Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Somewhere out there in the cinematic ether there's an elusive line between lewdly moronic raunch comedies like Tomcats or Freddy Got Fingered and sophomoric, low-brow sex and gross-out romps that can make even intellectual types laugh until pinot noir comes out of their noses. I don't know where that line is exactly, but I do think that Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back is a laugh riot. The latest low-budget, high-dialogue laffer from Kevin Smith--writer-director of Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma--this film follows the perennial stoner title characters (Jason Mewes and Smith himself) on a road-trip to Hollywood to stop a movie being made about them. While the plot is hackneyed and elementary, the film is so blanketed with ribald raillery and below-the-belt showbiz pot shots that it feels like machine-gun fire is hitting your funny bone. The huge cameo/ensemble cast includes Ben Affleck, Jason Biggs, Shannon Elizabeth, Matt Damon, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Gus Van Sant--just to name a few. Recommended. (R. Blackwelder)