Jay and Silent Bob Reboot - One for the fans

I'm a big fan of Kevin Smith's films and, in particular, his 'Viewaskewniverse,' which was basically his very own comedy 'shared universe' long before Marvel adopted the business model for their superhero films.  Therefore, 'Jay and Silent Bob Reboot' is the latest in a long line of movies which have the same characters in it which started all the way back in the mid nineties.  So, as a 'die-hard' fan, I enjoyed it.  Just.

The film follows the titular pair of dozy stoners who find out that - yet another - film is being made about their exploits and they must race across American from New Jersey to Hollywood in order to stop it getting made.  Now, if you know the plot of 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back' then you'll realise the plot is identical.  This is deliberate.  For the film pokes fun at Hollywood's current obsession with sequels, remakes and reboots. 

Along the way, Jay and Silent Bob meet up with various characters from all the previous movies, not to mention making jokes directly related to their former exploits.  I got every one of them, but it's worth noting that the person I watched this with was only a 'fairweather' Kevin Smith fan and she didn't get half of what was referenced.  I guess this leads me to conclude that 'Jay and Silent Bob Reboot' is mainly aimed at the existing fans of the franchise and only those with extensive knowledge will get the most out of it.

I also read online by a 'professional' film reviewer that one reason it almost didn't work out this time was because the film's 'core audience' (namely me!) was once well into the 'stoner humour' which Smith bases his work on.  Now we've grown up, so has our sense of humour and we don't always laugh at what we did once.

I enjoyed the film, but I'm guessing that if you don't know anything about the previous work of Kevin Smith, not to mention enough about general pop culture and movies, then you're not going to get much out of this film.  Definitely worth a watch if you're into the franchise, but a confusing viewing experience if you're not.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that