An Evening with Kevin Smith (2002)

Very well executed

The greatest movie ever made..!

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Filled with wit and sarcasm, otherwise known as my kind of film, An Evening With Kevin Smith is a full course, over three hour meal that never runs dry and never feels too long. It's a very informative, in-depth, and interesting Q&A with the man himself who has directed one of my favorite films, Clerks. Seeing him in front of the camera not saying more than a few sentences at the dead end of the movie is different and welcomed. We deserve more Kevin Smith, on camera appearances.I've mentioned countless times that Kevin Smith's limited release masterpiece Clerks is my favorite film because of its quick witted characters, its smart dialog, and desire to have fun with itself by being so natural. The dialog is set not as if it was repeated over and over again by the actors in the mirror, but as if it was improvised and a free spirit. No other movie has the acting Clerks has except for other Kevin Smith movies of the View Askew series.An Evening With Kevin Smith is a collection of Q&A sessions hosted by Smith himself, and one with supported by View Askew star Jason Mewes. College kids ask questions and are messed with by Smith whether they want a serious answer or not. Kevin Smith answers the questions wholeheartedly, but manages to throw in his snarky and vulgar remarks as well as an occasional penis joke.The only complaint I have is the way the film is edited. It cuts to different high schools with no rhyme or consistency or even hint that it will. There doesn't seem to be a pattern. It would be better if we got title cards saying something like "Duke University...M/DD/YY" when these cuts happen. But often times we don't. Seems like I'm running in to awkwardly constructed editing lately with Carrot Top Rocks Las Vegas and Pauly Shore's Natural Born Komics being nearly ruined by their strange, obtrusive editing.When people ask my favorite director I stumble upon those combined words. Then I think, Kevin Smith. He has directed four movies I gave four stars to in my reviews. This one just a nickel shy of a perfect score. I don't think "James Cameron, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, etc" when I think "favorite" anything. I don't pick very famous films or serious films. I pick films that I can watch again and again and never get tired of. Movies that are relatable and very close to home with me like Clerks and License to Drive.There is always a character in Kevin Smith films that are like me. In Clerks, it's Dante (O'Halloran). In Mallrats, it's T.S. (London). In Chasing Amy, it's Holden (Affleck). And in Dogma, it's a little bit like Loki (Damon). All of those guys, with the exception of Loki, are sort of like push-overs in life, relationship strugglers, and very down to Earth independent people with dopey friends. My life in a nut shell. When you can put yourself in the shoes of a movie character, you have a relationship with the movie that only makes sense to you.An Evening With Kevin Smith will most likely seem outrageously long for a person who is (a) not familiar with Smith's work and (b) is not into long explanations about the behind the scenes part of films. I can't blame them. If you're not into something, it's hard to follow. However, if you are a fan of Smith and his work, see it for sure. And if you're a fan of Q&A sessions, give this one a whirl. It's long, but strong.Starring: Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes.

This is a strangely entertaining video. Kevin Smith is a good orator, that's for sure! I'm not big on rating or reviewing stand up comedy or like presentations, but that's usually because they're short and because they don't have very lasting effects. "An Evening with Kevin Smith" is exactly the opposite... clocking in at just under 4 hours and with a lot of very revealing anecdotes.Of course, the playlength could be a problem to people who are simply just not as interested in the stories or points made. The editing between events is a good idea because it gives all the stories a logical flow and makes it seem like everything was more planned out than what the on-the-spot events must have been like, though I don't want to praise the editing too much because most of it was flat and boring and they had this weird tendency to cut to the most ugly people in the crowds for reasons I cannot comprehend.I liked the insider stories of having to deal with producers and people like Prince more than the stories of getting everything together, which is actually pretty available knowledge, and just like his movies, Smith has a very refreshing viewpoint and quality of expression over sexuality and related things. It makes his current slump in directing (Jersey Girl and Clerks 2) all the more unfortunate because he really has a great sense of humor and is a very appealing person to listen to, if he'd try doing something more like his old stuff.Some of the information in this video has changed since it came out. At one point, Smith states pretty firmly that Jay and Silent Bob will no longer appear on a live-action movie screen. Clerks 2 came out 4 years after this. Those little incongruities do not mind me because it's not like we have to take Kevin Smith at his word, really. It's just interesting to know how things have changed for him over the years.--PolarisDiB

