You know, people, it's just not that hard. Sometimes it's just a matter of taking something simple and not screwing it up. Pearl Harbor did that. When I went to see that I thought, "Oh, cool, now we've got the technology to put together a really kick-butt movie about the attack on Pearl Harbor, how could it go wrong?" But too many people took a look at too many focus groups, and we wound up with Bruckheimer and Bay actually doing more damage to the American collective consciousness than the Japanese navy did. But I digress.

So, here's a simple idea. "Hey, let's take Jay and Silent Bob, those two colorful pot dealers from all those Kevin Smith films, and just let them run loose on the road! And let's make it about a movie about Jay and Silent Bob and stuff it full of all sorts of self-referential inside jokes about Kevin Smith movies!" A simple idea that would make a good movie, and Kevin Smith just kind of stood back and let it happen, and guess what? It works. They didn't try to stuff it full of stupid crap to appeal to demographics. Jay doesn't learn the True Meaning of Christmas. Silent Bob doesn't have a revelation and go back to finish the coursework to get his philosophy degree. There's an orangutan, there's at least three separate mugs to the camera, and it's silly, and it works.

Maybe I'm rating this higher than it deserves, but after a summer full of disappointing movies, I'm just glad to see a movie that was just allowed to do what it was supposed to do. Every movie this summer has been like getting a toaster that doesn't actually toast, but the instructions say it will organize your spice rack and make tasteful wine suggestions, but damned if you can figure out what it's saying. Or something like that. I need an editor. (Don't look at me! I have no idea what you were getting at there either. So, uh, where can i get one of these Spice Rack Organizing thingies? Man, i could use one of those! -- Brendan)

Anyway, the gay jokes aren't all that offensive, it's just stuff that two silly characters would mouth off about. Smith's not trying to be Shakespeare here, and the people I know that have more "experimental" lifestyles than I do didn't see what the big deal was.

Go see it, it's playing, like, everywhere, and it's worth it to see in the theaters just for the Morris Day And The Time impromptu concert/party.