Other Kevin Smith films worth getting?
 

(Please, no "Kevin Smith sucks!" replies.)


In the last year I've bought three Kevin Smith DVDs. I enjoyed Clerks and Dogma quite a bit. Some of my favorite 'goofy fun with a bit of a message' movies.

OTOH, except for a couple of segments, I found Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back fairly juvenile and unfunny and wound up Ebaying it pretty quickly. I find J&SB amusing, but only in small doses. The three female villains and Mark Hamills cameo were just embarassing.

I'm curious about Mallrats and Chasing Amy and wonder how they compare to these other movies.

Thanks.

Mallrats is a love it or hate it film. Some think it's one of Smith's better films, some don't. It has a bit of the J&SB vibe, so rent it before you buy it.

Chasing Amy is (I think) Smith's best film to date. Poignant and funny, with an interesting plot twist. Smith calls it an autobiographical film due to some of the issues he deals with in the film. I'd recommend it, and the Criterion DVD can be picked up for pretty cheap, even cheaper if you see it on sale (which it usually is at some point).

Also purchase an Evening With Kevin Smith. Funny Stuff.

Mallrats is my favorite in the series, Chasing Amy my least favorite.

Definitely get An Evening With Kevin Smith if you can.

Mallrats has that 80's vibe to it. It's not really deep or anything but it's funny for the most part.

Chasing Amy was good except for how it wraps up. I think Smith kind of just assed out. If it's autobiographical then he's just a choad. Aside from that I liked the theme it dealt with.

Based on your oppinion of Clerks, Dogma, and J&SBSB, I recommend Chasing Amy. It's a great flick (one of my favorites, not just my favorite Kevin Smith movie), and you can buy it for $10-$15. If you like it too, I suggest you pickup An Evening with Kevin Smith. It's two discs of highlights from a college Q&A tour, and it is very funny and witty.

The problem with J&SBSB is that is was basically a film for all the fans that had stuck with Smith. There're a lot of jokes that depend on you knowing the previous films. I think if you like Clerks and Dogma than the others are definitely worth picking up, even the unfaily maligned Mallrats. Of all the Smith movies, I think my wife and I quote this one the most.

Also, there are the six animated Clerks tv show episodes that are pretty funny.

I'm going to recommend that you definitely get Chasing Amy (because I suspect you may love it)... and you should probably rent Mallrats. As mentioned, Mallrats is really a love-it-or-hate-it movie. I happen to love it (although I can fully recognize its flaws). But Chasing Amy is really, really great.

I pretty much agree with you about J&SBSB. I was incredibly disappointed with that movie (although the DVD extras are, as usual, very entertaining).

VUlgar.

It depends on what type of Kevin Smith film you go for--the juvenile comedy, or the dramedy hybrid that is Chasing Amy. I just love Kevin Smith so I own all the dvd's and if I had to reccomend one of the above mentioned two it would be Mallrats. It's a return to the type of movie Animal House and Porky's were, and the commentary track is the most hilarious one I've ever heard.

The only ones that I think are worth owning are Clerks and J&SBSB. I thought that they were both hysterical. Mallrats is okay. I did not care for Dogma, and except for the first half-hour, I could not stand Chasing Amy.

Your opinions of Clerks, Dogma, and J&SBSB pretty much match mine. Clerks is the best of the bunch followed by Dogma. Jay and Silent Bob was ok, but I remember being underwhelmed immediately after it was over. But now in retrospect, I'd like to see it again.

Mallrats was ok, I've only seen it once and didn't think it was anything special. I need to get around to seeing it again though, its been a long time. I'm not sure where it would rank on the list as I remember so little about it, but its definitely not as good/funny as Dogma or Clerks (at least to me personally).

Chasing Amy I didn't care for at all. I didn't like it when I first saw it. Then I saw everyone raving about it. So I watched it again which only confirmed that I didn't like it at all. It just wasn't very funny and Joey Lauren Adams was mega-annoying in it. She just had this stuck-up attitude the whole movie that I couldn't stand.

So if it was up to me, I'd watch both of them just to check them out, but perhaps just as a rental. Chasing Amy can be found dirt cheap though - I think I did end up buying it again even after selling it the first time just so I could have a 'complete' Kevin Smith collection.

Somehow I got most of the jokes without seeing the other movies (Holden's "I wish I was still dating a lesbian" line), the whole "star wars wedding"

Re: Other Kevin Smith films worth getting?
 

Mallrats is my personal favorite, but it is more in line with J&SBSB so, like others said, I'd recommend renting this one.

Chasing Amy is great. More "mature". But still has some "dick and fart jokes" mentallity.

The Clerks animated dvd is good and the Evening w/ Kevin Smith dvd is very funny.

