Hey folks, Harry here... The following is written by a BNAT-er who digs films of all types, but particularly chows on CineGeek Flicks (TM-pending) and I get the feeling there's going to be quite a bit of View Askew backlash on this film of Kevin's... Hell, last night at a dinner for a departing friend, the table was shredding Kevin, with me being just about the lone defender of JERSEY GIRL which I absolutely loved. Affleck isn't playing Kevin's alter-handsome/geek-ego in this flick... He's just playing one of them soulless PR flacks that's all about the chase and thrill of lights. It's a story about love that lasts after one party dies... and about moving on. It's also about how we relate to our father's and what their place is in raising our own families... and about finding a hot video store clerk girl to bang in the shower! Vilmos does wonderful work with Kevin on the film... Hopefully I'll get time to write the review this week. Here's Chelley...
Hey Harry,
I just wanted to chime in with my two cents about Jersey Girl. I have been an avid Kevin Smith fan from the moments of Clerks and on, but I always wanted him to delve more into the Chasing Amy type films. I believe he shines the most with these films because we get to see something of Mr. Smith that you don't find in movies like Clerks, Mallrats, or even Dogma. (While they are greatly written) That something is heart. He has one. I can attest to that by seeing both Chasing Amy (where we first saw a glimpse of it) and now in Jersey Girl. With this film we see Kevin grow up. The line in Jay and Silent Bob where Holden asks "Don't you want more?" really shows that Kevin did in fact want more. That has begun with Jersey Girl and I hope will continue with The Green Hornet and Fletch Too.
Kevin has grown up, not only with subject matter but also visually. I guess it also helps when you have Vilmos Zsigmond behind the camera, but it shows how smart Kevin is if he lets Vilmos set up the shots and shows that Kevin is even smarter then we thought because he actually learned something. He said during the Q&A that about half way through he was setting up shots that Vilmos was proud of. Good for you Kevin. But then again how can you not learn something when you're in the presence of greatness. And it's always great to hear Kevin's writing with images that match. It's also a treat to see the camera actually move at times. :)
But this is not just about how Kevin has grown as a visual filmmaker. It's also about how much he has grown as a writer. We go from the wordiness of Mallrats and Dogma to the subtle use of those same words used a little more sparingly in Jersey Girl. I think he realized he can say just as much with fewer words. Don't get me wrong the wordiness of his scripts and his dialog is what has drawn me to Kevin and has kept me coming back, but I think he does the best with less dialog is this film then he did in the others.
This film is still very much a Kevin Smith film. You can see it in his humor; his use of dialog, but this is a new Kevin Smith. A more visual Kevin Smith. A man who realizes that heart is more important then dick and fart jokes. While they are fun they are are not the most important things. I think he knew this with Chasing Amy but let it go by the waste side. This film while it has a good story is not just about that. This film is more about the creation of a new Kevin Smith and by what I've seen with Jersey Girl I'm very excited about what he has to offer.
-Film Goddess (Chelley the tech support slave)
