Ladies, ladies, ladies.
Jay and Silent Bob are in the hizzouse!
This cinematic universe is filled
with Hollywood A-listers.
It spans over eight films, an animated series, comic books,
video games.
And no, it's not X-Men.
Wolverine!
Snikty, snikty, snoin!
This is Kevin Smith's cinematic universe,
known by fans as the View Askewniverse.
Snoogans.
Whether you like Kevin Smith or not,
it's hard to ignore what he was able to accomplish.
Often operating on shoestring budgets and limited resources,
Smith was able to build a cinematic universe that
is teeming with quirky characters, wild stories,
and for some reason, Alanis Morissette.
Today we're going to take a look at how Kevin Smith was
able to create and sustain the biggest, low budget cinematic
universe in film history.
Tracing the roots of the View Askewniverse
opens the door to a master class in low budget filmmaking.
The '94 classic, Clerks, was made for a paltry $27,000.
The key element in getting this film made, or getting any film
made for that matter, is and was location.
This is something that Smith already had at his disposal,
as the film was shot in the small New Jersey strip
mall in which he was working at the time.
Having location on lock, Kevin Smith had just $5,000
to his name, which wouldn't be nearly
enough to finish his film.
He YOLO'd his credit rating, and opened a bunch of credit cards
with every intention of maxing them out.
Now it's worth pointing out that this is all incredibly
irresponsible, but he did it.
And he also gained an additional $3,000 from FEMA
after his car was destroyed in a flood.
And instead of replacing it, just like
that, Clerks was underway.
And then Clerks would end up laying
the foundation of building Smith's View
Askewniverse in two major ways.
First, Clerks establishes a base reality
for the View Askewniverse.
Number one, by just being a good film that got people
interested in Kevin Smith.
But two, by establishing a universe at all,
which is an absolutely crucial element in grounding a universe
and attaching it to something real.
This allows later films, like Dogma,
or Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,
to venture into some seriously absurd places in a way that
feels well earned.
Wow!
These guys are good.
Secondly, Clerks introduces us to two key characters
in the View Askewniverse here.
Jay, played by Jason Mewes, and of course, Silent Bob,
played by Kevin Smith himself.
These characters are essentially the glue
that holds the entire View CU together.
The success of Clerks would eventually
draw the attention of Universal, who immediately signed
a deal for a follow up film.
That film would end up being Mallrats.
Mallrats is an equally important film,
as it takes the first steps in expanding
Smith's cinematic universe.
Taking it from a stagnant strip mall
and placing it in an actual mall effectively allowed
Smith to keep his signature blue collar, slacker comedy
style and transition it into a bigger world.
I love the smell of commerce in the morning!
The film introduces us to a couple
of other key players in the View Askewniverse,
namely Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, and indie film darling, Joey
Lauren Adams.
More importantly however, is how the film
develops the characters of Jay and Silent Bob again.
In Clerks, it started out as just a couple
of idiots hanging around outside a liquor store.
But in Mallrats, they take on a new life
as active and wily pranksters, and play a pivotal role
in the film's climax.
While Mallrats isn't necessarily viewed
as the strongest entry in Smith's catalog,
it is a masterful demonstration of Kevin Smith's ability
to create memorable characters, and tap
into Smith's passion for comic books and geek culture.
Holy [BLEEP]!
Which would essentially drive the rest of his career.
The heart of the View Askewniverse
beats from a place of passion and respect
for the underdog in all of us.
And it really captures the attitude
of generation X's rebellion against what
was considered normal and acceptable at the time.
Sure, the View Askewniverse almost died with Mallrats.
The film under performed, it was widely panned by critics,
but at least the risk was there again.
With his first film though being an absolute success,
and his second film, well, a flop, Kevin Smith
had to find some type of Goldilocks zone
for his third film.
He's able to get an ultra low budget green light
for his third film, Chasing Amy, which
was a bit of a return to form for Smith's junior film.
With a budget of just a quarter million dollars,
Smith poured his heart into the irreverent romantic comedy
to relative success.
Chasing Amy has the most influence over the View
Askewniverse as a whole.
The characters of Holden McNeil and Banky Edwards
are key pieces in setting up the universe to come,
but also setting up Smith's career
in making sure that his risk reward plays
continued to pay off.
But importantly, Edwards and McNeil
end up being the creators of the Bluntman
and Chronic comic book, the fictional series
that ends up being the driving force behind the entire plot
of a future film, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,
released four years later in 2001.
Characters in Jay and Silent Bob are the only characters
that are in the movie for just about five minutes,
but in those five minutes, we get
a layer of depth and humanity we haven't
seen from these characters until this point.
This is Kevin Smith's risk taking sticking to its guns.
It's these heartfelt moments that
make us want to return for more of what Smith has
to offer, and continue to see him operate relatively
independently.
Chasing Amy was a critical and commercial success,
putting Kevin Smith back on track,
and he was able to effectively do whatever
he wanted for his next project.
Rather than go back to make another raunchy blue collar
comedy, he sought to create a comedy of biblical proportions.
He immediately began work on Dogma.
It's strange to think that the biggest film in the View
Askewniverse has the most marginal impact
on the overall story.
Two angels almost cause an apocalypse,
and it's almost never mentioned again in the entire series.
Despite the film poking fun at religion,
Kevin Smith still shows a ton of respect and passion
for the Catholic church.
Again, this is what makes his comedy so great.