My Evening with Kevin Smith *A No-Spoiler Review* of "An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder" by R.J. CavenderThe other night I was lucky enough to attend an exclusive premier of Kevin Smith's new DVD "An Evening with Kevin Smith II: Evening Harder" at Cinespace in Hollywood. I can easily say that the event was one of the more entertaining 'nights-on-the-town' that I've experiences in recent memory. Any fan of Smith's work will certainly want to pick up the DVD as soon as it becomes available later in November.First off, we had to pick our tickets for the evening up at Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash, the Kevin Smith-owned comic book and collectible store in Westwood. For any fan of Smith's, this store is a veritable treasure trove of all things from the View Askew universe. There are props on display from various films that Smith directed, swag of all sorts, and pretty much anything a comic collector would ever want. It's clear that Smith knows his fans and knows what they would want in an indie comic store. The staff at Secret Stash were all really helpful when it came to getting us our tickets and finding the few things we were looking for, and it seemed that they clearly enjoyed working at such a hip and laid-back establishment.And speaking of happening spots, the venue for the evening, Cinespace, is one of the coolest they could have chosen. Playboy magazine has donned Cinespace 'The best bar in Los Angeles', and I'd have to agree with them. From the moment I walked up the flight of stairs and into the bar area, I was impressed. Almost every wall in the complex is graced by some sort of video screen, from huge overhead projections as big as a theater, down to tiny LCD screens built into the pillars of the entranceway. Cinespace was built with a viewing audience in mind, and you'd be hard pressed to find any spot in the club where you couldn't clearly see a screen. Now, to the review of the DVD itself. For those of you who haven't seen the first "An Evening with Kevin Smith", I'd highly recommend you do. It's not a completely necessary prerequisite, but you'll probably miss an in-joke here and there that you'd get otherwise. Plus, it's a damn funny film. Smith has a way of turning a simple question and answer format into something that's part stand-up, part social commentary, and has such great pacing that you'll forget that several hours have passed by and all you've really been doing is listening to a film maker talk into a microphone. All I can say is that Kevin Smith is one hell of an interesting speaker, and his insight into Hollywood, film making, and the creative process is as universal in it's hilarity as it is unique in his delivery. How one person can be so honest, brilliant, profane, and self-deprecating all at once is just astounding. By the time the second disc of the two-disc package was about to go on, I literally had a cramp in my side from laughing so much. As the second disc started to play, the crowd of about 200 in Cinespace were all just as invested in watching it as they were from moment one. In fact, the few people who had the audacity to talk during the presentation were quickly shushed by other members of the crowd. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say that there are some fun differences between the first "Evening" and this new presentation, filmed some four years later. I don't want to spoil it for you, so I won't. But, I for one was really pleased with this new direction and found this little twist to be really interesting. I think you'll dig it too. All in all, there's not much more I can say about "An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder". The 2 disc DVD will be available later this month, and if you want to have a great time watching some truly funny anecdotes told by a man who knows how to tell a hell of a story...then invite some friends over, have a few drinks, and prepare to be entertained.The night wrapped up with a question-and-answer segment with Smith himself, where he stayed and answered every question that was asked of him from the crowd. He even stayed over a half-hour longer than the club had arranged, just to be sure that everyone who had a question got to ask it. I mean, who does that? In person Smith seemed humble, quiet, and even at moments a bit overwhelmed at the outpouring of affection that his fans have showed him. I'd venture to say, he's probably one of the least affected celebrities in all of Hollywood. It was really a special treat to be able to go to something like this, an event that was set aside especially for the biggest fans. I also give Smith major credit for being clever enough to utilize something like MySpace to let the fans know about the premier. I'd overheard quite a few people mention how far they'd driven to attend the event, and it's clear that it's the biggest fans who appreciate something like this the most...and as one of the biggest fans out there, I'd just like to personally say THANKS to Kevin Smith for showing us all a great night!

`An Evening with Kevin Smith' is a series of question and answer sessions between Kevin Smith and various college audiences across the country that is incredibly engaging, informative and entertaining. As a fan of Kevin Smith The Man, and not Kevin Smith The Director, I found it to be three and a half hours of sheer bliss. As a matter of fact, I'm not only not a fan of Kevin Smith's movies, (with the definite exception of `Clerks', both the film and the animated series) I absolutely HATE every film that he has produced since his debut, which makes the fact that I found the questions and answers about some of his film projects very interesting so important in epitomizing the greatness of this `documentary'. I envision Kevin Smith's future as being this generation's Martin Scorsese – a filmmaker who is also a scholar and teacher of film. `An Evening with Kevin Smith' showcases Smith's humility, his sense of humor and his `everyman' quality, all factors that make him an endearing and engaging figure. This film is long, but it is definitely a must-see for any film fanatic, whether you like his films or, like me, simply love the man.--Shelly