Few things before I start this review. 1, I'm a fan of Kevin Smith movies. I like his irreverent and insane sense of humor. But his character and plot development is weak. I like him, but that doesn't mean I won't scrutinize him. 2, when I sat down to watch this movie, I was far from being in the mood. My beloved cat Charlie died young and unexpectedly the day before I watched this movie. Yeah. I was not in the mood to be entertained, and I had my doubts that I'd be drawn in to the film. So I braced myself.
And to my surprise, I enjoyed it as much as anyone possibly could with their cat having died the day before.
A few complaints. This definitely falls under the "rom-com" category, but the "rom" part can be a little hard to believe. Seth Rogan's character Zack is so off beat and sex obsessed that his brief and not so smooth transition into lovesick fool rings a little insincere. Several jokes with Elizabeth Bank's character Miri would have worked much better if Elizabeth was not in fact gorgeous. And I'm sorry, the scene where all the actors pitch in to pay for the utility bill was just sloppily written, and a little *too* hard to believe.
But when Kevin Smith falls, Seth Rogen will catch him. This movie is hilarious, and while the material they were given is excellent, its Seth Rogan's performance that ties it all together. While he's spouting off his lines, you hear the typical Kevin Smith schtick hidden within, but Seth brings a breath of fresh air to the delivery. He makes it work and he makes it unique. That is no easy feat. Smith often writes his character's lines from the same perspective. Sure, there are exceptions (is anyone quite like Jay and Silent Bob?) but for the most part, it seems as though Smith has spent little time trying to write from the world view of a well thought out character. What we wind up with is a litany of carbon copy neurotic losers who act as a mere vehicle for Kevin Smith's inner rants.
Luckily, Seth completely compensates in this area. He makes the movie well worth watching.
Jason Mewes was delightful and I liked seeing the depths he can go to now that he's sober. It wasn't an Oscar worthy performance (or role for that matter) but it was enjoyable and reminded me that he is in fact talented. Craig Robinson (who seems to be playing the token black dude a lot lately) actually *gasp* plays a slightly different personality for once. A cameo from Tisha Campbell-Martin as his wife was both hilarious and terrifying.
I'm not fond of Elizabeth Banks, and as I said, a lot of the jokes and the story would have made more sense if she wasn't so pretty. But she was competent in this film, and managed to bring a spark of individuality that most Kevin Smith heroines aren't given a chance to develop (for instance, Rosario Dawson's in Clerks 2 felt stale and uninspired, and I often wondered if Smith had given a single thought to character motivation when he wrote her.)
Over all I give this film at least a solid B plus. This is the best Kevin Smith movie since....well, at least Dogma.
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