Jay and Silent Bob are easily the most iconic characters in the Kevin Smith canon. After giving the beloved cinematic stoner duo supporting roles in his first four movies, Smith gave them the spotlight in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. And nearly two decades after that, when Hollywood was rehashing a lot of its beloved classics, Smith decided to make the same movie all over again.
In Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, Jay and Bob once again head to Hollywood in the hopes of stopping the production of a movie based on their lives. Despite being heavily based on a previous movie, Jay & Silent Bob Reboot has plenty of hilarious lines of its own.
“They Take An Old Movie And Change Just Enough To Make You Pay For The Same S*** All Over Again.” - Brodie Bruce
After hearing that a Bluntman & Chronic reboot is in development, Jay and Bob go to their friend Brodie Bruce’s comic book store (just like they did in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) so he can explain the concept of a reboot to them.
Using The Force Awakens’ Death Star plot as an example, Brodie explains that today’s studio executives “take an old movie and change just enough to make you pay for the same s*** all over again.” There’s an ironic bite in this being the premise of Jay & Silent Bob Reboot itself.
“I Used To Call Him Lunchbox, But Now I Have To Call Him Snack-Pack.” - Jay
In a reference to a famous real-life incident involving Kevin Smith, Silent Bob is denied an airline ticket because he’s overweight. In another reference to Smith’s real life, Jay points out, “Silent Bob lost a bunch of weight, lady. He went all vegan and s***.”
Jay’s nickname for Silent Bob used to be “Lunchbox,” but he explains to the airline employee that Bob’s weight loss forced him to start using the nickname “Snack-Pack” instead. Snack-Pack is arguably a better nickname, because it rhymes.
“It Was Always A Story That Should’ve Been Told From A Queer Perspective Or A Woman’s Perspective... Or Any Perspective Other Than A Cis White Man’s.” - Alyssa Jones
When Joey Lauren Adams cameos as Alyssa Jones in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, the character is revealed to be handling the Netflix adaptation of Holden’s comic book based on the events of Chasing Amy. She tells the guys, “It was always a story that should’ve been told from a queer perspective, or a woman’s perspective... or any perspective other than a cis white man’s.”
Smith used Alyssa’s appearance in Reboot to acknowledge the missteps of representation in his well-meaning but problematic LGBTQ-themed '90s rom-com.
“I Was Loki In The '90s, Before It Was Cool.” - Loki
One of the many View Askewniverse characters with a cameo appearance in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot is Matt Damon as Loki from Smith’s underrated religious comedy Dogma. Right off the bat, Damon points out that he’s no longer the most famous Loki on the big screen.
Loki says to the camera, “Hi, remember me? I’m Loki, the Angel of Death from Dogma. Now, if your kids are looking at you right now like, ‘That’s not Tom Hiddleston,’ just tell them I was Loki in the '90s, before it was cool.”
“Let Me Be Blunt, Man. I Liked You Better When You Were Silent, Bob.” - Reboot Chronic
In Kevin Smith’s Bluntman & Chronic reboot, Val Kilmer plays the new Bluntman and Melissa Benoist — who worked with Smith on a few episodes of Supergirl — plays the new Chronic. The rebooted Chronic has some brilliant puns up her sleeve: “Let me be blunt, man. I liked you better when you were silent, Bob.”
The difference between this Bluntman & Chronic movie and the previous one is that Jay and Bob end up really liking this one. In Jay’s opinion, it dethrones How High as the greatest movie ever made.
“I Come From Downtown. I’m Here For Mitch And Murray.” - Silent Bob
Silent Bob, for the most part, remains silent, save for a couple of well-timed monologues. But he speaks for a long stretch in one scene in Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, because he’s tasked with stalling a KKK meeting while Jay frees Milly and her friends.
He starts rattling off random pop culture references like, “I come from downtown. I’m here for Mitch and Murray.” A Klansman angrily asks, “Who in the f*** are Mitch and Murray!?” It’s an obscure nod to Glengarry Glen Ross that confuses the Klan just long enough for Jay to save everybody and make their escape.
“I Hate This Guy. He Forces His Kid To Be In Everything He Makes.” - Millennium “Milly” Faulken
Most of Kevin Smith’s movies have a sly self-awareness, especially since he garnered a fan base and started tailoring his work specifically to those fans, but Jay & Silent Bob Reboot takes the meta-ness to another level as Smith plays himself in addition to playing Silent Bob.
Smith’s real-life daughter Harley Quinn Smith has been appearing in his movies since she cameoed as baby Silent Bob in Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back. In Jay & Silent Bob Reboot, she plays Jay’s estranged daughter, Millennium “Milly” Faulken. When she sees Smith on-stage at Chronic-Con, she says, “I hate this guy. He forces his kid to be in everything he makes.”
“You’re Hems-Worth It! Trademark Chris Hemsworth.” - Chris Hemsworth’s Hologram
A second-act scene in which Milly and her friends riff on a bunch of Chris Hemsworth-related sex puns is paid off when Hemsworth himself cameos as a hologram welcoming people to Chronic-Con.
He tells passers-by not to take pictures with the hologram or try to hump it, and signs off with a new catchphrase he’s trying out: “You’re Hems-worth it! Trademark Chris Hemsworth.”
“My Precious Podcasting Ears!” - Kevin Smith
When Milly and her friends make it to Chronic-Con and storm the stage where Kevin Smith is hyping up his new Bluntman & Chronic reboot, Shan Yu reveals that she’s really a Russian spy and brings the whole room to its knees with a sound-emitting device.
Smith clutches his ears and cries out, “My precious podcasting ears!” In real life, Smith is such a prominent podcaster (or SModcaster) that he has his own podcast network.
“You’re Thomas Wayne... Or Bruce Wayne’s Mom, Whose Name Escapes Me.” - Holden McNeil
Ben Affleck’s cameo appearance as Holden McNeil at Chronic-Con acts as a sequel to Chasing Amy. Holden reveals that he and Alyssa are co-parenting a little girl named Amy, played by Jason Mewes’ real-life daughter Logan Lee Mewes. There are a lot of fun pop culture references baked into the ensuing monologue, like Holden forgetting the name of Bruce Wayne’s late mother in a hilarious nod to Batman v Superman’s infamous “Martha” scene, but it’s primarily a heartfelt moment.
Holden’s monologue about how much fatherhood has changed his life inspires Jay to take responsibility as a dad. His new definition of “chasing Amy” — having the career of his dreams, but ultimately being more invested in raising his kid — seems to reflect Kevin Smith’s own feelings as a filmmaker-turned-father: “Now that all my childhood dreams are starting to come true — I mean, it’s nice, don’t get me wrong — that kid is just way more interesting to me.”