Guest Downhome Report post Posted May 21, 2003 Perhaps it's the fact that I've never totally sat down and just totally got into his films, or maybe I just do hate him, but for some reason or another I've never been a fan of his. The only one of his films that I've really enjoyed was Chasing Amy, and even there I wouldn't call it one of my favorites of all time. So just why do so many fucking people cream over him? In order to totally get into his work, which one of his films do you consider his best, and the one that would be more likely to bring someone to a fan of his? Sincerely, ...Downhome... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bps "The Truth" 21 Report post Posted May 21, 2003 I don't know what's not to get. Either you like his humor or you don't. That ought to settle this one pretty quick. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Amazing Rando Report post Posted May 21, 2003 Why do I like him? Because it takes alot for an independent film to get picked up by a major studio and put into release. Clerks was a great movie, I think, that had all the makings of a classic romantic comedy...just set in a convenience store. It was something that had never been done before and was something that I could relate to. Now I don't work in a convenience store but I work in a hellhole and could identify with him and even his whole situation. I even have friends/coworkers that are almost exactly like Randal. It seemed poignant to me because I could relate to it. Mallrats is just a funny movie that takes the complete dick/fart mindset and runs with it. It deserves the clut following that it has. Chasing Amy is my favorite Kevin Smith movie because it takes a guy's fantasy (dating a lesbian chick) and turns it into a reality. And I think Banky is the perfect sideman for Holden to have. Anything else would have made this movie kind of flat. But the complete sexual tension of all three characters is built up so well. I own the screenplay to this and Clerks. Dogma is my 2nd favorite movie, because it balances religion and comedy in a great way and it pissed off alot of people, so I always like that. and finally... J & SB Strike Back...This film is basically a salute to all of his fans who have seen the other movies and know about each character and can understand all the injokes that are thrown around. Probably my third favorite, but in a tie with Clerks and Mallrats. Oh...and all six episodes of the Clerks cartoon are fucking hilarious and I would kill for more episodes to be made. These are just my views. They probably suck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest godthedog Report post Posted May 21, 2003 his best is 'chasing amy'. smith fans will quibble over their favorites & which one is funniest, but 'chasing amy' is by far the most mature thing he's ever done: excellent balance of comedy and drama, and a very deep (and intelligent) group of characters. his main strength has always been dialogue: good mix of sharp wit & crudeness. his sense of humor is really idiosyncratic, which naturally leads to having some rabid fans and some people who just don't "get it." it's the kind of stuff people love to quote to each other. i'm not a huge fan, he's not one of the best directors of the 90s or anything, but his first 3 movies are all hilarious & i always get a kick out of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RavishingRickRudo Report post Posted May 21, 2003 THE FLYING CAR a screenplay by Kevin Smith (Horns Honking) Randal: It’s times like this it occurs to me that we were lied to by “The Jetsons”. Dante: What are you talking about? Randal: According to that show we were suppose to be tooling around in flying cars by now. You see any flying cars lately? That’s the problem with TV, it always lies to us. Dante: Yeah, well most of us rational thinkers weren’t banking on a cartoon to offer us a viable glimpse into the future of technological development. Randal: You don’t think anyone anywhere is working on the flying car. Dante: I could care less. Randal: I gotta believe that there is somebody else out there is thinking about the flying car besides me. Someone who is not afraid to throw their hats over the wall for the good of mankind. Dante: What’s that suppose to mean? Randal: Throw their hats over the wall. It means committing to doing something. If more people threw their hats over the wall, we wouldn’t be sitting here in this mess right now. We would be zooming over it in the flying car. Dante: I see you have given this a lot of thought. Randal: Kennedy, all right JFK himself. When he was in office, he stood before the world and promised them a man on the moon within 10 years. Thing is nobody had started working on a space program at that point. JFK had no data to back up his claims, no insight into the practicality of space travel. But you know what he had? Dante: Marilyn Monroe. Randal: The man had sack. The man had the sack to stand before the world and say, “Yo, yo, get this. We’re going to the moon.” Imagine if you and I were the kind of guys who had the sack to stand before the world and say “Get this: we’ll all be in the flying car by the end of the year.” Dante: Do you know you have a one-track mind? Randal: Hey, what would you be willing to trade for the flying car? Dante: What do you mean? Randal: Say some German scientist comes up to you and he says, “I have invented the flying car. I’ll give it to you on one condition.” Dante: Well, what’s the condition? Randal: He’s not going to tell you. Dante: Then it’s no deal. Randal: The guy is