Review: 'Evening With Kevin Smith' Proves The Dude's Funny

Posted Tuesday, December 31, 2002 at 2:34 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

When I was in college--granted it was a few years back and at a very small school in Indiana--the coolest person we had come to campus was Carrot Top. Yeah, the crazy redhead comedian. He came to entertain as requested, I mean paid, by our student activities board.

Granted, this was before all the 1-800-CALL-ATT commercials, before Chairman Of The Board, even before all that plastic surgery. Yeah, it was cool seeing Carrot Top's then hilarious, prop-driven stand-up act. But it would surely pale in comparison to an appearance by Kevin Smith.

"Who the hell is Kevin Smith?,'" you ask? Well, you're either over the age of 40 or you've been rotting somewhere for the past few years. Kevin Smith, the writer-director of Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma and Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, is the voice of a generation. No longer do kids read "Catcher In The Rye" as part of their rite of passage into semi-adulthood. They watch Smith's New Jersey trilogy.

Why, you ask? Simply put, the dude's funny as hell. Well, now I know the dude's funny as hell. Previously I just thought his movies were funny as hell. Seeing the clips from his Q&A sessions at Clark University, Cornell, Indiana University, Kent State, and University of Wyoming which comprise the new An Evening With Kevin Smith DVD set, I see the man behind "Silent Bob".

Beyond being funny, Kevin Smith speaks in a language college-aged people can relate to. That's why these two discs feel like you're sitting in your living room with the guy. Prompted by questions from the student audience, he recants various anecdotes about his movies. All without the pomposity of James Lipton.

Even a casual fan of Kev's "View Askew-niverse" will be engrossed by his stories of the film business, sexuality and relationships. Is this DVD for everyone? No, I don't recommend it if you enjoy Prince more than Kevin Smith. I do recommend renting it to those who like funny and intellectual discussions about dick and fart jokes, among other things of course.