MovieChat Forums > Kevin Smith Discussion > Has he lost his appeal as you've gotten ...

Has he lost his appeal as you've gotten older?


I feel like his movies, with their DIY aesthetic, ear-catching dialogue, and cool pop culture references, really appealed more to me as a teenager than a late 20-something.

I still own all of the View Askew stuff on DVD, but couldn't even tell you the last time I watched one of them.

I feel the same way about Quentin Tarantino, another 90s indie icon.

"Don't believe everything you hear on the radio." - Charles Foster Kane

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Agreed. I was a huge fan of his films as a teenager and a devoted listener of his podcast network between the age of 18 and 21, but now I can't really listen to him or watch his movies. Clerks will always be a classic though.

I used to be darker, then I got lighter, then I went dark again.

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Yeah, the first "Clerks." is still my favorite of his movies. I also loved the "Evening With" DVDs when they were released.

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Yeah, but only because the quality of his work has dipped significantly. Something changed in him when Zack & Miri flopped. Cop Out was a big misfire. I enjoyed Red State and Tusk, but they just aren't movies I care to see a second time (unlike everything he made prior to the fact, which is stuff I still watch and enjoy today). I just don't feel any passion coming through the screen anymore. I think he's smoked himself into a stupor/depression these past eight or so years.

With Tarantino, another director you cite as a '90s icon, he's actually still making great films and is staying relevant. Kevin just fell off in a big bad way.

Anyone here mentions Hotel California dies before the first line clears his lips.

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Very much do. I'm 37 (insert Smith joke here) and these days listening to him speak I actually find myself thinking to myself "Jesus Kevin grow up". I still love his movies up until & including Zack & Miri - but his refusal to tell a NEW story or not repeat the same 5 anecdotes on each of his podcasts or live shows is really getting old.

That and he has about 4 jokes that he uses over & over again. Probably because he's so stoned all the time he doesn't remember.

Also this habit he's created of doing Q&A sessions where he doesn't answer questions but instead works the 1st persons question into an hour long, already heard many times monologue (at your expense of the people waiting to ask questions) has gotten REALLY old.

Drop the weed, Kev.

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Having recently rewatched his View Askew movies, I still enjoyed them, even as a 30-year old.

Let's be bad guys.

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I feel kind of the same way. All his jay & silent bob flicks were good but things outside of that were just so/so. They are watchable but nothing you would recommend to your friends.

I haven't watched a Quentin Tarantino flick in a long time. Last one I saw was Inglorious Bastards. Quentin lost his ways of being a good film maker. His early stuff had good stories, this later stuff just seems to be for the gore and shock factor.

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in a row?

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