An Evening with Kevin Smith

Rating:
Summary: It is like two discs of commentary by Kevin Smith
Review: This is an odd little DVD. It is not a movie, nor is it a documentary. As the title would suggest, it is simple An Evening With Kevin Smith / Or, several evenings as the case may be.

Kevin Smith is one of my favorite directors. This is not because he has the most skill or is a master of the craft, but rather because his movies are simply enjoyable to watch. With some directors, you can tell it is their work because of the camera work, or the lighting...but with Smith, you can close your eyes and tell that Smith wrote it. The language is distinctly his own and it always makes me laugh and even think a little. They are also highly quotable.

As a fan of DVD, I enjoy the special features that are often put on the releases. One of my favorite features is the option to have a commentary track run over the movie so i can listen to the director (or someone) speak about the movie. You learn little tid bits about the film and making it. Some directors are not that interesting on commentary tracks (Rob Reiner on When Harry Met Sally was quite dull), but the man who gives consistently good and funny commentary is Kevin Smith. Smith is the director of Clerks , Mallrats , Chasing Amy , Dogma , and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back . He had a short lived animated series Clerks Uncensored . He is currently filming Jersey Girl .

Over the past several years, Kevin Smith has had speaking engagements at colleges and universities. The DVD covers several of those appearances. That might not sound too interesting to own or to watch, but Smith is consistently funny and always interesting, no matter what he is talking about. The feature is set up as a Q&A format, so we see the audience participation and get the really dumb questions (which Smith makes obvious) as well as the good thoughtful one(s). This is very watchable, and very funny and highly recommended if you are a fan of Kevin Smith's work. If you're not, you may want to pass on this.

Rating:
Summary: They have to be kidding....
Review: Why would anyone spend hundereds of dollars on DVD equipment to do a movie where you spend an evening talking with this man who is both a low budget film maker, and an Internet geek? Apparently the same production company that made and distributes his movies, which are a complete waste of the 35 milimeter film they are on.

If you like vulger language and no taste, this is for you. But not me...The guy is no better then Howard Stern.

Rating:
Summary: Quality entertainment that is constantly funny
Review: Kevin Smith is the director behind five of my favorite movies. Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma and Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back were all created as a part of Kevin's "New Jersey Chronicles," in which each of the afformentioned movies had recurring characters from the previous films. Each film is laced with witty dialogue and even some serious messages mixed in.

On this DVD, Kevin talks about anything and everything ranging from the failed documentary with Prince to a soft-core porn involving Jason Mewes, who is known to all as Jay in the "New Jersey" movies. Kevin's most interesting topic was the controversey surrounding "Dogma." Kevin talks about the death threats he recieved, his Catholic up-bringing and about the time he picketted at his own movie. However, nothing is as amusing as the story behind his failed attempt to revive the Superman movie franchise. Kevin talks about his meetings with Warner Bros. executives and the producer at the time who had some unusual requests as to what he wanted included in the script.

All and all, if you are a fan of the Kevin Smith movies, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of this DVD. If you have not seen any of Kevin's movies, you owe it to yourself to buy every single one of them and then to buy this.

Rating:
Summary: Some Great Stories About The View Askewniverse
Review: "An Evening with Kevin Smith" chronicles the college Q&A tour that the director of five "Jay and Silent Bob" films took in 2001. The DVD consists of 2 discs and contains almost 4 hours of vintage Smith discussing his life, his films and his comic book side career.

I enjoyed several of the stories that Kevin tells. In particular, I found his discussion about his experience in the development of the ill-fated "Superman Reborn" project to be very intersting. He spends almost 30 minutes discussing how he got involved with the project (his theory on why he was asked to work on it involves the dialogue that takes place in "Mallrats" about Superman's "prowess"). He explains his meetings with movie execs, particularly Jon Peters (producer of "Rainman), who he convincing portrays as a total goofball. He also explains how his role in the development of the film fell apart when it was decided that Tim Burton would be the director. Kevin leaves no doubt that there is no love lost between himself and Burton.

I also enjoyed his long (again about 30 minutes) discussion about another ill-fated experience as the director of a documentary about the artist now known as Prince. It's a fascinating discussion of what it is like to work with a man who lives in (as described by one of Prince's assistants), "Prince World". Kevin shows how he went from a giddy fan of Prince who was tickled to be asked to do the project to a non-fan who now could care less about Prince.

