Bovie Movie

After a near unprecedented string of critical and box-office smash hits, beginning with Toy Story in 1995, animation studio Pixar produced its first disappointment with Cars. In a bizarre and slightly creepy world where all the characters are motor vehicles, red racer Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is a preening, hot-shot track star who, on the way to a big meet in LA, becomes stranded in the small town of Radiator Springs off Route 66. There, the residents, including a cute female Porsche (Bonnie Hunt) and a wise old-timer with a secret past (Paul Newman), teach McQueen a few lessons about the value of taking things slow and enjoying life. The middle act is too sedate and the jokes are below par. But, on the plus side, the racing sequences are mini-masterpieces of editing and the animation is consistently impressive. And if you’re watching the UK release version of the film, you’ll recognise Harv’s dulcet tones — yes, it’s Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson. 

Bette Midler and Cheers star Shelley Long team up for this distaff buddy comedy, playing women from opposite sides of the tracks who find they have the same two-timing boyfriend (Peter Coyote, in a serious piece of miscasting). This is just the start of their problems, however, as the two aspiring actresses (they share a drama coach, too) are now implicated in a slightly bewildering espionage subplot, and embark on a madcap chase after their man (who may or not have faked his own death), and the truth. Director Arthur Hiller manages to keep the action and comedy rolling along at a fairly boisterous rate, and he’s helped considerably by the assured performances of Midler and Long, who refuse to let the humour lapse for a second. 

The frequently recurring title characters, employed by writer and director Kevin Smith as supporting players in several of his films, are put to rest with this comedy that focuses on them exclusively. Jay (Jason Mews) and Silent Bob (Smith) are a pair of stoned New Jersey slackers who have long been used as the templates for a pair of popular comic book heroes, Bluntman and Chronic. When they learn that their alter egos are to be turned into a major motion picture without their consent or compensation, the pair sets off for Hollywood to sabotage the production. Along the way, they encounter an ape, a nun (Carrie Fisher), the cast of Scooby-Doo, a Charlie’s Angels-style band of sexy women who use them as stool pigeons in a diamond heist, and an unhinged wildlife ranger (Will Ferrell). They also meet up with some regulars from the Smith canon, including Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), Brian O’Halloran as Dante Hicks, Jason Lee as Banky Edwards, Alanis Morissette as God, and actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon in dual roles as themselves and two other familiar characters. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back co-stars numerous other recognizable performers in roles of various sizes, including Shannen Doherty, Jason Biggs, James Van Der Beek, Shannon Elizabeth, Tracy Morgan, Judd Nelson, Chris Rock, and George Carlin, among others.