The Reboot Show 2019

If you were a teenager in the early 2000’s, Jay and Silent Bob were probably stoner gurus for you. As we got older, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith became our friendship goals. After two decades of enjoying their antics, we were finally offered a glimpse a little deeper.

I don’t go to the theater much unless someone begs me or I have unsettled debts from the days of dragging my male friends to chick flicks. I don’t need to see the animated memories of my childhood, well, animated again with a dash more realism. Nor do I rewatch many movies because I don’t like to do the same thing twice. So, admittedly, when director, Kevin Smith (who is also Silent Bob), described the Jay and Silent Bob reboot as “literally the same f*сking movie all over again”, referring to the 2001 comedy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, I was hesitant to fork over my hard earned cash.

It only took the two titlecard stars announcing a tour where they would be participating in select early screenings as part of a road show to convince me to empty my piggy bank.

The tickets were a bit pricey, but nostalgia is a hard ticket item to value. As is interacting with the very characters you grew up smoking pot with, er, laughing to.  Fans began lining up hours early to try to snag closer seats with the queue quickly wrapping around the square below the club.

I can’t imagine a single one of them were disappointed.

While delivering dose after dose of reminiscence with cameos from the beloved characters of the View Askewniverse (the recurring settings and themes of Smith’s fictional world), the underlying message that was before more like the muddled weed-induced high of our youth had been transformed into one of wisdom, redemption and family values. But not so much so that the characters lost their central traits. There are still plenty of blunts to be passed around and enough of Jay’s off-color remarks to anger anyone in favor of a PC culture. Bob’s silence even got an update from the digital age.

To a crowd of backwards white baseball caps, trench coats and Bluntman and Chronic costumes, both men spoke with their typical goofiness before we all settled in for the show. They reappeared afterward for what will go in the record books as the most unexpectedly profound Q&A session I have ever attended, which is saying something since it is among dozens.

We learned that the potty-mouthed, horndog Jay character that we had always seen Mewes portray is in actuality a doting father who is brinking on a decade of sobriety after a heroin addiction and Smith himself could write an advice column on loyalty, health and gratitude.

Both remained warm, patient and engaged to their fans, despite a few drunken individuals eager to talk to their heroes.

The venue itself, Stand Up Live, was shockingly larger than what you would expect from an outside glance with a simple yet clean and elegant interior. It had the standard two-drink minimum that I’ve found many comedy clubs uphold, which (though not mentioned until after your purchase rather expensive tickets) wouldn’t have been a problem, as they had a fair variety of drinks, including gluten-free vegan options for this hippie, had the show not been delayed for two hours.

This gal has a grandma bedtime of roughly 10PM, so not even starting a show until 11:45 that was originally slated at 9:45 is a rough pill to swallow with that mandatory alcohol.

Still, I laughed, cried and finished the iconic lines of characters that will always have a special place in my heart.

Mrs. Websters Youtube Page

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