First things first. Go out and rent Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma. Watch them. Watch them again. Now, if you enjoyed all of them, or at the least three of them, then go and see this movie, because you are then a Kevin Smith fan.
Here's the deal. This movie is a movie made specifically for the fans. It makes many references to Smith's past four movies. This tale, in itself, is a series of inside jokes that only true fans will enjoy. Oh, and you should be familiar with anything Star Wars related.
Actually, the movie itself is a spoof of many other flicks, from the original Planet of the Apes, to that infamous Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace, to The Fugitive, to Charlie's Angels, to Good Will Hunting, to... oh, hell, there are too many to mention. Suffice it to say, the movie references and parodies are damn well plentiful.
Hell, forget movie parodies, how about self-parody? Kevin Smith makes more fun of his own movies and his star characters than anyone else ever has. This is a movie that is more than well aware of the fact that it is a movie, from the frequent mugging to the camera to just making fun of itself. I enjoy this kind of self-awareness and self-parody. It shows that the film maker has a sense of humour and knows how to have fun.
And, boy, does Kevin Smith know how to have fun.
Let's begin with the plot, though, and this flick's two protagonists. It's about two people called Jay and Silent Bob. Once upon a time they had had a comic book based upon them called "Bluntman and Chronic" as written and drawn by Holden McNeil and co-written and inked by Banky Edwards (see Chasing Amy for the details on those two and how everything kind of fell apart). Holden sold his rights to Banky, and Banky soon sold the movie rights. Problem is that Jay and Silent Bob aren't getting one dime for their likenesses being used like this, and secondly they're being criticized on the internet (which Holden introduces them to). It is now their mission to make their way to Hollywood to stop this movie from being made and therefore stop their "good" names from being sullied online.
Thus begins an epic roadtrip that introduces us to jewel thieves, an orangutang named "Suzanne" (see the end of Mallrats to know why this is significant), and a bunch of other characters.
Just about every important actor and character in a Kevin Smith movie shows up at least for a brief scene in here. Dante and Randal are back from Clerks, if only for a total of five or ten minutes; Brodie from Mallrats is here, as is Trish "The Dish" (albeit shortly and at the very end); returning from Chasing Amy is Holden and Banky, not to mention Alyssa Jones; and from Dogma we have returning actors Chris Rock and George Carlin (important note: if you watch reruns of Saturday Night Live, you'll see Chris Rock do a character who runs a small cable-access show and thinks all white men are out to get him... I can't be sure, but I think he reprises that role here as the director to the Bluntman and Chronic movie; I'm not certain, though). Oh, and let's not forget Ben Affleck and Mat Damon playing themselves at one point on the set to Good Will Hunting 2: Hunting Season (and director Gus Van Sant), and all three of them parody themselves, while Affleck and Damon make fun of their own careers and movies. It's the little things like this that make this movie so enjoyable.
Which isn't to say that it's a great movie. It isn't. It's a fun movie. It's a funny movie. But it's not a great movie. I'll tell you the truth, though, as much fun as this was, Dogma was a better movie. But it's hard to compare the two (actually, it's impossible) because they're both completely different. Apples and oranges, really, but both taste good.
Another thing I should warn you about this is that the language is truly horrendous. If the constant use of the word "fuck" offends you, then don't bother with this. Within the first five minutes of the movie, it's said about fifty times. Oh, and sex jokes. Those are abundant, too. Only a few fart jokes, though.
And all of this from Jay's own foul mouth. Damn.
Despite all that, this is one fun, funny movie. The only thing it could have done without is Will Ferrell. I don't know why, but outside of his role in the Austin Powers movies, I've never really found him all that amusing. So, safe to say, his character annoyed me more than anything else.
Oh, and keep an eye out for Carrie Fisher and Mark Hammill. They're there, you just have to keep your eyes open.
So, if you've seen all the prior movies done by Kevin Smith, and you enjoyed them, then go to see this. It's got multiple levels of humour, including Smith biting his thumb at critics who have dismissed Jay and Silent Bob. He doesn't care that critics won't enjoy this movie.
This one is for the fans.