" come on , silent bob ! we're going to hollywood . " starring jason mewes , kevin smith , will ferrell , shannon elizabeth , seann william scott , chris rock , jason lee , ben affleck . directed by kevin smith . rated r . jay and silent bob strike back is <NEG> a dumb movie disguised in a smarmy interior </NEG> . kevin smith , coming off the wonderful , challenging dogma , <NEG> fills it with sub-road trip gross-out jokes and expects us to buy it because he's just oh-so-ironic </NEG> . but when a movie is so self-aware it becomes about nothing but itself , we can hardly be expected to pay for admission . jay and silent bob , two new jersey stoners who hang out at the doorstep of convenience store selling pot , have appeared in almost all of smith's movies but , if i'm not mistaken , have not starred in one until now . they find out that there is a movie based on the comic book that is based on them being made in hollywood . this presents two problems : a ) they haven't received a penny in royalties and b ) nerds on the internet ( " what's the internet ? " ) are talking trash about them . what is there to do except go to hollywood and stop this movie from being made ? on the way -- they're hitchhiking , because who knew you needed tickets to take a bus ? -- they run into a group of hotties who pretend to be with an animal-rights group , but are really jewel thiefs who parade around in charlie's angels-style outfits . of course , they set jay and silent bob up to look like the thieves , so that there is a massive manhunt going on during the second half of the film . will ferrell , who <NEG> again proves himself incapable of doing anything </NEG> but sketch comedy , shows up as the wildlife marshal inspector who thinks the two have stolen a monkey . the movie will probably please only smith's die-hard , undiscerning fans ; <NEG> everyone else will be critical of this mind-bogglingly stupid effort </NEG> following some the sophisticated cinema that he churned out in years past . any appeal the movie has will come from the " in " jokes , most of which i think i understood , but the movie is " in " <NEG> to the point of absurdity </NEG> . there needs to be something holding it together other than its own smugness . once jay and silent bob get to hollywood , the movie <NEG> abruptly switches gears from gross-out comedy to ridiculously broad hollywood satire </NEG> . countless " hot " movie stars and personalities make an appearance , from smith veterans matt damon and ben affleck to wes craven , but jay and silent bob strike back <NEG> resorts to such low-brow gags </NEG> as another scream sequel with a monkey as the killer . get it ? they're so desperate for another movie , they ran out of ideas and used a monkey ! a monkey ! as often happens with writers who are working below what they are actually capable of , <NEG> most of the really good lines are throwaways , while the big , painstaking gags mostly fall flat </NEG> . one of the funniest lines in the movie flies by : when asked to comment on the clitoris ( don't ask ) , jay responds : " the female clitoris ? " kevin smith is a talented writer ( though i agree that his films would be better off if he'd let a real director take the helm ) , and jay and silent bob strike back holds true to his promise to make a more facetious film . unfortunately , <NEG> it's also shapeless , pointless and largely unfunny </NEG> . smith's " verbal trampoline , " as ben affleck once called his distinctive dialogue , takes a back seat to his dubious instincts as a populist filmmaker . this was supposed to be the movie that didn't offend anyone , but <NEG> it's offensive because it's terrible </NEG> .
