The acting in this movie is really good.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

I am a huge, huge fan of Kevin Smith's View Askew films. I love the dialogue, the stories, the filthy humour and the intelligence that lies not too far below the surface so I was really looking forward to watching this film.Kevin Smith is clearly an intelligent man. He is funny, has charisma and clearly knows how to hold an audience. He knows his target audience and plays up to them perfectly. You could see him as a stand up if he wasn't doing what he does (and doing it so well).When this is at its best the dialogue and answers are conversational, informative, intelligent and incredibly funny. When he is discussing the homophobic claims thrown at his films he puts an intelligent, reasoned argument forward. And then throws in a dick joke. When he is talking about how he meets his wife is really sweet. Then he talks about his dick. The Dogma story (where he protests his own film) is hilarious. Im sure he throws a dick joke in as well.It is this contrast that I love in his films and its great to see that this is genuinely part of his personality. It makes you appreciate his films on a whole other level.The only thing that ruins this for me is the stupid bloody students asking "Do you want to get high dude", or screaming "woohoo", or "yous guys are my boyfriends favourite, we'll buy you drinks". From all the colleges he went to I am sure that there were more interesting exerts that could have been used.On the whole, though, this is a very honest and open look inside the mind of a brilliant film maker. We get to hear stories of the politics and bullplop in Hollywood and it is great to see that someone that has found success in the system is still so down to earth.I don't think this is, as some others have said, a film that people unfamiliar with his films will "get". It is certainly not for you if you dislike his films. The crudeness is there, the vulgarness is there and the humour is as puerile as possible. And it is fabulous! The line between toilet humour and genuine intelligence is fine but subtle.Just a shame about those bloody American students!!

Who would have thought that a man whose entire on-screen movie career consists of less lines than I can count on my fingers would be so entertaining when put on camera for 3 hours? Kevin Smith, famous for his Jersey series and widely known as Silent Bob, takes the podium at colleges around the country and we are treated to stories from his time within the industry, from his involvement in the latest 'Superman' installment to his experiences on set for his own flicks. I can honestly say that, throughout the long running time, not once did I find myself looking at the clock in boredom. As can be seen with such movies as 'Clerks.', 'Dogma', etc., Kevin Smith has a knack for story-telling.Smith is hilarious and has more than enough to talk about. I have been a fan of his movies since I first saw 'Dogma' and this DVD was a perfect addition to my collection. If you've ever wanted to insight into the mind of Smith, this is the movie for it. He shares stories from the set, explains his views on religion and sexuality, and keeps it consistently entertaining (especially the piece about Prince).As an added bonus, Jason Mewes makes an appearance for one of the sessions, and while he doesn't add much to the conversation, it's cool to see the pair of them together. Smith's interactions with the audience, and a couple hilarious phone calls, make the long running time worth it. All serious fans of Kevin Smith must make a point to watch this at least once.

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!

I have hundreds of DVDs and all kinds of movies and TV-series, but this is easily my favorite. I just love Kevin Smith and his movies (yes, Jersey Girl included!). The man's a genius. And what'ya know.. here we have an opportunity to listen to his real life stories and there's almost four hours worth of them. It's not only the things he's talking about, but that he's also so incredibly articulate that it never at any point gets boring. Add to that the fact that Smith's also a comedic genius.. phew! Sure, I can see that maybe for someone who doesn't like his work or the man himself, AEWKS doesn't offer much anything, but for everyone else, it's loaded with precious moments and lots and lots of purified comedy. I'd take this DVD to the grave with me or to a deserted island. It's honestly THAT good.***** / *****