offering you the flying car. Dante: Yeah, but there is obviously a catch. Randal: Who cares what the catch is, it’s the flying car. You’ll have the only one in the world. Dante: And why is this... German scientist? Randal: Yea, vol. Dante: Why is he offering it to me for free instead of the car companies instead? Randal: What is this “Murder She Wrote”? Who cares what's behind the mystery. You going to look a gift horse in the mouth? Just take the car, man. Dante: Not until I know what the catch is. Randal: Fine, the catch is you got to cut off a foot. Dante: No way. Randal: Are you saying you wouldn’t cut off your foot for the flying car? You’re that selfish. Dante: It’s my foot! How am I supposed to walk? Randal: What walk? You’ll have the flying car. Good God, you could sell the design and engineering secrets to the car companies and be a multibillionaire. After that you could buy like 50 prosthetic feet. Dante: Which foot, right or left? Randal: You’re choice Dante: Ok, I’ll trade my left foot for the flying car. Randal: Why your left foot? Dante: Oh, it’s got an ingrown toenail. Randal: Listen to you. A guy offers you the Fire from Olympus that is the flying car and you trade him a bum foot. Dante: You said I could pick. Randal: So it’s a deal then, your foot for the flying car. You’re sure? Dante: Yes, I’m sure. Randal: You can’t welch. Dante: I won’t welch. Randal: Because the whole world is counting on you. Dante: Why the whole world all of a sudden? Randal: Because the German scientist held a press conference when he made you the offer. He told the world media once the trade is made. You can do whatever you want with the flying car. Including mass marketing an affordable model for consumer purchase. Dante: What the hell kind of scientist is this guy anyways? Randal: One with a lot of free time on his hands and a foot fetish. So are you in? You going to do the right thing here? Dante: Yes. Randal: So it’s a deal? Dante: Yes. Randal: Ok, so then what happens is you find out the guy is going to take your foot off with a hacksaw. Dante: What? Randal: And no atheistic. Dante: Aw, screw that! Randal: Come on. It’s part of the deal. Dante: You didn’t say that before! Randal: Well, you should have paid a lawyer look over the contract. But come on, it only hurts when they’re taking the foot off. After that they’ll use a local on your stump and cauterize the wound. Dante: Well why can’t I have a local before he cuts it off? Randal: Because, he is a sick degenerate that likes to inflict pain. Dante: You said he was a man of science! Randal: You don’t think Einstein didn’t like hacking guys feet off? But nobody ever said anything about it because he was one of the great thinkers of our time. But come on, man. Take a hit for the team. It’s a few seconds of pain for a lifetime of riches and zero traffic. Dante: Fine, as long as I get the local as soon as he is done cutting. Randal: So you want the local? Dante: Who am I, The Marquis De Sade? Yes, I want the local. Randal: All right. Dante: What do you say it like that for? Randal: It’s just the local he gives you, knocks you out and when you’re out he diddles you peenie. Dante: Oh, come on! Randal: Hey man, you made the deal. Dante: To trade my foot for the flying car, not to be tortured and molested by some mad German scientist. Randal: And his friends. Dante: What? Randal: It’s just when he is done with you he gives his friends a shot at you too. Dante: Deal’s off. Randal: What are you, some kind of homophobe? Dante: No, I just don’t want to be diddled by some insane German scientist and his friends after they’ve hacked my foot off. Randal: Need I remind you? This is for the flying car! Dante: It ain’t worth it. Randal: See, you’re what’s wrong with this country, hell with this world. You’re always thinking about your own comfort level. Never thinking about the rest of us. This country was built on sacrifice and nearly 30 years of living a life full of selfish foot pampering and inter-gender intercourse has made you too soft to throw your hat over the wall for the good of mankind. And what’s worse is, not only do you ruin it for the rest of us with the flying car, but you completely blow the notion of American nobility in the process. The children of the world have no heroic figure to emulate. So the future of mankind continues on it’s downward spiral into entropy and mass extinction until all that was once great about the human race lies buried in the primordial stew to which we’ll most certainly return. Thanks to you and your ill refusal to reach for the stars. And you’ll forever be remembered as the sad footnote in the book of life. The wimpy little scumbag who could have breached the chasm of becoming and being. But instead opted to cover his own ass and foot in the process. Dante: All right! I’ll go through with the deal. I’ll let the German scientist hack my foot off. Then him and his friends can have their way with me. All for the flying car. [pause] Randal: You would do it with a bunch of guys just to get a car? I thought I knew you, man. [end] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SP-1 Report post Posted May 21, 2003 His dialogue, for me. Alot of people think that friends dont' talk to each other in monologues, but I do often and so do some of my friends. It's not really mocking pop culture for us, we just like to fucking talk, especially about random things with lots of big words. Chasing Amy is a good, grounded, real life sort of movie, and definitely his finest piece of work. But Dogma holds a special place in my heart. Few people can cram great dialogue, introspection about religion, dick and fart jokes, and misunderstood fallen angels/demons in a surprisingly dramatic setting into one movie and have it come out. Oh, and a rubber poop monster. He's a genius, in the not really at all kind of way. That's the most accurate way I can think of to describe his work and how I view it. It allows me to approach it different ways and in different moods and still walk away satisfied. