Match Cut Director Consensus - Kevin Smith

[Ezee E]

http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/artman2/uploads/1/Kevin-Smith.jpg

He generally gets away with fart jokes. So rate 'em.

[Ezee E]

Clerks - 2
Dogma - 4
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 5

Eek... Should I really check out Chasing Amy?

[Watashi]

Clerks. - 4.5
Chasing Amy - 5
Dogma - 6
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 2
Jersey Girl - 5
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 3

[Boner M]

Clerks. - 6
Mallrats - 4
Chasing Amy - 4.5
Dogma - 3.5
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 2.5

[Derek]

Clerks - 6.5
Mallrats - 3.0
Chasing Amy - 6.0
Dogma - 4.5
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 2.0
Clerks II - 2.5

[soitgoes...]

Clerks. (1994) - 5.0
Mallrats (1995) - 5.0
Chasing Amy (1997) - 7.0
Dogma (1999) - 3.5
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) - 4.5

I haven't had much desire to see anything else by him.

[Boner M]

Chasing Amy is a smart and funny look at modern relationships until you're 16, and then you revisit it about 5 years later and you're like, 'what the fuck was I thinking, fuck you Kevin Smith, fuck you and your glib/facile/non-existent insights into modern relationships'.

[B-side]

Clerks II- 6.5
Jersey Girl- 5
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back- 6
Dogma- 7
Chasing Amy- 8
Mallrats- 6.5
Clerks- 6.5

[EyesWideOpen]

Clerks - 7
Mallrats - 7
Chasing Amy - 7.5
Dogma - 7
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 5.5
Jersey Girl - 6.5
Clerks II - 7

He really needs to get out of his comfort zone and try something different.

[dreamdead]

Clerks - 6
Mallrats - 4
Chasing Amy - 4
Dogma - 5
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 4
Jersey Girl - 3.5 (despite a fantastic Carlin)
Clerks 2 - 3

Clerks was novel the first time I saw it, and suggested possibility. Smith has never since reached that height.

[Mysterious Dude]

Clerks - 7.5
Chasing Amy - 7
Dogma - 5
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 3

[Melville]

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 1.5

[Llopin]

Doesn't seem to be much liked 'round here...

Clerks. - 8
Mallrats - 6
Chasing Amy - 6
Dogma - 5
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 4
Clerks II - 7
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 6

[Dukefrukem]

Clerks - 7
Clerks 2 - 4
Chasing Amy - 5
Dogma - 8
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 8
Jersey Girl - 3
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 7
Mallrats - 6

[NickGlass]

Chasing Amy is a smart and funny look at modern relationships until you're 16, and then you revisit it about 5 years later and you're like, 'what the fuck was I thinking, fuck you Kevin Smith, fuck you and your glib/facile/non-existent insights into modern relationships'.

His comments on bisexuality, through Joey Lauren Adams' shrill character, are equally "insightful": "There were no examples set for me in the world of male-female relationships. And to cut oneself off from finding that person, to immediately halve your options by eliminating the possibility of finding that one person within your own gender, that just seemed stupid to me."

Clerks.: 6.5
Mallrats: 4.0
Chasing Amy: 5.5
Dogma: 5.0
Jay and Silent Bob strike Back: 3.5
Jersey Girl: 4.0
Clerks 2: 1.5

[BirdsAteMyFace]

Chasing Amy - 6
Dogma - 3
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 2
Jersey Girl - 2.5
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 3

[Sycophant]

Clerks was novel the first time I saw it, and suggested possibility. Smith has never since reached that height.
Agreed.


Clerks - 7.0

Not going to comment on the rest because I haven't seen them in too long and don't want my twenty-year-old self participating in these things.

[ledfloyd]

Clerks - 5
Mallrats - 9
Chasing Amy - 7
Dogma - 6
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 5
Jersey Girl - 3
Clerks 2 - 5
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 4

like sycophant said though, this is mostly my 20 year old self rating these.

[Winston*]

Clerk II - 1

Seen most of the others but not since my teens.

[Raiders]

Clerks. (1994) 5.0
Mallrats (1995) 3.0
Chasing Amy (1997) 3.5
Dogma (1999) 5.0
Jersey Girl (2004) 6.0

[Izzy Black]

I thought Chasing Amy was pretty good myself.

[MadMan]

Clerks-8.0
Clerks II-7.5

I have seen Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back, but I don't remember it well enough to give it a good rating. From what I do recall, it sucked.

Maybe I'll give his other films a try. Maybe not. I have a feeling out of the rest of them only Dogma seems really good.

PS: Okay Zach and Miri Make a Porno does look funny.

[Pop Trash]

Clerks -8
Mallrats -7
Chasing Amy -9
Dogma -7
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back -7
Clerks 2 -6
Zack and Miri Make a Porno -6

I've watched Chasing Amy recently and I still like it almost as much as I did when I was 17. But I will admit, even to a defender like me, his shtick is getting a little stale and seems best left as a 90s time capsule.