Chasing Amy is not supposed to be a hysterical comedy. It's just a wonderful movie. The reason I always hear that people hated it is because they say it wasn't funny enough... There are some laughs but I'd say it is definitely a drama. And I would even go as far to say that Ben Affleck pulls off some fine acting in this one particularly in the scene in the car in the rain. The movie makes me cry. Great stuff. Excellent commentary and the cheapest Criterion there is.

Chasing Amy is one of my top 5 movies of all time.

My take on Smith films (out of *****)

JASBSTB ****1/2
Mallrats ****
Chasing Amy ***1/2
Clerks ***1/2
Dogma ***1/2

My take (not only in release order, but in order of my favorites, too):

Clerks - A bravura masterpiece. Despite being crudely directed and filmed, the movie is genuinely funny and has a lot of heart.

Mallrats - Hated it the first time I saw it, but it grew on me when I got the DVD. Jason Lee absolutely steals the show.

Chasing Amy - Probably the most serious Kevin Smith movie. Jay and Silent Bob only have a cameo -- but provide the title reference. This is much closer to drama than anything Kevin Smith has ever done.

Dogma - I found this to be a bit gimmicky. The cast was too large, and it was a road movie. Kevin Smith really works best with a small, tightly-knit cast and a limited geographical scope.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - Another "road movie" with a large ensemble cast. Eliza Dushku is hotter than hell, and it was good to see Mark Hamil goofing on Star Wars. Carrie Fisher and George Carlin were hilarious in their cameos, but the whole movie didn't really hold together that well. There were bits that were genuinely funny, but they were padded between a lot of tedious blather as well. This is also the most trite movie Smith has ever done, too.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I broke down and picked up Mallrats yesterday. Figured that for $14.95, even if I hated it I wasn't really out much money.

Anyway, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Yeah, there was a bit of that mindless J&SBSB feel to it, but there was some pretty funny stuff there. The characters were certainly more likeable (KS seems to be the master of wroting dysfunctional, but loveable people). Except of course the dad. Ugh, I think I've sworn off chocolate pretzels for life!
I'd say it currently my second favorite KS work, falling somewhere between Dogma and Clerks. So next up will be Chasing Amy, then on to KS Live, and the Clerks cartoon.

Funny thing about J&SBSB, my favortie parts of the film were the references to his previous works. It was the whole middle section when the boys left Jersey, got involved with the girls (bleah), and the idiot game warden (double bleah) that I thought the whole thing fell on it's ass. I dunno, there's just something about putting an ape in a movie that to me just screams lowest common denominator.

Oh, and I think I'm getting to be quite the Jason Lee fan as well. A shame he doesn't get more work.

Thanks everyone!

My ratings:

Clerks: 7/10- The original, somewhat funny, sets the stage, but aside from Randall, the acting is pretty bad.

Mallrats: 10/10- A classic. And a great dvd. Anyway, this movie is campy but really well-put together. Jason Lee is unbelievable, and I really enjoyed Shannen Doherty's and Ben Affleck's performances. "Oh yea? There is no Easter Bunny!"

Chasing Amy: 7/10- The first film that I saw. Great performances, but the montages go on a bit too long. I lose interest with each time I see it again. Also, I am not a big fan of the last 20 minutes or so.

Dogma: 5/10- HATED it at first, now slowly starting to grow on me. I still think Selma Hayek, Chris Rock, and Florentino are awful (and Damon and Affleck aren't at their best), but I do really enjoy the religious ideas that are trying to be expressed. A very ambitious misfire.

Jay and Silent Bob- 8/10- Combines the best parts of Mallrats with the worst parts of Dogma; there just are too many characters. Also, Shannon elizabeth is just horrendous here. Still, Jay is awesome, and there is a lot of funny material here.

my rankings
j&sbsb 10/10 Very funny movie, can quote endlessly from that movie the best bit was either Holden's entire scene or Jay's cut scene where he "talks nasty" to the hookers
mallrats 8/10
clerks 5/10 still funny but almost too much talking and haven't worked in a convienence store.
Haven't seen dogma or chasing amy.

MALLRATS is more like jay and silent bob strike back. I love it, but I love all of Kevin's works. Give it a rent. Its real low brow. Chasing AMy though is a masterpiece. It's wonderful. And the dvd is cheap too. Pick it up

I have all the Kevein Smith movies and think they are all worth buying. I didn't like Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back at first either, but upon second viewing I found it hilarious. Chasing Amy is a great movie, and so is Mallrats (not to mention a little Joey Lauren Adams' nudity).

I think if have any Kevin Smith movie you really need all of them to compliment the other ones. They all have references to previous movies. It just makes the storyline complete.

Kevin smith movies worth getting! AHahahahaahaha

*cue lightning and evil laughter... now