I do have some quibbles. Although he told the story with good humor, I really didn't care about the minute details of his first "romantic" experience with is wife Jen. I'd say about 20 minutes are dedicated to this that could have been used to descibe his thoughts on one of his movies. I'm not a prude (I've seen and enjoyed his movies, after all), but some things are better left unsaid (or at least left off the DVD).

Obviously since these college stints were Q&A sessions, he can only answer what was asked by the crowd. However, I would have liked to have heard discussion on what it was like to work with Linda Fiorentino on "Dogma", who he has said was so difficult to work with that he will never do it again. If he could rip Prince and Jon Peters in an entertaining fashion, imagine the hatchet job he could have done on her.

I also didn't understand why it was decided to leave in questions asked by students who were obviously not coherent and just babbled without saying anything pertinent. Again, this time could have been spent showing Kevin answer decent questions. I did get a kick out of Kevin's attempt to try to sweet talk an employer of a student to let him get his job back (the student was fired for going to the Smith show instead of working).

Overall, pretty entertaining and a good addition for the Kevin Smith completest.

Rating:
Summary: A must for die hards or causal fans.
Review: Or even just gossip dishers, or anyone who wants to know exactly what is so wrong with Hollywood (the Superman story is the perfect example). Smith is a wonderful story teller and truly seems like "one of us" who just happens to have a film career (Kevin says that fact alone is why he believes in a God). The editing is well done overall, except fot two nitpicks: One story is obviously heavy edited to cut around some bad lighting or sound as there are many more cutaways than most of the stories, and while a few of the bits of Kevin indulging fans or just plain freaks in the crowd is fine, many more could have been cut away. They do add a more raw, "you are there" feeling, but overall they come across as flab on an otherwise lean production (how many times do you need to see fans lame attempts at trying to get Kevin to hang around with them after the show?). I'd rather most of those bits had been easter eggs, or as cut scenes elsewhere on the disc(s). Jason Mewes shows up briefly, and Scott Mosier descibes a recent purchase via phone. The menu design is really fun too. Finally, most of Kevin fans probably don't care, I don't, but for those that do... this DVD is unrated, but if rated would easily get a NC-17 (so plan accordingly and make sure your child or mother isn't around when you watch it!)

Rating:
Summary: Another Hit
Review: This DVD is worth the cost just to hear the Prince story.
Chake Mad! Chake Mad? Chake real mad!

Rating:
Summary: totally excellent
Review: kevin smith is the ultimate of filmmaking this especially it was so great it's worth the time mr. Smith i sallute you

Rating:
Summary: Been there..heard it..it was great
Review: I personally saw Mr. Smith at IU in Indiana when they filmed this last year..if his other performances where half as good as it was at IU YOU MUST BUY THIS DVD! Of course it is a must for Kevin Smith fans, but other causal fans and film fans will enjoy it as well. The stories and antics are nonstop...it was a great evening with Kevin Smith

Rating:
Summary: 4 hours of great stories! A Must Buy!
Review: Each disc contains 2 hours (4 hours total) of straight Q&A between the students and Kevin. Kevin's "whity satirical dialog" often leads into hilarious stories of his personal and professional experiences. His stories about Prince, Superman reborn, meeting his wife, meeting Jay for the first time, PTA, protesting Dogma, and Jay's porn career are classics. The editing did a good job of cutting out many of the questions that have been answered in Kevin's many interviews. Parts of these stories have been heard before but here they are presented with much more depth and detail.

The lack of dvd extras was a let down. And only 1 Easter egg found so far. Unlike Kevin's movies this disc may not lead repeat viewing for most viewers.

This DVD is a must for Kevin Smith fans.

Rating:
Summary: Kevin Delivers A 5 Star Performance
Review: Kevin Smith has done it again. He has released another "can't miss" release. In "An Evening with Kevin Smith", Kevin, aka Silent Bob of Jay and Silent Bob fame, delivers a performance of the best moments from five question and answer sessions on a college tour he did. The DVD is cut very cleanly, and at times you can't even tell it is in different venues. During the 3 hour, yes, 3 hour DVD, Kevin addresses subjects such as where the character of Jay came from, how he succeeded when so many people said he would fail, his collaboration with Prince on a never seen documentary, and even on his first sexual experience with his then girlfriend, now wife, Jennifer. This DVD set is definitely worth the purchase to any follower of Kevin Smith, or to anyone who wants to get into the psyche of one of the most original, and often controversial, Writer/Director/Producer of the new millennium. This DVD definitely earned the FIVE STARS I gave it..... somewhere in the initial 10 minutes of viewing and carried it throughout. All I can say is "Thank you Kevin. Thank you for giving us all what others are too coward to approach."