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| Scene from Jay and Silent Bob Reboot |
Welcome to the sporadic column Trailing Off in which I take a look at a trailer from the past week and analyze its potential. This will be done using an obnoxious amount of analyzing and personal thoughts on the cast and crew as well as expectations. I will attempt to highlight films ranging from new blockbusters to lesser known indies and give them their due. Partially to spread awareness, I do believe that there is an art to the sell and will do my best to highlight why these trailers matter or don't with approval (trove) or disapproval (trash). So please stop by, recommend some trailers, and I will see you next time.
Trailer in Discussion
Directed By: Kevin Smith
Written By: Kevin Smith
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Shannon Elizabeth, Kevin Smith
- Preamble -
On one hand, this should be the golden age of Kevin Smith. He made it big in the 90s by mixing his brand of homeliness with pop culture references and came to define the modern nerd. His films, even if they lacked the feats of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, were connected in their own perverse way through the Jersey Trilogy. With the SModcast in top swing still, he's a figure that gains acclaim merely for showing up and taking a microphone. His monologues have become legendary and his ability to entertain a house has created its own empire of tours and DVDs that come out bi-annually it seems. Smith, as a person, is maybe in the prime of his popularity.
Which makes it odd that his career otherwise seems to have been at a standstill since 2008's Zack and Miri Make a Porno. That film wasn't necessarily bad, but it felt like a turning point from where he turned into a failed auteur. With exception to Cop Out, his following work was predominantly produced as experimental titles that existed to appeal to fans. After all, Tusk was a joke on a podcast fleshed out to running length. Some will find his shift into horror to be more rewarding, and the promise of a True North trilogy with Moose Jaws is exciting. However, there's something lacking in his recent output that can't help but make one wonder what he still has to say. Ironic considering that he seems to be able to do that with just a microphone.
For those who have followed his Twitter account, the knowledge of sequels is fairly obvious by now. He's tried several times to make Clerks III and Mallrats 2 happen but always came up short. There's nothing stopping the potential of those films from being returns to form, but considering that Yoga Hosers was a bit abysmal as comedy, it's going to take some work to make him reach the heights that he once did. It isn't that he's lost sight of the characters, but he's too involved with appealing to fans, choosing in-jokes over writing scripts that have the intrigue that he used to do so easily.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot seem like a decent middle-ground for now. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was, at best, a love letter to his fans to begin with and it created the most absurd stoner comedy that he could think of. It was dumb, but it treated pop culture with a reverence that was infectious. One could only assume that there's still something to say for these characters, whether it be Smith's successful weight loss, or how Jason Mewes has since quit drugs. There's a lot that can be explored without sacrificing characters for winks and nods to obscure podcast references. At this point, it doesn't matter if Smith appeals to anyone outside of the V.O.D. market, but one can hope that his two greatest creations will have something more to say besides podcast ramble.
Which makes it odd that his career otherwise seems to have been at a standstill since 2008's Zack and Miri Make a Porno. That film wasn't necessarily bad, but it felt like a turning point from where he turned into a failed auteur. With exception to Cop Out, his following work was predominantly produced as experimental titles that existed to appeal to fans. After all, Tusk was a joke on a podcast fleshed out to running length. Some will find his shift into horror to be more rewarding, and the promise of a True North trilogy with Moose Jaws is exciting. However, there's something lacking in his recent output that can't help but make one wonder what he still has to say. Ironic considering that he seems to be able to do that with just a microphone.
For those who have followed his Twitter account, the knowledge of sequels is fairly obvious by now. He's tried several times to make Clerks III and Mallrats 2 happen but always came up short. There's nothing stopping the potential of those films from being returns to form, but considering that Yoga Hosers was a bit abysmal as comedy, it's going to take some work to make him reach the heights that he once did. It isn't that he's lost sight of the characters, but he's too involved with appealing to fans, choosing in-jokes over writing scripts that have the intrigue that he used to do so easily.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot seem like a decent middle-ground for now. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was, at best, a love letter to his fans to begin with and it created the most absurd stoner comedy that he could think of. It was dumb, but it treated pop culture with a reverence that was infectious. One could only assume that there's still something to say for these characters, whether it be Smith's successful weight loss, or how Jason Mewes has since quit drugs. There's a lot that can be explored without sacrificing characters for winks and nods to obscure podcast references. At this point, it doesn't matter if Smith appeals to anyone outside of the V.O.D. market, but one can hope that his two greatest creations will have something more to say besides podcast ramble.
- Dissection -
As mentioned, the best that can be said is that Jay and Silent Bob were always embodiments of in-jokes for Smith. Speaking as they seem to exist across every film without changing, it only makes sense that their solo movie would feature a lot of familiar faces. Unlike Smith's recent work, however, it's interesting to watch this trailer and notice how many actors have come back from across the entire spectrum of his career. It isn't just that he brought back Jason Lee to reprise his role, but actors like Craig Robinson, Shannon Elizabeth, and Jason Biggs all are returning after approximately a decade of working elsewhere. Similarly, there's Matt Damon for a cameo. If nothing else, the very presence of other talents in here gives some enthusiasm that this isn't just another cheap movie meant to appeal solely to fans.
There's also some reassurance in the fact that the plot is relevant to the modern era in ways that tie back to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. It's about the culture of remaking things from the past. Considering that the previous film ended with the duo beating people up for disliking the movie, it's going to be interesting to see what they'll do here. As in post-Clerks II movies, Smith is fine using his daughter Harley Quinn Smith in a significant role (here as Millennium Falcon), and it could be for the best given that his wife had a significant one in the previous. Still, the film gives enough to suggest that the plot will be the same excursion of Hollywood culture with a large cast of memorable actors, including Method Man and Red Man for some reason.
If there are any issues, it's that the trailer starts with a very odd scene. The cops feel like they're cursing way too much and Mewes breaks out into a Clerks II gag. This is fine given the continuity, but it feels forced and only done so that they can debate whether he has a penis. It's not an issue in the bigger picture, but a bit puzzling as the first piece of marketing this film has outside of behind the scenes videos. Then again, it's a stoner comedy and all logic is out the window. Tommy Chong can show up for no reason and reference Up in Smoke. It's hard to tell which direction this will go, but for now, it looks like Smith wants to do the characters good and stick to their brand of juvenilia while reviving the View Askewniverse. Is it worth it? Maybe, if it gets his creative juices flowing again. However, it's hard to tell in a post-SModcast world if he wants to make films that resonate or just entertain fans who know his material very well.
- One Sentence Sell -
Kevin Smith revives stoner duo for another excursion of all things Hollywood and pop culture.
- Trove or Trash -
TROVE
Yes, there's a lot of questionable moments throughout the trailer that is either pandering or just too flagrant, but it does look like Smith's best film in a very long time. The one hope is that it's more than inside references and exists in the wacky world that made his previous film Jay and Silent Bob such a cult classic, to begin with.
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