby and Loki (Ben Affleck and Matt Damon) are angels who have been expelled from Heaven, desperate to find their way back in. Chris Rock is the 13th apostle. Alan Rickman is the voice of God… Alanis Morrissette is God? Jay and Silent Bob are religious prophets? It all sounds ludicrous, but in the View Askewniverse it all makes sense. It goes on a bit too long, but it's a fun ride.

George Carlin makes his first appearance in a Kevin Smith movie as Cardinal Glick. George Carlin as a religious figure! That alone makes this worth seeing.

After writing and directing four movies featuring Jay and Silent Bob, Smith vowed to retire the duo- after one more movie. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was meant to be the Swansong of the View Askewniverse, intertwining all the characters and bringing closure to all the ongoing storylines. It was also meant to be a "thank you" to all the fans that supported Smith and his work over the years.





My Mad Ramblings
This movie is one giant in-joke. Casual viewers may find it sophomoric and off-putting, but die hard ViewAskewniverse fans will love every minute of it. That's really the best critique I can give Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back; it's pretty much a hit or miss affair.

The plot revolves around Jay and Silent Bob trying to stop a Bluntman and Chronic movie from being made, so they embark on a journey to Hollywood. Along the way, Jay falls in love, the two are mistaken for terrorists, and all the popular characters from previous outings pop up in cameos.

The in-jokes are what I like best about this movie. It's fun to see old favorites like Dante and Randal, Brody, Holden and Banky, etc. return for one last time (ok, so Smith wasn't done with Dante and Randal, it seems). Add into the mix several other amusing cameos (Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, George Carlin, to name a few) and a hilarious scene involving a sequel to Good Will Hunting and you have what amounts to, not so much a great movie in terms of artistic credibility, but a real treat for Kevin Smith fans.

While working on the tenth anniversary DVD for Clerks, Kevin Smith realized how much he loved the characters of Dante and Randal and decided to bring them back one more time (the animated series is not considered canon in the View Askewniverse). So, twelve years after the original, and five years after the "last" View Askew film, Clerks II hit theaters. Initially fans were skeptical, with many crying "sell out." Of course, they said the same thing about Jersey Girl because it was his first attempt at a "mainstream" comedy. I had the privilege of attending one of Smith's Q+As a while back, in Akron, Ohio. He addressed the issue of "selling out" very matter-of-factly:

"Of course I sold out. I sold out when I made Clerks, when I sold the distribution rights. If I were a true artist I would have shown it in my living room." Well said, Mr. Smith. Well said.





My Mad Ramblings
It's been ten years, but Dante and Randal are still working at the Quick Stop and RST video, until one day the complex burns down (it seems Randal left the coffee pot on). Cut to six months later and they are now working at Mooby's. Dante is about to leave town with his fiancée (played by Kevin Smith's wife Jennifer). Randal is determined to give his friend a Bachelor Party style send off, so he sets up a donkey show for later that night (apparently the PC term is "interspecies erotica"). Jay and Silent Bob have now taken to hanging out outside Mooby's. They are sober and have found God, but still sell weed.

I had mixed emotions about Clerks II right up until the moment I saw it. I was pleasantly surprised. While not as clever as its predecessor (and with slightly more plot), it's still a satisfying follow-up. Dante is a bit more self-assured this time around, yet Randal remains as indignant and anti-authoritarian as ever. Considering the first film didn't exactly leave things open for a sequel, this was refreshingly well-done, with tons of laugh-out-loud moments. It's a fitting companion piece to the original.

That's it for my ramblings on the View Askewniverse. Smith's next movie, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, hits theaters on Halloween. It is only his second movie not set in the View Askewniverse. I'm curious to see how it works out; it's got an interesting premise and Seth Rogen is on a hot streak right now, as long as he doesn't overexpose himself, Will Ferrell-style.

With this being my last column for the month of September, I'm just going to say that October will be an interesting month for Mad Ramblings, including my long-planned series of articles about a certain iconic mass murderer who terrorizes people on All Hallows Eve.

Until next time…