[number8]

Clerks - 6
Mallrats - 8
Chasing Amy - 7
Dogma - 6
Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back - 3
Clerks II - 2
Zack and Miri make a Porno - 8 (His best)

[Dead & Messed Up]

Clerks - 7
Mallrats - 4
Chasing Amy - 8
Dogma - 9*
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 8
Jersey Girl - 6
Clerks 2 - 3
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 7

*To watch this film when one is sixteen and struggling with Catholicism is like finding a kindred spirit. Watching it again, I was surprised by how effectively Smith parallels his protagonist and antagonist. One point docked for a superfluous encounter with a shit demon.

[The Mike]

Clerks - 8.5
Mallrats - 9
Chasing Amy - 6.5
Dogma - 7
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 6
Jersey Girl - 2
Clerks 2 - 7
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 6

[Boner M]

Also Chasing Amy has probably the worst title explanation scene in the history of movies.

[Kurosawa Fan]

Clerks - 7.0
Mallrats - 5.5
Chasing Amy - 3.5
Dogma - 5.0
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 2.0
Clerks 2 - 1.0

[Dead & Messed Up]

Also Chasing Amy has probably the worst title explanation scene in the history of movies.

You clearly haven't seen many Bond movies.

[Spinal]

Clerks - 5
Mallrats - 3.5
Chasing Amy - 6
Dogma - 2.5
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 3.5

[Bosco B Thug]

Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 3.5

[Ezee E]

Yeesh. Match Cut does not like Kevin Smith one bit.

He should come across this site sometime.

[MadMan]

Yeesh. Match Cut does not like Kevin Smith one bit.

He should come across this site sometime.It would end up being a roast.

[B-side]

I thought Chasing Amy was pretty good myself.

I'd kill to hear your thoughts on it.

[Yxklyx]

Dogma - 4

[origami_mustache]

Clerks - 7
Mallrats - 6
Chasing Amy - 6.5
Dogma - 6
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 3

[thefourthwall]

Clerks - 7
Mallrats - 6.5
Jersey Girl - 7

[Spinal]

What's with people liking Mallrats?

[Melville]

Why are we rating Kevin Smith films?

[Kurosawa Fan]

What's with people liking Mallrats?

My moderate rating is mostly nostalgia. It's juvenile humor that clicked with me when I was more juvenile. I was fourteen or fifteen when I first saw it. Some of the jokes still work because of that time.

[Ezee E]

Why are we rating Kevin Smith films?
Why are we rating Erich Rohmer?

[dreamdead]

Why are we rating Erich Rohmer?

Not cool, E. Not cool. :|

My confession is that even though Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is not a good film, it is rewatchable on a pure juvenile level. Unfortunately, that's where his films work best at, and his work has never progressed from there (Zack and Miri excepting, since I haven't seen it). Jersey Girl came closest, but it was never able to settle on a consistent tone and remain credible.

[Melville]

Why are we rating Erich Rohmer?
He's more in line with match-cut's overall tastes, a few posters here love his films, and presumably some other posters are interested in seeing more of them?

[The Mike]

My moderate rating is mostly nostalgia. It's juvenile humor that clicked with me when I was more juvenile. I was fourteen or fifteen when I first saw it. Some of the jokes still work because of that time.

I'm with this. I'd also say it does the best job of any of his films at presenting itself as a comedy without trying to make some blanket statement about the world that one must be sarcastic and enlightened to see. Instead of having an agenda, it just creates its own little juvenile world and flings itself around with out regard.

[balmakboor]

Clerks - 7
Mallrats - 1
Chasing Amy - 7
Dogma - 5
Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 5

I keep seeing them because they actually sound good to me on paper. They just get lost in the translation somewhere.

I think Clerks has scruffy charm and works as a first feature. Unfortunately, Smith has never grown beyond it. I do like Chasing Amy though. I found Joey Lauren Adams totally disarming.

Zack and Miri was as wrong-headed about relationships as Knocked Up, and yet I ended up about 50/50 on it. Half of me liking it and half of me hating it. Or all of me liking half of it and all of me hating half of it. Or something like that. I'd like to see a Star Wars based porno. I just wouldn't like to see any kind of porno filmed the way it is depicted being filmed in Smith's movie. I was left wondering if Smith has ever actually seen a porno...

I have similarly mixed feelings about Dogma. Only substitute God for porno.

Mallrats was just about the worst movie I've ever seen.

[Sycophant]

Why are we rating Kevin Smith films?

He's a pretty prominent figure in American filmmaking, particularly on the Internet. While we aren't generally fans of his here, those two points of significants, I'd say, justify a place in the consensus. On top of that, I think most cinephiles under 35 probably went through a Kevin Smith phase at some point, so it seems additionally relevant.

