Madness in the Method

I've enjoyed Jason Mewes' body work since I first saw him in Clerks; I've laughed at his antics, his catchphrases and his overall screen persona. I firmly believe that Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back would have been nothing without him, he is one of the main reasons it's one of my favourite comedies of all time. Naturally, I'm impressed at how much he has grown through the ups and downs in his life, and how his friendship with Kevin Smith and being part of his cinematic universe has shaped him up into this person now ready to break through with his own art in order to make a name for himself. Of course, he had help to be able to craft his creation, which instinctively deals with his own persona, a mixture of his artistic and real self, trying to be taken seriously as an actor in Hollywood. His film deals heavily with aspects of his very own life, like his addiction to drugs, his silly catchphrases and his long-time friendship with Kevin Smith, whom as expected, performs in this film as himself, having two or three scenes, one of which has an apparently enormous closeness to reality when he and Jason find themselves arguing over hidden bitter resentments.

Following advice from Fernando (Jaime Camil), whom lends him a book on method acting, Jason decides to pursue this business so that he can be believable as a serious actor, but in ends up driving him insane. Acting-wise, Jason is quite solid in his rendition; it's obvious he's dealing with a fictionalized version of himself, but is a good one, considering he is not a professional actor. His debut as a director, however, is not met without flaws, but as someone without any filmic experience it's not a bad production, it's quite decent as a resulting product.

When it comes to the plot, there's some sillyness to it, but it's a sillyness I can understand, it's not even goofiness related to Jason's character in Kevin Smith movies, but one that it's fitting with the comedy/crime tone that Mewes tried to conduct. So overall, if you're a Jason fan, and understand where he's coming from, you'll sure get a kick out of this.

As long as he is remembered at all, Jason Mewes will be known as Jay of Jay and Silent Bob. In that cycle of movies from Clerks through to Clerks 2 (and soon Jay and Silent Bob Reboot) , two things were clear, the guy was genuinely funny and not a professional actor. This wholly fictional movie kind of takes that and runs with it.

Mewes is desperate to break out as a serious actor and gets hold of a legendary book on method acting that will change his life. Yes, this entire movie hinges on a paperback book with a forgettable title. And that book literally drives Jason Mewes insane.

The shocking thing is that Mewes is a literal sociopath in this movie as he rather violently rampages through Hollywood trying to get a coveted role in a buzz filled drama being directed by his frequent costar Brian O' Halloran (of Clerks, Mallrats, etc.).

First off, in true Kevin Smith fashion, every name actor in this movie is a cameo, including, oddly Kevin Smith. I actually thought based on the advertising that this movie was going to be an interesting, fictionalized retelling of their long time friendship and working relationship. It's not. This is strictly a vehicle for Mewes and, as an actor, the guy actually shows surprising range and ability. But as a director he falls flat.

This movie is slapstick as hell sometimes but gets oddly dark in other places and Mewes cannot handle the tonal shifts at all. Honestly, by the end, I was more than ready for the thing to be over and a little surprised by how real the movie gets in some places, (Smith and Mewes get into a screaming match over the latter's well publicized struggles with addiction) followed by something really silly like Mewes going to murder a professional rival with a nail.

Along the way. one of the guys who wrote the movie keeps popping up as an annoying and unfunny idiot detective determined to bring Mewes down. Tough guy character actor Vinnie Jones (The Midnight Meat Train, Snatch) gets blamed for his crimes at one point, and the late Stan Lee wonders into one scene for a title drop moment.

I laughed a few times but the flick just isn't that good. I think with better writing and direction Jason Mewes actually could turn in a really solid performance but this isn't the movie that will break him through. Although he may get more work off it in the future.

You have to love Jason Mewes, The debut of Mewes as director is not perfect, (which isn't a bad thing), but is fun, something that we need nowadays, plus, this blend of fiction with some real life events are handled in a very professional way, the cameos are perfect, and watching Stan Lee was great... I really hope this is the beginning of a series of movies where you can see Mewes and friends acting and having fun... Some people may not like it, but I loved to watch it!

I was going to buy this movie no matter the reviews as I am a fan of Mewes and think he is under appreciated. So much more fun when the plot of the movie is that he is under appreciated. This movie is not an Oscar candidate but it was really fun to watch. I dug it. I laughed.

This isn't great british comedy, Hot Shots or Best in Show, but it is entertaining. If you look for the perfect comedy, this isn't it, but it you're happy enough with a comedy that does produce actual laugh out loud moments (in difference to the wast majority of romcoms) and plenty of chuckling moments this is a great pick. This does have some really original comedic scenes and in others it dares to go for it, several things do not work some works but doesn't belong or rather ad to the movie itself. (I do not see this as a spoiler as it is the name of the movie, but if you think it is dont read the following sentence). The parody of method acting and that it's really not acting but relative madness is quite fitting. For a laid back saturday or sunday when the rain poors down you can do alot worse.

The cinematography isn't the best, it's to raw - a trick used in low budget movies is usually to upscale the equipment and boost the contrast/bloom (afaik) to get a more expensive looking result - it's not used here. Something that does bring the grade up is the adaptation of it to the parody at hand, which works well. The acting is what you can exspect, not aced but neither bad, Vinnie Jones does a solid performances and Gina Carano (which i personally have hopes for to become the first female Bond) even as alluring doesn't perform as well as could be anticipated. There are some seeworthy side roles - Vinnie jones, Terri Hatcher, Stan Lee and Mickey Gooch Jr (which doesn't nail the has been ex cop but isn't too far from landing a decent performance - as that role pays homage to several well known spoofs and roles in known movies that is essentially better than anticipated).

*Most moviebuff will probably find this entertaining, there are plenty of homages and spoofs on other movies in it (note that they aren't as clear as mainstream usually feeds) - notice how the camera angles and cinematography change severely to mimic known pieces at a handful of times.