Review: JAY AND SILENT BOB REBOOT is a silly but heartfelt celebration of 25 years of Kevin Smith’s shared universe

In many ways, Kevin Smith’s early films set the template for the MCU. His first three films, Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy, all featured supporting roles from the stoner duo of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith himself), establishing a shared universe where all of these convenience store clerks, mall employees, and comic book artists co-existed and occasionally came together. Dubbed the View Askewniverse after Smith’s production company, the films rewarded viewers who kept coming back, allowing them to make connections and eventually offering up inside jokes that only diehard Smith fans would pick up on.

As Jay and Silent Bob grew in popularity, featured on everything from T-Shirts to action figures (all available view the View Askew site, natch), Smith elevated Jay and Silent Bob from their cameo status to full on leading men with 2001’s gonzo road trip comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which saw the duo heading from New Jersey to Hollywood to try to halt the production of the Bluntman and Chronic film, based on their superhero likenesses.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back became a cult classic for a certain generation, the type of broad comedy you could endlessly rewatch in the days before Netflix where the $35 collector’s edition DVD still reigned supreme. While Smith would flip flop between his View Askewniverse characters and stabs at more mainstream filmmaking over the years (with often mixed results), longtime fans still clamoured for a Jay and Silent Bob sequel, which is now hitting theatres some 18 years after the original.

Smith wants to have it both ways with Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, which presents itself as the ultimate act of fan service while constantly making fun of the very sort of crass commercialism of sequels, remakes and reboots (a nerdy distinction that is discussed at length between characters here). At first, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot plays out very much like the first film. The Bluntman and Chronic characters are returning to the screen in a new gritty adaption called Bluntman v Chronic, a take-off of the ultra-serious Superman v Batman: Dawn of Justice. Following a legal mishap, the duo finds that even their very names are now owned by the filmmakers, so they once again embark on a road trip to regain their reputations and their very names from the greedy studio.

Along the way, Jay encounters his former girlfriend Justice (Shannon Elizabeth), who reveals that Jay is the father of their teenage daughter Millennium Faulken (Smith’s daughter Harley Quinn Smith). The street-smart Millennium and her crew of friends, Jihad (Aparna Brielle) and Shan Yu (Alice Wen) blackmail Jay and Silent Bob into bringing them across country to Chronic-Con, where they hope to land a role in the very same Bluntman and Chronic movie the duo are trying to put a stop to.

That basic plot structure is basically there in order to have Jay and Silent Bob run into various characters from the View Askewniverse, alongside a huge array of comedy stars. We’ll keep those cameos under wraps, but there are dozens of great surprises throughout the film, especially for fans who have been following Smith’s films for nearly a quarter of a decade by now.

Although Smith is reportedly working on a third Clerks film, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot really feels like the closing chapter of the View Askewniverse. Smith claims that his recent heart attack helped him guilt some of his bigger stars back for one more go around here, and each character reveal serves not only as a nod to his previous films, but truly feels like checking in with old friends you rarely keep in touch with anymore. Smith even uses those cameos to address some issues from his films, including a bit looking back on the problematic Chasing Amy with a new awareness. Alongside all the character reunions, there is even an extended action sequence, giving Smith the chance to stage a large-scale battle that wouldn’t be out of place in a mainstream comic movie.

While the endless cameos are fun, the heart of the film really lies in Jay discovering he’s a father, and his burgeoning relationship with his daughter. Their initially contentious relationship turns into something truly touching over the course of the film, and shows off some real acting chops from Mewes and Harley Quinn Smith, who manages to oscillate between vulnerability and raunchiness in a way that shows the Smith sensibility is secure for another generation.

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot may be one of the most elaborate pieces of fan service ever created, but at least Smith is using it to push the duo into a (slightly) more mature place. That’s not to say this is some sort of Terrence Malick-like exploration of adulthood — Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is nearly two hours of non-stop weed and dick jokes — it’s often crass and silly, but like the best Kevin Smith movies, there’s a heartfelt vulnerability beneath it all, which is what really keeps fans coming back decade after decade.

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot screens in theatres on October 18. Smith and Mewes are also taking the film on tour, which includes a Q&A alongside a screening of the film, including a stop at Montreal’s Corona Theatre on February 4, 2020.