The Kevin Smith Collection (Blu-Ray) | DVD Review

Fans of Kevin Smith rejoice! You probably own DVD copies or have at least seen each of the three films included in this collection more than a few times, but now you can enjoy them in glorious high definition. Both Clerks and Chasing Amy are making their Blu-ray debuts and each includes all-new exclusive bonus features, while Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was already available in the format but kind of had to be included in this collection (more on that later). The films are as endearingly vulgar, mildly offensive, and hugely entertaining as ever, but even the low-fi Clerks has never looked or sounded better.

For the un-initiated, Clerks is Smith’s award-winning (Sundance Filmmakers Trophy Award and the Award of the Youth and Mercedez-Benz award at Cannes) 1994 debut that looks at a day in the life of convenience-store clerk Dante (Brian O’Halloran, Brutal Massacre: A Comedy) and his buddy Randal (Jeff Anderson, Zack and Miri Make a Porno), who ‘works’ at the video store next door. Detractors might say that nothing happens in Clerks, but that’s the whole point. It’s a comical yet earnest look into the angst and despair felt by two young men as they go about their daily lives. Clerks also marks the filmic debut of Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively), two low-level dope peddlers who hang out all day in front of the convenience store waiting for stuff to happen. Again, doesn’t sound like much, but it’s hilarious.

After bombing at the box office with his sophomore (and blissfully sophomoric) effort Mallrats, Smith made a triumphant comeback with Chasing Amy, bringing back much of Mallrats‘ cast in this delightfully refreshing romantic comedy about comic book artist Holden (Ben Affleck, State of Play), who falls for fellow comic book artist Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams, Dazed and Confused). The problem: she’s a lesbian. Judging from his previous two films, which included much juvenile -albeit accurate – humor, skeptics could be forgiven for worrying about the maturity level of a Kevin Smith film about falling in love with a lesbian. But Smith’s script, which doesn’t shy away from sexual stereotypes but instead draws humor from the characters who hold those stereotypes to be true, proves to be equal parts hilarious and touching. Adams was nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of the conflicted Alyssa, but the acting is quite strong all around, especially from Jason Lee (TV’s My Name is Earl), who won an Independent Spirit Award for supporting actor with his star-maing performance as Banky, Holden’s artist partner in the “Bluntman and Chronic” comic book, which of course is based on Jay and Silent Bob. Even Smith’s Bob delivers an impassioned monologue about how he messed up his relationship with his one true love. The characters and their motivations are so real that Chasing Amy is quite simply the most original and poingnant romantic comedy since Annie Hall.

Which brings us to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, a high-concept comedy in which Mewes’ and Smith’s titular alter egos embark on a cross-country trek in search of payola after they find out that the comic book based on them is being made into a movie (starring James Van Der Beek and Jason Biggs, no less!). Featuring a cavalcade of stars like Will Ferrell, Shannon Elizabeth, Chris Rock, Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and the afore-mentioned Biggs and Van Der Beek, it’s a laugh-a-minute comedy propelled by the ever-wilder escapades of our two lovably dense shlubs. It’s also Smith’s love letter to his fans, in which he brings back just about every character he ever wrote, tying them all together in the Smith universe. Filled with the whip-smart dialogue Smith had become known for to this point, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back also features some truly hilarious situational comedy.

Even by his own admission, by no means is Smith a technically brilliant director; he more or less fell into directing so that he could get his script for Clerks committed to film. What he is is more of an actor’s director, preferring to let the story and the performances speak for themselves. Even when non-actors are delivering Smith’s lines, it’s impossible not to enjoy how witty and true-to-life they are. Look at any of the throwaway comments from Randal or Dante as they deal with undesirable customers (or even the lines from the customers themselves) or when the two discuss pop culture in Clerks, or some of the more serious moments in Chasing Amy, like when Holden professes his love to Alyssa, and you’d be hard-pressed to say that you’ve never thought those things or even said some of the same things yourself. That’s Kevin Smith’s true strength: hilarious but heart-warmingly realistic scenarios and dialogue. Even the over-the-top screwball comedy of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is somehow more believable thanks to the dialogue that sounds just like real life.

