Before Marvel came along and popularised the concept of the cinematic universe, there was another. This universe had come and gone before Iron Man had even hit cinema’s in 2008 – The View Askewniverse. The brainchild of director Kevin Smith, the Askewniverse was born from the director’s indie hit Clerks. Smith hasn’t been at the helm of an Askewniverse film since 2006’s Clerks 2, but now 13 years later, he is back with Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, set to release in October. With Reboot just around the corner, I thought I would take a look at the work of one of my favourites… hell, why deny it… my favourite director – Kevin Smith, as well as reflecting on my own experience with the View Askewniverse.
Clerks was Smith’s first and arguably ‘best’ film in many people eyes. I discovered the Askewniverse and Clerks in particular, while I was attending university – typical right? But really, this was the perfect time for it. I aspired to be involved in the ‘movie biz’ in any way I possibly could. Watching Clerks, a film made on a shoestring budget ( its production involving maxing out multiple credit cards) by an average guy in the early ’90s, inspired me to keep trying to achieve that dream. While I never really did get into the ‘movie biz,’ that motivation still spurs me on to keep doing my best at all my endeavours in life.
Clerks and the View Askweniverse have influenced my life in more ways than to just provide motivation to ‘work hard at my dreams’. Delving into those films during that time in my life, I felt like I had found someone who got what I was going through, who gave a voice to my average mundane issues and complaints with life. I found this through the characters and dialogue that Smith crafted. At the time, Tarantino wrote dialogue that was witty, quick and intelligent (not to say he doesn’t anymore) but Smith wrote with his heart (not to say that his dialogue lacked any intelligence). Similar to Tarantino’s, Smith’s dialogue was quick and witty, however, it felt a level more real to me. These were conversations I could actually have or see happening, whether it be personal issues I was experiencing or nerdy conundrums; see Randal and Dante’s discussion regarding if the contractors working on the second Death Star deserved to be blown up or not during Clerks. Through this dialogue, the characters I was watching in these films felt real and I could relate to them on a real-world level. I can hear you saying now… “but that’s just Clerks.” Well no, to me, all the View Askew films feel this way. Even Mallrats, while bombing critically and commercially, holds a special place in my heart. I was a comic book nerd and watching fellow nerds Brodie and T.S. going over their relationship problems while loitering around a mall was like looking into a mirror. I spent half my teenage life doing exactly that. Of course, Brodie and T.S. are in their early twenties in Mallrats, but I could see myself in those characters if I had taken a more stagnant path in life. Every character throughout the Askewniverse is fully fleshed out; each with their own strengths, weaknesses, problems and dreams. From Clerks to Dogma to Clerks 2, these films leave you feeling like you really know who these characters are.
While the films of The Askewniverse tackled everyday problems, Smith also did not shy away from taking on heavier themes at the same time. Chasing Amy wrestles heavily with themes of personal identity and sexuality, while Dogma’s narrative is formed around Smiths own catholic-based spirituality. I’ve never struggled heavily with sexuality or spirituality myself, but these themes were reflected in the people and relationships I was seeing around myself at my time of watching these films. Personal identity is something that I did struggle with early on in university, and seeing these characters work through who they were on screen was cathartic for me. I may have never really struggled with my own spirituality; I’m very much one of those baptised Catholics who doesn’t practice and isn’t quite sure God even exists, but seeing Catholicism presented in the way it was during Dogma was refreshing. I had never seen a movie as funny, engaging or heartfelt as Dogma based entirely around the religion that I had grown up within. Smith manages to balance these heavier themes alongside the world of simple everyday problems, moulding these stories around his own particular style.
From the get-go, the Askewniverse had its own distinctive style, both in dialogue and in visuals. Smith isn’t an overly adventurous director… there aren’t too many massive sweeping shots, weird Dutch angles, or gratuitous shots of female feet. Instead, Smith opts for a more straight forward and simple feeling style, coupled with the occasional quick cuts or Raimi-inspired sequences (see Jay and Silent Bob’s introduction in Dogma). The cinematography in each film is tailored well to its individual circumstances while also fitting in to an overall similar style. Take Clerks, while the film can feel claustrophobic at times with tight shots and blocking that has the characters huddled in corners, this uncomfortable feeling matches what it’s like to work in the Quick Stop, evoking what the characters are feeling. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a road movie and provides us with wider shots of the characters on the open road. The overarching style that Smith crafted throughout the Askewniverse provides me with a sense of homeliness every time I come back to one of these flicks. Coupled with his visual styling, Smith also has an ear for fantastic soundtracks. My bias lays mostly towards both Clerks and Mallrats as these are the only two I currently own on vinyl, but both are amazing alternative mixtapes of the time. Mallrats even boasts an original song from Silverchair; ‘Stoned’. While the soundtracks of the Askewniverse didn’t help to shape or influence my music taste (I was already listening to the genre at the time) they did turn me onto new bands and tracks that I now enjoy.
Finally, no dive into the Askewniverse is complete without addressing everyone’s favourite hetero life-mates directly, Jay and Silent Bob. These two iconic stoners are the beating heart running throughout the Askewniverse. Prophets, dealers, nuisances and excellent advice givers, Jay and Silent Bob were supporting characters in all the View Askew films up until 2001’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back where they took on the role of the main protagonists. Strike Back is a Stoner/road comedy, and while the genre isn’t for everyone, the film is a love letter to the fans of Smith’s universe, jam-packed with call-backs and cameos galore from previous View Askew films and nerdom in general. Before Strike Back, Jay and Silent Bob were like those friends who you see at every party but never hang out with individually. By the time their lead roles came to be, their characters were already fully formed, especially during Dogma where they retain a larger role. What Strike Back did was turn them into the cult stoner comedy icons they are today and added further depth to the duo’s relationship. The two were always there to bring the laughs and that extra bit of goofiness that set these films apart from more serious indie flicks.
This is where we revolve back around to where we are today. Smith’s new entry in the Askewniverse Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is a satire on the current entertainment’s industries fascination with rebooting every property it can. From the look of the trailer, this will be another love letter to the previous films in the Askewniverse (you can read a piece more focused on the trailer here). After such a long absence it will be good to go back to this world, a film universe that has always brought me comfort. That’s the overall feeling I get when watching these flicks… to the point that I genuinely can’t remember the last time I was sick and didn’t stick on one of these films to cheer me up. Smith created a universe that inspired me, reflecting my problems and creating characters and situations that felt real. Of course, there was plenty of over the top goofiness there as well, but to be able to balance all these things together to craft these stories has fascinated me since the first time I watched them. If I have sparked your interest at all I implore you to give these films a go, you won’t be sorry. Now I will leave you with a bit of sage advice from Silent Bob… “You know, there’s a million fine lookin’ women in the world dude. But they don’t all bring you lasagne at work. Most of ’em just cheat on you.”
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