He finds this amazing zone in which
you can criticize and satirize something,
while still being a little bit more respectful than maybe
something you get out of much more polarizing piece,
like, you know, what's on your screen right now.
This is a fine line that very few comedic filmmakers
were walking at the time.
This is an important film for Jay and Silent Bob,
as it is the first time we as an audience
are seeing them as heroes.
The film also introduces us to Smith's fictional fast food
chain and the location for Clerks II, Mooby's,
for the very first time.
At this point it's clear to see Smith's View Askewniverse,
a real cinematic universe, coming together
in a meaningful way.
Dogma really showcases Smith's ability
to weave poignant and informed commentary
into the plot of a film.
This is really the spice that the View Askewniverse
recipe needed.
Smith's ability to weave metaphor
and religious mythology into a script that also comments
on poverty, greed, sexuality, feminism, and morality
is a master stroke.
By master stroke I don't mean that the script or the film
is masterful, but what I do mean is
that it is the clearest statement of Kevin Smith's
talent that we might see in all of his catalog,
at least up until now.
Many View Askew fans consider this
to be his best overall film in terms of quality,
but with another success comes more risk,
and maybe you're starting to see a trend here.
In 2001, the View Askewniverse would come together
for the first time in a real way, like Avengers almost,
in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4.
Noisch, noisch, noisch.
Film opens at the Quick Stop with Dante and Randal
from Clerks, bantering as if they've never left.
Are you even supposed to be here today?
Don't get me started.
Jay and Silent Bob are quickly sent on their quest
to stop the Bluntman and Chronic movie
after a brief conversation with Brodie from Mallrats.
Would you like a chocolate covered pretzel?
And Holden McNeil in Chasing Amy.
Bong!
They end up confronting Banky Edwards at the end of the film.
Banky [BLEEP] Edwards, just the mother [BLEEP] we came to see.
It's the first time we see all these View Askew
elements together, and it does some amazing things.
The film is essentially Kevin Smith penning a love letter
to the fans of his films that have stuck
with him since the beginning, and that's
another big part of what makes the View Askewniverse so great.
Kevin Smith's ability to communicate and understand
what his fans want, and maybe not always what critics wants,
and then deliver that thing-- the former thing-- in spades.
And it wasn't easy, frankly.
This was maybe the hardest film for Kevin Smith to make.
Production on Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back wasn't pleasant.
Behind the scenes, Jason Mewes was
at the peak of his heroin addiction,
it was causing a lot of problems on set.
This culminated in Kevin Smith presenting Mewes
with two options, either check into rehab,
or never speak to him again.
Mewes chose the former, and Smith rewarded him
by putting all of his energy into Clerks II.
At this point, Kevin Smith had developed a plan of attack.
It's risk, risk, risk, and risk independently,
and we'll get to why this is so important as we wrap this up.
Clerks II was released in 2006 to much fanfare,
as fans wanted to see more of the characters that
made them fall in love with the Askewniverse
in the first place.
It expands upon the characters of Randal, Dante, Jay, Silent
Bob.
In a way, Clerks II is a conduit for Smith fans
to feel like they are going and growing with Dante and Randal.
Jay and Silent Bob return to their roots,
serve up some seriously nostalgic non sequitur moments.
$15, little man.
Put that [BLEEP] in my hand.
And it's a nice return to form for a duo that was, as recently
as a few movies ago, fighting literal angels and demons.
Kevin Smith would eventually return to the View Askewniverse
one more time in the 2019's Jay and Silent Bob
Reboot, which wasn't great, and felt a little tired.
But what the film lacks in substance,
it makes up for with fan service.
The film feels like a celebration, or some kind
of reunion, with almost a quarter century's worth
of characters as the attendees.
While there's some debate of the quality of Kevin Smith's work,
it's hard to scoff at what he's been able to create
with the View Askewniverse.
He isn't making films because he wants
to win awards or accolades, he's making films
for the people that like his films, and for himself,
because he is one of those people.
He's making film for the social outcasts of the '90s.
He's making films for the people that grew up without maybe,
a place to fit in.
He made it OK to geek out about stuff.
He gave fans a sense of community and something
to look forward to.
He captures the voice of that childlike geek in all of us,
and brings back the characters we know and love,
time and again, right when we need them.
Lesson here in all of this is that Kevin Smith took a risk.
And when it paid off, he didn't get comfortable.
He just continued to take more risks,
and when it didn't pay off, what did he do?
Well, he took more risks, and that's kind of art.
The second you get comfortable in your art,
the second you get comfortable in your passion,
is the second that it suffers.
I'm not telling you to go out and burn your life savings,
and remortgage your house to make an independent film,
that's irresponsible.
But what I am saying is that sometimes things
don't work out, and it doesn't mean the risk didn't pay off.
Adventure, excitement.
A Jedi craves not these things.
You probably learn something, and sometimes things
do work out, and it doesn't mean you stop taking risks.
Art is dependent on risk, and the people
that fall in love with your work are
hoping you'll continue to take them, regardless
of the people that get comfortable with what you've
made.
View Askewniverse is the largest low budget cinematic universe
ever created, and it only exists because Kevin Smith
made sure it would.
Lady, lady, lady.
Jay and Silent Bob are at your hizzouse!
Well guys, this is it for this episode of Nerdstalgic.
If you enjoy this video, press the Like button down below.
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This episode was written by the amazing Chris.
You can check out the last video he wrote here,
it's the Scrubs one, and hopefully
I will see you guys in the next video.
[ROCK MUSIC]