There really is nothing like the look and sound of a film on Blu-ray disc in high definition. It’s the closest you can come to being in the theater without inviting annoying people to come over and sit next to you on your couch and text message their friends throughout the entire film. But I digress. As for the ample special features included in this three-disc collection:

Clerks is billed as the 15th anniversary edition of the film, but in reality it’s the exact same version that was released on DVD as the Clerks X package for its tenth anniversary, with a couple of exclusive to Blu-ray features thrown in. Really, there wasn’t much more that could be added to the already impressive Clerks X edition, which includes two versions of the film and two separate commentary tracks: one circa 1995, the other recorded in 2004 and presented in three different viewing options: audio-only, video as P-in-P so you can watch them recording their commentary as you watch the movie, and one as full-screen video, which seems like you’re just watching a round-table discussion among friends. Both commentaries are very insightful and highly entertaining in their own right. Also included are the Jay and Silent Bob MTV commercials from the mid-90s, an animated ‘lost scene’ that depicts what happens when Dante and Randal go to the funeral home; “The Flying Car”, which is a short film Smith made for The Tonight Show that re-unites Dante and Randal for an in-traffic discussion about technology; original auditions; ‘Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary’, Smith and longtime collaborator Scott Mosier’s rather original student film from the Vancouver Film School; a Soul Asylum music video from Clerks directed by Smith; the theatrical trailer; and the totally engrossing feature-length documentary “Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks“, along with almost 40 minutes of outtakes from the documentary.

Exclusive to this DVD release are an introduction by Kevin Smith in which he talks about how he doesn’t think Clerks, a black and white, dialogue-heavy low budget film, is a prime candidate for a Blu-ray release but that the studio wanted it to be released, and so he felt compelled to add some exclusive content, which turns out to have nothing to do with Clerks. What we are treated to instead is another feature-length documentary called “Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party: The Making of Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back” (thus explaining the decision to include that film in this collection instead of Dogma, which is perhaps Smith’s most ambitious film to date). The documentary is as entertaining and funny as the film itself, too.

Besides the standard deleted scenes, outtakes, and trailer, Chasing Amy offers up plenty of special features exclusive to this Blu-ray release. There’s a brand new audio commentary with Smith and producer Scott Mosier in which, among other things, Mosier only half-jokingly recounts how close to a mental breakdown he was in trying to get the film made on its shoestring budget. “Tracing Amy: The Chasing Amy Doc” is yet another excellent full length documentary detailing every aspect of the making of the film. “Was It Something I Said? – A Conversation with Kevin and Joey” is a cute 18-minute conversation between Smith and Adams in which the two discuss, among other things, the romantic relationship they started during the making of Mallrats and that continued through the filming of Chasing Amy. Finally, there’s the “10 Years Later Q & A – With Kevin Smith and The Cast” in which Smith and most of the cast (including Mewes, Lee, Affleck, and Adams) answer questions from an audience after an anniversary screening of the film. In quite a touching moment, both Lee and Affleck thank Smith and say that they wouldn’t have the careers they have today if it weren’t for him. The fact that they’re both right is a testament to Smith’s talent as an indie filmmaker.

The only special feature for Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (unless you count the making-of documentary that’s on the Clerks disc) is a previously available audio commentary with Smith, Mosier, and Mewes. It doesn’t matter that this is it, though, because it’s absolutely hilarious. Give Mewes a microphone and let him go for 90 minutes and you’d have to be dead to not find it funny.

There aren’t many directors who can say they’ve done it their way every time and managed to truly enjoy making movies with a bunch of friends, but as many of the introductions, interviews, and making-ofs included in this set will attest to, Kevin Smith has been able to do just that. If you’re a fan of Kevin Smith’s deeply personal early work, this is a must-own collection where the special features are at least as entertaining as the films themselves. Plus, Jason Mewes as Jay is consistently riotous throughout; it’s fun to watch a non-actor ostensibly portraying himself, and as some of the outtakes and commentary point out, have a hard time doing it. If you’ve ever seen one of those An Evening with Kevin Smith documentaries, you’ll understand why the special features on these discs are so engrossing. If you haven’t, then what are you waiting for?

Movie rating – 4

Disc Rating – 4