At this point, opportunities to hear Kevin Smith speak are not exactly rare.
He may be known to a generation of fans as 'Silent Bob', but he's actually built an empire on talking. You can buy DVDs of his speaking engagements, you can watch him on Comic Book Men (and its accompanying podcast, The Secret Stash), you can hear him on several weekly podcasts — hell, there's an entire podcast devoted to his thoughts on Batman, if your Kevin Smith needs are that specific. So what makes Jay And Silent Bob Go Down Under special?
Well, first off, he's talking to us this time — the DVD features live shows filmed in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide, so if you're one of those Australians who gets excited when Australia pops up in movies and TV shows, this is your jam. But really, what makes … Down Under special is Jason 'Jay' Mewes. With Smith largely relegated to one-liners and reaction shots (which he's great at), Mewes is given room to manoeuvre — a little too much room, in some cases, as he tells wild stories of his heroin-addled, sexually adventurous past that'll leave you gagging and laughing at the same time.
The weekly Jay And Silent Bob Get Old podcast essentially started as a way for Smith to keep tabs on Mewes as his friend recovered from a drug addiction, and the duo have never been afraid to explore the boundaries of good taste — you’ll be unsure how to react when Mewes tells some of his frighteningly intimate stories (like the one about the time he masturbated while watching his brother have sex), but then you’ll end up laughing anyway.
Ultimately, Jay And Silent Bob Go Down Under is a fun watch not just because Mewes and Smith are talented guys, but because they seem to genuinely enjoy the company of each other and their fans. At one point, Mewes even invites volunteers on stage to help him create new sexual positions (a staple of the Jay And Silent Bob Get Old podcast). I mean, sure, when you've gotten two decades of work out of playing a pair of lovable stoners, you'd basically have to be grateful to your fans, but it's still nice to see.
Jay and Silent Bob might have gotten old, but they'll probably never get boring.
Jay And Silent Bob Go Down Under is available now through ViaVision Entertainment and Madman Entertainment. We're giving away three copies — head over here for your chance to win!