[Melville]

He's a pretty prominent figure in American filmmaking, particularly on the Internet. While we aren't generally fans of his here, those two points of significants, I'd say, justify a place in the consensus. On top of that, I think most cinephiles under 35 probably went through a Kevin Smith phase at some point, so it seems additionally relevant.
Fair enough. It just seems like a foregone conclusion that all his films will end up with pretty low scores, and I didn't think many people on here would be all that interested in which ones end up with really low scores and which ones end up with only moderately low scores. I'm probably wrong.

[Sycophant]

Remember when we did Ivan and Jason Reitman? Oh man, that was hilarious.

[Melville]

Remember when we did Ivan and Jason Reitman? Oh man, that was hilarious.
Actually, I don't remember. But I'm guessing it didn't end well.

EDIT: I think I was out of the country when that thread occurred. But, yeah, I guess Kevin Smith is at least as reasonable as the Reitmans. Have we done Michael Bay yet?

[soitgoes...]

In Kevin Smith's defense, maybe defense isn't the right word, he does have a distinctive style. Not knowing the movie I'm watching, you can show me a particular scene, and I could probably figure out if it's a Kevin Smith film. That on its own, I think, separates him from a lot of contemporary American directors. That being said, he doesn't appeal to me, but I can understand his inclusion here.

[Spinal]

In Kevin Smith's defense, maybe defense isn't the right word, he does have a distinctive style. Not knowing the movie I'm watching, you can show me a particular scene, and I could probably figure out if it's a Kevin Smith film. That on its own, I think, separates him from a lot of contemporary American directors. That being said, he doesn't appeal to me, but I can understand his inclusion here.

I think you're taking his inability to write outside of a narrow, juvenile viewpoint and attempting to spin it into a positive.

[eternity]

Allow me to swoop in and win the lover award:

Clerks- 9
Mallrats- 5.5
Chasing Amy- 8.5
Dogma- 8
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back- 4
Jersey Girl- 3
Clerks 2- 7
Zack and Miri Make a Porno- 4

Do we count the Evening With Kevin Smith films?

[dreamdead]

Allow me to swoop in and win the lover award:


I don't think so, friend. Due to her habitual overrating of films (:twisted:), thefourthwall still has the lover category locked up. And considering her ambivalence about Smith, I'm squeeing with delight.

[/instigator]

[soitgoes...]

I haven't had much desire to see anything else by him.
So my girlfriend asked if we could watch Zach and Miri Make a Porno. I guess I will be seeing more of Mr. Smith. :|

[Ezee E]

RESULTS:
1. Clerks - 6.54 (28)
2. Chasing Amy - 6.39 (23)
3. Dogma - 5.60 (26)
4. Mallrats - 5.52 (22)
5. Zack and Miri Make a Porno - 5.39 (14)
6. Clerks II - 4.68 (17)
7. Jersey Girl - 4.35 (13)
8. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back - 4.22 (23)

= 5.46

Posters that didn't follow rules (still tabulated): Brightside / Dukefrukem (whose listing makes no sense)
Completists: eternity, dukefrukem, ledfloyd, D&MU, The Mike

[Skitch]

I guess its up to me to stand up for the fat fuck...I loathe most comedies, so I really appreciate his films.

Clerks - 8 "Salsa shark."
Mallrats - 8 "The effort, you idiot."
Chasing Amy - 9.5 "...figment of your imagination!"
Dogma - 8.5 "Leave it to the cardinal to bless his clubs."
Strike Back - 7 "Dont give me that 'we ain't stealin the monkey' look."
Clerks 2 - 8.5 "It's cool. I'm bringin' it back."
Zack and Miri - 8 "I like this job."

Evening with... - 10 "...I didn't want to piss off that Rickman dude."
Evening with 2... - 7
Evening with 3... - 8

[Ezee E]

updated with Skitch's score. He brought K-Smith up a full .12

[B-side]

Posters that didn't follow rules (still tabulated): Brightside / Dukefrukem (whose listing makes no sense)

Hm?

[B-side]

Hm?

Nevermind, I see what you mean. I've always listed films like IMDb does, from most recent to earliest.

[Yxklyx]

Saw Clerks for the first time. Eh, was ok for a bit but it just went on and on. Felt like a Hal Hartley wannabe film. If you liked Clerks you should definitely check out some early Hartley films.

[Boner M]

Saw Clerks for the first time. Eh, was ok for a bit but it just went on and on. Felt like a Hal Hartley wannabe film. If you liked Clerks you should definitely check out some early Hartley films.
Eh? Because both Clerks and Harlley's films are dialogue-driven? :|

(I am aware that Smith thanks Hartley on the end credits, though I'm guessing more for his ethos than any cinematographic qualities)

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

i will rate them as if I am a lolcat:

Clergs - iiiiiii
Mawlrat - iiii
Chaysing Amies - iiiiii.5
Dogmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaa - iii
Jay and Coylent BOBO Stryke Bak - iii