COMEDY DUO BACK TO LOWER THE S-TON-ER

IT’S not like the world was crying out for another Jay and Silent Bob film,’ its creator (and star) Kevin Smith recently told Metro. But clearly a small corner of the world is. And this film is made for them and them alone.

Ever since slacker stoners Jay (Jason Mewes, the one with long blonde hair) and his pal Bob (Kevin Smith, the silent one, obvs) appeared in Clerks back in 1994 they’ve attracted a dedicated fan base who, despite now hitting middle age, still recall catchphrases such as ‘Snootchie bootchies’ with fondness.

There’s been Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, Clerks II and now we get this self-referential,

Jay And Silent Bob Reboot (15) In cinemas nationwide HH✩✩✩ low-budget reboot in which Smith rides, or at least desperately attempts to paddle up, the wave of ’90s nostalgia, even whilst mocking the studios that do exactly the same thing.

The story, as such, sees the duo unwittingly sign away the copyright to themselves to a minor Hollywood studio.

In an attempt to remedy this, they gatecrash a Comic Contype convention, with Jay’s estranged teenage love child (Smith’s real life daughter, Harley Quinn Smith) in tow.

Smart in some places, dumb in many more, the script is peppered with plenty of tiresome penile/pot-fuelled humour. Smith admits (in the film) he leveraged his near-fatal heart attack of last year to co-opt an A-Z of celeb cameos (from Ben Affleck and Chris Hemsworth to Val Kilmer and James Van Der Beek), which mercifully pep up proceedings.

Despite references to the pair being ‘old’ (Mewes is now 45, and Smith 49), basically nothing has changed, including their outfits. Which is exactly how the fans will like it.

Next stop, the Beavis and Butthead Reboot?