The Same S—t All Over Again

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.
Movie Review by Michael Isenberg.

"Well, a reboot, boys, is when Hollywood wants to make a lot of money without the hassle of creating a new movie. So they take an old movie and change just enough to make you pay for the same s—t all over again…Oh, it’s insidious. They take a flick you loved as a kid and add 'youth' and 'diversity' to it."

That's the exposition dump we get near the beginning of Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019) and that’s exactly what the movie delivers. It takes 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, adds a dose of youth and diversity, and changes it just enough to make us pay for the same s—t all over again.

And it’s a riot.

As in the 2001 original, the duo of Jay (Jason Mewes) and his "hetero life mate" Silent Bob (Kevin Smith)—Jersey boys, stoners extraordinaire, and inspiration for the Bluntman and Chronic comic book—are pissed. They've learned that there are plans for a Bluntman and Chronic movie again and they're determined to put a stop to it again. And so they set off on a wacky cross country journey—Destination: Hollywood. AGAIN.

Along the way they cross paths with numerous celebrities making cameo appearances, as well as four young women who aren’t what they seem. But here are the important differences: In Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back the four young women are all white. In Jay and Silent Bob Reboot they are each a different ethnicity—and one is also differently-abled. And although the actresses involved are in the same general age range in both movies, the 2019 quartet don't have quite as ambitious a scheme in the works as their 2001 counterparts. The four women in Strikes Back are plotting to rob a high tech diamond warehouse. The four women in Reboot are plotting to go to Comic Con—which makes them seem more youthful. But perhaps most significant of all, in this era of #MeToo, only one of them is wearing a leather catsuit under her clothes.

You've probably grasped by now that, as with Strike Back, the basis for the humor in Reboot is self-reference. The film is chock full of pop culture references in general and Kevin Smith references in particular. For the ultimate in self-reference, in addition to reprising his role as Silent Bob, Smith also plays himself as the director of the Bluntman and Chronic reboot, prompting one of the four women to comment “I hate this guy. He forces his kid to be in everything he makes.” The self-referential joke is that she is played by Smith's IRL kid, Harley Quinn Smith.

Of course, there are differences between the two movies beyond diversity and youth. Nearly twenty years have passed since Strike Back, which means nearly twenty more years of cultural phenomena to make fun of. Comic Cons, Uber, white nationalism, emojis, Marvel movies, Cop Out, No Fly Lists, the Bechdel Test, and Russian plots to steal elections are all grist for the satire mill.

Also in contrast to the original, Reboot has a serious side. Since 2001, Kevin Smith has lost a father and raised a child. He has channeled his reflections on these experiences into Jay and Silent Bob Reboot via a heartwarming subplot in which Jay discovers he has a long lost daughter, for whom growing up without a dad has left an awful hole. Ben Affleck, reprising his Chasing Amy role as Holden McNeil, sums it up: “I used to think life was all about me. I was the hero of my own story, a Bruce Wayne of one lifelong issue of Detective Comics, so to speak. And then that kid came along and suddenly you realize you're not Bruce Wayne anymore. You're Thomas Wayne.”

Even when being serious, Reboot can’t avoid self-referential humor. Affleck’s next joke is the funniest in the movie. But in the interest of avoiding spoilers, I won’t quote it for you. You'll just have to watch the thing.

Which I recommend you do. You can catch it streaming on Amazon Prime. Watch the 2001 original first (or re-watch it as the case may be) to be sure you catch all the references. If it’s not enough that Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is wickedly funny and actually has some things to say, it does have one more thing going for it: stay through the end credits to see what may very well be the absolutely last Stan Lee cameo ever.

Michael Isenberg drinks bourbon and writes novels. His pop culture satire, Full Asylum, pokes fun at corporate life, James Bond films, political correctness in Hollywood, and professional wrestling. It's available on Amazon.com Please follow Mike on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to Nerds who Read. Photo credit(s): Lionsgate, YouTube, Augusta Chronicle