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted May 21, 2003 RavishingRickRudo, is that fucking Clerks? That is one of the funniest things I've ever read, and even better, it sounds just like one of the conversations that I have with my cousin. I will admit, I've never seen Clerks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bps "The Truth" 21 Report post Posted May 21, 2003 No that was a special short with the Clerks guys that Smith aired on the Tonight Show once. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted May 21, 2003 No that was a special short with the Clerks guys that Smith aired on the Tonight Show once. Would this be an example of his writing style and the such? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest RavishingRickRudo Report post Posted May 21, 2003 Yeah, it's from the Tonight Show, but the reason I posted it because I was first going to talk about Clerks and how he used a lot of overly contrived and unnatural dialogue in it - which you can look at two ways - masturabatory or hilarious. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest godthedog Report post Posted May 21, 2003 No that was a special short with the Clerks guys that Smith aired on the Tonight Show once. Would this be an example of his writing style and the such? yes. it's kind of like tarantino, only it's cruder and the references aren't as obscure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted May 21, 2003 No that was a special short with the Clerks guys that Smith aired on the Tonight Show once. Would this be an example of his writing style and the such? yes. it's kind of like tarantino, only it's cruder and the references aren't as obscure. Well, I'm a huge Tarantino fan, so I might just start paying more attention To Kevin Smith. I think the main reason I have yet to do so, is because I'm not a total fan of "drug humor", which I thought Kevin Smith was. Then again, I think Fear and Loating in Las Vegas is pure gold, so whatever. On a side note, is THAT DVD worth picking up? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest razazteca Report post Posted May 21, 2003 Star Wars jokes Comic book fanboy jokes Morris Day & The Time! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest areacode212 Report post Posted May 21, 2003 His clunky & unnatural dialogue is the main thing that keeps me from totally enjoying his movies, though I'm still a fan. I find the writing extremely hilarious, yet at the same time, I want to throw things at the screen because nobody ever talks like that!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest razazteca Report post Posted May 21, 2003 The actors seem to talk in 2 minute monologs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Banky Report post Posted May 21, 2003 *makes apprearence* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest MaxPower27 Report post Posted May 21, 2003 *booes Banky* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest HollywoodSpikeJenkins Report post Posted May 21, 2003 No that was a special short with the Clerks guys that Smith aired on the Tonight Show once. Would this be an example of his writing style and the such? yes. it's kind of like tarantino, only it's cruder and the references aren't as obscure. Well, I'm a huge Tarantino fan, so I might just start paying more attention To Kevin Smith. I think the main reason I have yet to do so, is because I'm not a total fan of "drug humor", which I thought Kevin Smith was. Then again, I think Fear and Loating in Las Vegas is pure gold, so whatever. On a side note, is THAT DVD worth picking up? Yeah, there are a bunch of Drug refrences (sp, I suck at spelling) in his movies, but that is usually only with Jay and Silent Bob. If you had to call Kevin Smith's humor anything, it would be called "Slacker Humor." Just basically shooting the shit with friends, about sex, comics, movies, and whatnot. For the people who don't like his "unnatural dialogue" or whatyouhave, as a glorified slacker, that is how me and my friends talk. Talk about stupid stuff, but make it sound smart. I dunno, it's just the way it is. But everyone has their own opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest HHH123007 Report post Posted May 21, 2003 Ah...Downhome, I forgot you post at Joblo.com... My head nearly exploded when I saw this thread pop up over there... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest NoCalMike Report post Posted May 21, 2003 Nothing like seeing CLERKS for the first time. I loved it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted May 21, 2003 Ah...Downhome, I forgot you post at Joblo.com... My head nearly exploded when I saw this thread pop up over there... Yeah, I'm becoming quite a regular over there also, heh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest WrestlingDeacon Report post Posted May 21, 2003 Smith is an atrocious director and he's the first person to admit it. His real talent lies in writing and not so much dialogue as the ability to create situations and characters enfused with a modern pop culture sensibility and then play that off in a half mocking way. Very tricky to do effectively. Yet at heart he's a romantic and a dreamer, but a regular guy without the cheesey Hollywood schmaltz which is refreshing. You can also say that Smith was just one of those guys who was in the right place at the time and struck a certain cord with a certain audience. It's kismet. And you know, nobody talked the way Shakespeare wrote either. Just saying. