Jay and Silent Bob Get Irish!

Despite the title, the characters of Jay and Silent Bob never show up here. Instead, the actors who created those roles, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, appear in a pair of 2012 performances from Dublin. However, “performances” might not be the most accurate description of what actually occurs, as—for the most part—Mewes and Smith sit on a stage and regale their audiences with freewheeling conversations about their shared and respective misadventures. Smith is the more talented raconteur, and some of his tales are very amusing—especially one about an encounter with a child in a Dublin convenience store who mistook the roly-poly actor-director for the oversized Mr. Tayto character used to sell a popular brand of Irish potato chips. Smith also incorporates social media into his routine, reading aloud comic tweets that are sent to him from Twitter-happy audience members. The gravelly-voiced Mewes is considerably less adept at charming conversation, and most of his laughs come from playing the uncouth dum-dum to an exasperated Smith. At one point, Mewes gleefully claims to be unfamiliar with the observance of Ash Wednesday and the meaning of Lent, which leads to light Catholic-bashing humor. Passing mentions of the duo's 1994 indie smash Clerks inevitably generates audience applause, confirming that Mewes and Smith are still coasting on nearly-two-decades-old goodwill. A second disc includes a podcast of the pair's appearance in Las Vegas and their raucous encounter with a pair of sexy adult film stars. Likely to appeal to fans, this is a strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (P. Hall)