jay and silent bob strike back ( 2001 ) 3 stars out of 4 . starring jason mewes , kevin smith , ben affleck , shannon elizabeth , will ferrell , jason lee , chris rock , ali larter , brian christopher o'halloran , seann william scott , george lucas , carrie fisher and mark hamill . written and directed by kevin smith . rated r . jay and silent bob strike back can rightfully be subtitled " kevin smith's greatest hits " for the film is comprised of numerous references and characters from smith's earlier works including , clerks , mall rats . chasing amy and dogma . so , be advised : bone up on that cinematic quartet in order to achieve the maximum enjoyment from smith's latest outing . kevin smith must be a very likable person because several good sports took a ton of kidding in this feature , most notably miramax , the studio whose subsidiary , dimension films , is jay and silent bob's distributor . others deserving accolades include ben affleck , matt damon , directors gus van zant and wes craven and the mighty george lucas . this is a laugh-filled , foul-mouthed road film with jay ( jason mewes ) and silent bob ( smith ) hitching to hollywood to sabotage miramax's production of bluntman and chronic , comic book characters based on the two jersey slackers . jay's convoluted reasoning is that if the film is shut down , people on the internet will stop insulting him and bob , even though it is not him and bob the people are dissing , but rather their comic book counterparts . no matter , the duo begin their long trek hitching rides across the country . but first they get some tips from a veteran hitchhiker , played by george carlin , who tells them to follow " the book " - the rules of the road . of course jay's interpretation immediately gets the duo in trouble with a friendly nun ( carrie fisher ) who offers them a ride . jay and silent bob contains enough laughs that the movie's weaker aspects - which include a lame subplot about a girl gang of diamond thieves as well as a buffoonish federal park ranger played by will ferrell - can be easily tolerated . really , how can you not laugh at a film in which our heroes are picked up by the mystery van , and jay has a pot-induced hallucination concerning velma and daphne . the movie's highlight , though , is near the finale . in hollywood , jay and silent bob sneak onto the miramax lot where they crash the set and are mistaken for extras of the latest affleck-damon picture , good will hunting 2 : hunting season . here we are privy to a hilarious conversation between affleck and damon in which the two put down each other's careers and film choices . and the laughs continue to grow . next up is jason ( american pie ) biggs and james ( dawson's creek ) van der beek , the actors chosen to portray bluntman and chronic . the pair mistake jay and silent bob for their stunt doubles . finally , comes a star wars homage featuring one of the stars of that legendary feature . this bit will leave you howling . smith's obvious affection for pop culture icons is evident in the way he shoots these scenes and handles his performers . he allows them to play it all tongue-in-cheek . their fun comes through the screen to the audience . it is too bad that this is jay and silent bob's swan song . the characters have grown since their supporting role debuts in clerks . but smith realizes that times have changed , and he doesn't want his creations to overstay their welcome . so smith has provided them with just the right kind of exit , saving the best for last . goodbye jay and silent bob . at least you're going out with a blast . bob bloom is the film critic at the journal and courier in lafayette , in . he can be reached by e-mail at <a href= " mailto : bloom@journal-courier . com " >bloom@journal-courier . com</a> or at <a href= " mailto : bobbloom@iquest . net . " >bobbloom@iquest . net . </a> other reviews by bloom can be found at www . jconline . com by clicking on golafayette . bloom's reviews also can be found on the web at the internet movie database : <a href= " http : //www . imdb . com/m/reviews_by ? bob + bloom " >http : //www . imdb . com/m/reviews_by ? bob + bloom</a> 