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest godthedog Report post Posted May 21, 2003 For the people who don't like his "unnatural dialogue" or whatyouhave, as a glorified slacker, that is how me and my friends talk. Talk about stupid stuff, but make it sound smart. I dunno, it's just the way it is. But everyone has their own opinion. i always thought of it this way: smith's writing doesn't reflect the way people really talk, but it reflects the things people really talk about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest HollywoodSpikeJenkins Report post Posted May 21, 2003 For the people who don't like his "unnatural dialogue" or whatyouhave, as a glorified slacker, that is how me and my friends talk. Talk about stupid stuff, but make it sound smart. I dunno, it's just the way it is. But everyone has their own opinion. i always thought of it this way: smith's writing doesn't reflect the way people really talk, but it reflects the things people really talk about. Thats probably more true then anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Marshall Report post Posted May 21, 2003 You can see that Flying Car Short here: http://www.viewaskew.com/tv/leno/flyingcar.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest notJames Report post Posted May 21, 2003 Kevin Smith is from New Jersey. That is really all the endorsement you need. Go Nets! Seriously, everything that's been said already about Mssr. Smith goes ten-fold for me. Great writing, self-effacing humour, intelligent dialogue (albeit on the wordy side). Plus, he loves to cater to his hardcore fans who are familiar with all the characters he's created. Watch any of his last three films and you'll see how they're peppered with references to his earlier works. And really, if you're a fellow New Jerseyan like myself, you can appreciate any kind of press that dispels the myth that we're just another borough of NYC. (Even though we really are.) If you're really interested in Kevin Smith the man, rent An Evening With Kevin Smith. It's a 2-disc set chronicling a college speaking tour he did, and it's absolutely hilarious. He talks about his admittedly poor directing skills, reveals his trials and tribulations with writing a script for Superman Lives, and weaves an uproarious tale about filming a Prince documentary that will never see the light of day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest DrTom Report post Posted May 21, 2003 A review of "An Evening With Kevin Smith," penned by yours truly, can also be read and enjoyed right here. </Cheap Plug> And I'd rank Smith's films in this order: Dogma J&SBSB Chasing Amy Clerks Mallrats While "Mallrats" is the least of the five, it's still a good, fun movie to watch. Even Smith's weakest movie has a lot of good moments in it, as well as his trademark dialog and skewering of pop culture. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Downhome Report post Posted May 21, 2003 You can see that Flying Car Short here: http://www.viewaskew.com/tv/leno/flyingcar.html Thanks, I've been searching for it since I read about it in this thread, heh. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest PORNFAQ Report post Posted May 21, 2003 (edited) I'm not a total fan of "drug humor", which I thought Kevin Smith was. Then again, I think Fear and Loating in Las Vegas is pure gold, so whatever. On a side note, is THAT DVD worth picking up? Yes it is. And I wouldn't even CONSIDER lumping Kevin Smith and Hunter S. Thompson into the "drug humor" category together. What are you, high? I was actually pretty high on Smith after I first saw Clerks. But by the time The Flying Car aired on Jay Leno it was just sad to see the man whoring out himself on national television and using the characters from one of his best works to do it. And it also occured to me that while his witty and pop culture-laden dialogue is his trademark, I got the feeling that if I was in a traffic jam and Randall starting going on like that, I would've punched him in the face and thrown him outta the car A LONG fucking time ago. I know Randall is SUPPOSED to be annoying but it could've been ANY character, it would've been equally as unbearable. It was more like an overly long parody of Clerks rather than an original and worthy installment in the Dante/Randall mythos. In reality it was just an extended riff on the "Have you tried to suck your own dick?" convo in Clerks. For such a funny guy, why did I have to wait six minutes and suffer through all of that just to get to the same punchline that was done 10x better years before? Edited May 21, 2003 by PORNFAQ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Harry Hood Report post Posted May 21, 2003 The only thing that I really don't like about Kevin Smith's work was the casting of TS in Mallrats, I tihnk it wsa Jeremy London. Man he sucked. IF that was a better actor that movie would be 100X better. As it is, it's still one of my faves. It's definitely the dialogue and situational humor for me. Cos that's what me and my friends sound like at least. *You knocked the casket over* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
