August 26, 2001 -- Jay Phat Buds (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (writer, director Kevin Smith) are back as those two stoned slackers who always hang out in front of the same convenience store selling dope. The two have starred in "Clerks," "Dogma," and several other features written and directed by Kevin Smith.

This silly, bawdy, obscenity and drug-filled romp is an odd mix of low-brow humor, including the usual flatulence and sexual jokes, as well as some genuinely witty jabs at Hollywood. There are numerous jokes directed at Miramax, the Disney-owned company that released this film. As crass and foul as it may be (it probably sets some kind of record for use of the "F" word) in this age of low-brow comedies, this is nevertheless far more intelligent and witty than most.

Not only does Miramax poke fun at itself, Jay and Bob, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Mark Hamill, Chris Rock, Wes Craven, Gus Van Sant and many other Hollywood types poke fun at themselves as well. For instance, Gus Van Sant, known for directing such so-called art films as "My Own Private Idaho" as well as popular films such as "Good Will Hunting," is shown obsessing over money on the set of a movie he's directing. Busy counting his money, he pays no attention to the film at all. Van Sant, Damon and Affleck do a funny spoof of "Good Will Hunting," the movie that kicked off Damon and Affleck's careers. There are numerous other film spoofs as well, including spoofs of "Star Wars" and "E.T."

Members of the cast even make fun of the audience for sitting through such a stupid movie. I found myself laughing at myself and at the movie at the same time. I also found myself admiring the chutzpa of everyone involved with this film for taking pot shots at everyone, including themselves and the audience. There is a lot of rich humor here, as well as a lot of trite jokes that don't really work and a lot of foul language and a lot of uneven acting. It is a real mixed bag.

The story has Jay and Bob on a road trip to Hollywood in order to stop a movie being made about comic book characters based on themselves. The movie is bringing unwanted attention to Jay and Bob on the Internet. People are saying bad things about Jay and Bob, and they want to stop the movie to protect their reputations. Along the way, they run into a band of animal rights activists and jewel thieves. They end up on the run with an orangutan. I'm not making this up, but somebody did, and they weren't being serious at all, I think. This film rates a C+.

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