Kevin Smith’s original trilogy of films, while covering a range of different subject matter, all had a similar scope to them, centering around stories of twenty-somethings and their interpersonal problems, with some dick jokes sprinkled liberally throughout. The stakes were relatively low. That said, it certainly was a departure from the established norm for Smith’s newest film to involve the fate of the entirety of existence, all while directly examining Catholicism and the concept of faith. Originally titled God, Smith actually started writing the initial script for this film soon after Clerks, but knew that to tell a story this grand of scale, he’d need some more films under his belt to both actually be able to finance such a movie, and have the work experience to pull it off. After resurrecting his career with Chasing Amy, it seemed like then was as good a time as any for Smith to take a shot at his religious opus.

Dogma is easily Smith’s biggest movie in a number of ways: the stacked cast of big celebrities, the ambition of the storytelling, and the sometimes dramatic tone and serious subject matter. It also feels like the most difficult film so far to break down for a review, just because there’s so many different things going on in it. Unlike Mallrats and Amy, I was a pretty big fan of this one when I was younger, coming close to rivaling Clerks as my favorite. I wouldn’t call it the meatiest satire, and there’s some groaner jokes throughout, but it raises a lot of interesting ideas and questions about organized religion and the idea of faith; nothing too complex, but general enough to be a little thought-provoking, especially to my then-teenage self. It never feels like it gets too far up its own ass with its sermonizing… although it does get a little close at times. Continue reading “ReView Askew: Dogma (1999)” →

Things weren’t going so hot for Kevin Smith after Mallrats, considering it made no money and everyone hated it. But there was one silver lining for Smith on his sophomore film: Joey Lauren Adams. The two met on the Mallrats set, and ended up dating for a while. It was only a few years before they split on amicable terms, but their romantic tryst ended up being the direct inspiration for Smith’s next film, a more dramatic turn taking a naked and honest look at relationships, specifically on how one’s insecurities can cloud and warp them. Made on an incredibly small budget, Chasing Amy turned out to be Smith’s second wind, with many critics being pleasantly surprised by his headier, more serious film. It showed that there was a little more that Smith had to offer than his usual crude fare, and although that’s pretty much the pond he continued to wade in for most of his ensuing career, Chasing Amy definitely displayed a new side of him.

As I mentioned before, Mallrats and Chasing Amy are the only two Kevin Smith movies in this series I haven’t watched since high school. And while I felt reasonably confident my thoughts on Mallrats wouldn’t change much from my memories of it (and they didn’t), I was curious to how I’d react to Chasing Amy. I could certainly see why a slow-moving romantic drama wouldn’t be that appealing to my teenage self, but I’m definitely more susceptible to this sort of film as an adult. I was also curious how much of a potentially cringe-worthy time capsule this would be in regards to its gay subject matter; the premise alone of a lesbian falling for a man seemed like it might not hold up super well. So after finally seeing it again, I’m definitely a little conflicted. I wouldn’t consider it a good movie, but there’s definitely quite a bit here that I think works well. It certainly feels like Smith’s voice is back in it after Mallrats, undoubtedly because of how personal the subject matter is to him, but the execution of the film is a bit of a mixed bag. Continue reading “ReView Askew: Chasing Amy (1997)” →

As Clerks became a quiet hit at festivals, Kevin Smith had a golden opportunity to pitch a new project to interested studios. He basically sold the idea of Mallrats as “Clerks but in a mall,” which was a pretty smart angle to take for his next film. You want to give interested producers more of what they responded to the first time around, but on top of that, this was Smith’s chance to take what he did with Clerks and reshape it for a wider audience. Since Clerks only played to a small amount of theaters, a lot of people seeing Mallrats likely wouldn’t be familiar with it, so Smith was free to create a sort of spiritual successor to Clerks. Continuing the creative mindset of writing what you know, Smith jumped from the Quick Stop to the mall, the other major hotspot for his Jersey friends. With big studio resources behind him, Mallrats would be his chance to bring his unique voice to a mainstream comedy, but unfortunately, the film kind of ends up feeling like Kevin Smith making a regular dumb mainstream comedy.

Along with Chasing Amy, I only watched Mallrats once back in high school, and even at that sophomoric young age, I didn’t find much appealing about it. And rewatching it now, I completely see why. Mallrats feels like a big studio comedy version of Clerks, but in all the worst ways, with the tone, the humor, and the soul of Smith’s premier film reduced to its most superficial forms, leaving us with a cast of uninspired caricatures, slapstick and scatalogical humor, and a supreme lack of a meaningful narrative. It honestly feels more like someone cynically trying to make a Clerks-esque comedy than a film made by Kevin Smith himself. Following a critical examination of the listlessness of young adulthood and the inner turmoil inherent within comes a movie that’s an unabashed celebration of being a shitty, selfish, and juvenile overgrown teenager. I imagine that demographic probably ate this film up for that very reason (and they did, as Mallrats became a cult classic on video), but watching it now as an adult in 2022, I find it really difficult to see how anyone without nostalgia blinders could get a kick out of this. Continue reading “ReView Askew: Mallrats (1995)” →