It’s already February while I post this, but I am 2 months behind on my reviews. Ironically I’ve watched more movies recently than the entire 2008. Some of these reviews will be shorter than usual, I really need to catch up.
This new movie by Kevin Smith follows on the good quality of Clerks 2, but this time it’s not set in the Viewaskew universe. It was a nice change for Smith, which made this movie feel less of a closed circle, almost more mainstream. On the other hand, the content is still very edgy and thus rated R.
I had grown tired on Seth Rogen playing the same character over and over, but he’s doing something slightly different here. A little more subtle and less cartoony. More like a real person. Elisabeth Banks also works well here and she definitely has a good chemistry with Rogen.
What surprised me are the supporting actors (but I should be surprised in a Smith movie). Starting from the real porn stars, who I would have thought would be bad. Instead they play their roles perfectly, one as an older charming woman, one as a young sweet girl.
Then there’s Craig Robinson who was subtly funny, a fresh perspective from the usually obnoxious African-American actors. Jeff Anderson is a Smith regular, but this time out he has a small role and he just feels different from Dante.
The same can be said for Jason Mewes, he doesn’t play the over the top Jay, he just feels more normal and a little but more mature (it could be the haircut), but that monologue at the end was very funny.
The plot is nothing original or unpredictable, though I was thrown off for a second towards the end. That might be a little flaw for me, but in the end this is not about the plot, it’s all about the characters and liking them.
I think Smith has proven that he has matured but at the same time hasn’t lost his edge. I can’t wait to see his next project.
Rating: 4 Stars