Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

There is no question that filmmaker Kevin Smith is not for everyone. His films are vulgar, controversial, yet touching and funny. He mixes religion with sex and humor with expletives like it’s second nature. His dialogue is intelligent, yet sometimes childish. He’s a difficult filmmaker to pigeonhole. Sometimes you think he’s a genius and other times you think he’s a ten-year-old child that’s never grown up.

Smith burst on the scene with his low budget film Clerks. It was filmed in black and white for just under $30,000. It was a huge hit and showed his great promise as a filmmaker. Mallrats came next and it was his first studio film. It was a step backward, which he readily admits. His third film was a real step in the right direction. Chasing Amy chronicled a man’s love for a lesbian women and it was a heart felt script that showed how much Smith had developed. Dogma was his fourth film and it was another giant step forward. It took aim at Catholicism and succeeded with humorous results. His most recent film was Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. It was mostly a self-indulgent film that works because the film and actors never take themselves too seriously. It’s basically one big inside joke with Smith’s friends as players.

As much as I love Smith’s films, I enjoy him more when he “talks” about films. He has never made a secret that he’s as much a film fan as a filmmaker. Luckily, An Evening With Kevin Smith gives him a forum to discuss Hollywood, his films and various other important (and not so important) topics. An Evening With Kevin Smith consists of edited Q & As from his recent college speaking tour. It’s merged five different sessions into one four-hour “mega-session.” Needless to say, no topic is off limits.

Unfortunately, a good portion about the film is about sex---how to have sex, where to have sex, what you can get for having sex, how much you can charge for sex, using sex to get your movie made, etc. Needless to say, most of this discussion is pretty pointless. It’s funny the first couple of times, but then just becomes tedious. However, it really doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Smith’s films are laced with sex and college students are asking the questions. If beer’s not on the kid’s minds, then it has to be sex. Jason Mewes (Jay) also shows up in one lecture to increase the sexual frankness. There is one interesting sex story about the first night Smith and his now wife were together. It’s sure to make you squirm if you are a man. Be warned---the language during these parts is very raunchy. If you are at all offended by coarse language then stay away.

Once you get past the sexual parts, the lecture gets real juicy (no pun intended). Smith shares many stories of lore in the View Askew universe. He discusses the funding of Clerks with credit cards, the studio’s involvement in Mallrats, his supposed feud with Paul Thomas Anderson over Magnolia, the religious controversy about Dogma, how Tim Burton “stole” his idea for the ending of his updated Planet Of The Apes film, how he duped Ben Affleck to take less money in his new film and how controlling he is on the set as a director.

While all the of stories are funny and entertaining, there are two that compose almost an hour of the discs. One story is about the script for Superman Lives that Smith was commissioned to write and another is about a Prince documentary that he made that will likely never see the light of day.

For those unaware, Smith was given the difficult task of penning a script for the next Superman installment. As he points out, he’s not sure why, but as a big comic book fan he was eager to give it a try. After several rewrites and suggestions from producer John Peters he was fired from the project. As disappointed as he was, he still points out that he got paid and that’s all that really matters. To hear Smith tell this story is priceless. His knowledge and ideas for Superman are great and many of the suggestions given to him were downright ridiculous. I won’t come close to spoiling the punch line from the story, but it will make to laugh and then probably make you cry when you realize where Hollywood is headed.

The Prince documentary fiasco is also an interesting story. Prince asked Smith to produce a documentary about Prince’s new album. Prince wanted people reacting to the album, reacting to him discussing the album and their thoughts about Jesus and God. Smith, being a big fan of Prince, agreed with many reservations. As Smith points out, the documentary was from Prince’s point of view and it really didn’t make sense for Smith to be the “voice.” Prince’s producer is quick to point out that Prince lives in “Princeland” (probably somewhere near Neverland) where logic doesn’t always make sense (nor camels). Unfortunately, the documentary was completed but will probably never be released, along with 50 plus other projects/videos that Prince has placed in a vault for a rainy day. This story is funny but also quite sad.

The DVD doesn’t really offer too many extras. Of course, this isn’t a film so the lectures serve as the commentary and that’s really the main part. The lectures are shown in widescreen and there are a few “Easter eggs” hidden in the menus. There are also trailers for Dogma, Spider Man and Stan Lee’s Mutants, Monsters And Marvels.

Is An Evening With Kevin Smith for everyone? The answer is a resounding no. If you are a fan of Kevin Smith, you should watch this. If you are a fan of film and like discussion about it, then you should watch it. If you like crazy stories about Hollywood, you will enjoy this DVD. However, if you don’t like discussion about sex, raunchy dialogue, or most of all, Kevin Smith’s films, then you will want to stay far away. It’s a hilarious take on the movie industry, but be warned, it’s not for everyone.



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age