<div style='font: 9pt ; text-align: left; '>I finally saw Chasing Amy last night myself, so I barely qualify myself :-)
What order would you place them in, best being first, of course? Here is mine, with brief explanations:
1) Dogma
Being someone who prefers plot-driven films over character-driven films, this one is an obvious choice, and also the one, I think, which shows the best of Smith. All of his other movies are character films with some plot, and the characters are fairly similar in each, so you either like Smith's characters or you don't. This one has a strong plot that drives the film along while at the same time having, what I believe, the most diverse set of characters in any of his films. Yes, each of the characters highly resembles those from his other films, but they're also a little different and more dimensional as a whole cast than the others. It's this film that makes me want to see some of Smith's non-Jersey Quintology films, like Fletch.
2) Mallrats
This is the first one I saw and if it wasn't for Dogma, it would still be my favourite. I've never been a mall hound myself, but I really like the cast of characters in this one. It's wacky, not no too over the top. I especially liked the guy who couldn't see the 3D pics. I myself have a hard time with them, so I could kinda relate with his frustration, although not to THAT level. I think that's what makes this one so good, is that most people could relate to the characters themselves or know someone who was fairly similar to at least one character (like Claire Forlaini's father). Smith just took a lot of stereotypical people and made them act to the extreme.
3) Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
To me, this film was above average in every respect. Not great, but good, you could have a fun time with it. It really was more of an homage to his trilogy than a solo movie and while it was fun, I think that limits it. But for what it was, I liked it and thought it was a nice way to put closure to that part of Smith's personal work.
4) Clerks
This film was decent, but not great. I know most people loved it, but it just grated at me after a while, and we own convenience stores and I owned a video store, so I could relate to the two clerks as much as anyone. I think what it was, mainly, was the real lack of story. I mean, this film was ALL about the characters. I can take that for about half an hour (like a sitcom), but not for an hour and a half film. I need them to have SOME reason to do what they're doing other than just to bitch. Also, I'm not a druggie, so that part of the film just bored me. It's not that I didn't like it, I just didn't think it was anything special and really have no desire to watch it again. That's why I don't own this one on DVD (also, they're releasing a special edition in a few months...)
5) Chasing Amy
How ironic, the last one I watch is the last one on the list. This film was OK, but that's about it. I really think the main problem is this, to me, wasn't a Smith film. It was a serious look at relationship involving the gay world with a few, subtle hints to Smith. This movie really could have been made by anyone (and it still wouldn't have been much better). Even Jay and Silent Bob were subdued in this one, whereas in the other ones they were over-the-top. I watched some of the deleted scenes and really think if they kept some of them (like the comic book scene and the scene with the artists and the lawyer in the office discussing the cartoon), it would have been much more of a Smith film and also provided a little comic relief because really, there was none. There was conditional comic relief (like the gay, black comic book writer), but no real relief. I'm just happy he didn't stop here because it would have been a poor way to end the series and considering Dogma came next, we also would never have seen how good Smith really can be. Obviously, I don't own this one either and won't unless I get it real cheap (well, right now I can get the first 3 films for about $45 US, but I already own Mallrats and there's a special edition of Clerks coming...)</div>
What order would you place them in, best being first, of course? Here is mine, with brief explanations:
1) Dogma
Being someone who prefers plot-driven films over character-driven films, this one is an obvious choice, and also the one, I think, which shows the best of Smith. All of his other movies are character films with some plot, and the characters are fairly similar in each, so you either like Smith's characters or you don't. This one has a strong plot that drives the film along while at the same time having, what I believe, the most diverse set of characters in any of his films. Yes, each of the characters highly resembles those from his other films, but they're also a little different and more dimensional as a whole cast than the others. It's this film that makes me want to see some of Smith's non-Jersey Quintology films, like Fletch.
2) Mallrats
This is the first one I saw and if it wasn't for Dogma, it would still be my favourite. I've never been a mall hound myself, but I really like the cast of characters in this one. It's wacky, not no too over the top. I especially liked the guy who couldn't see the 3D pics. I myself have a hard time with them, so I could kinda relate with his frustration, although not to THAT level. I think that's what makes this one so good, is that most people could relate to the characters themselves or know someone who was fairly similar to at least one character (like Claire Forlaini's father). Smith just took a lot of stereotypical people and made them act to the extreme.
3) Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
To me, this film was above average in every respect. Not great, but good, you could have a fun time with it. It really was more of an homage to his trilogy than a solo movie and while it was fun, I think that limits it. But for what it was, I liked it and thought it was a nice way to put closure to that part of Smith's personal work.
4) Clerks
This film was decent, but not great. I know most people loved it, but it just grated at me after a while, and we own convenience stores and I owned a video store, so I could relate to the two clerks as much as anyone. I think what it was, mainly, was the real lack of story. I mean, this film was ALL about the characters. I can take that for about half an hour (like a sitcom), but not for an hour and a half film. I need them to have SOME reason to do what they're doing other than just to bitch. Also, I'm not a druggie, so that part of the film just bored me. It's not that I didn't like it, I just didn't think it was anything special and really have no desire to watch it again. That's why I don't own this one on DVD (also, they're releasing a special edition in a few months...)
5) Chasing Amy
How ironic, the last one I watch is the last one on the list. This film was OK, but that's about it. I really think the main problem is this, to me, wasn't a Smith film. It was a serious look at relationship involving the gay world with a few, subtle hints to Smith. This movie really could have been made by anyone (and it still wouldn't have been much better). Even Jay and Silent Bob were subdued in this one, whereas in the other ones they were over-the-top. I watched some of the deleted scenes and really think if they kept some of them (like the comic book scene and the scene with the artists and the lawyer in the office discussing the cartoon), it would have been much more of a Smith film and also provided a little comic relief because really, there was none. There was conditional comic relief (like the gay, black comic book writer), but no real relief. I'm just happy he didn't stop here because it would have been a poor way to end the series and considering Dogma came next, we also would never have seen how good Smith really can be. Obviously, I don't own this one either and won't unless I get it real cheap (well, right now I can get the first 3 films for about $45 US, but I already own Mallrats and there's a special edition of Clerks coming...)</div>
I was there on that fateful day, were you?
