DVD REVIEW

An Evening With Kevin Smith 2 - Evening Harder

Sony Pictures || Not Rated || Nov 28, 2006

Synopsis

Edgy, smart and raunchier than ever, filmmaker Kevin Smith returns with An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder. This all new 2-disc set contains tour footage from Smith’s concerts in London and Toronto. Don’t miss your chance to hear the innermost thoughts and brazen opinions of the writer/director who brought you Clerks and Dogma.


Critique

An Evening With Kevin Smith 2 (and its predecessor) grew out of the Q&A sessions Smith would have after screenings of his films. What started out relatively small grew into a cottage industry. Say what you want about Smith’s films, he gives us something rare here: a successful, well known filmmaker who actually makes himself available to his fans. Spielberg doesn’t do this.

In the first Evening, we jumped back and forth from Smith’s sets at four different universities. There was some great material, but the overall piece felt disjointed. This time we get two complete sets, one in Toronto, the other in London. (One has to wonder if Smith, being outside the U.S., felt a little freer to do some of his more political material.) At roughly two hours each, Smith’s sets run longer than most stand-up comedy acts, longer than some rock concerts, and he reveals himself to be quite the seasoned performer.

Not everyone could get up and riff for two hours, building a whole show on whatever questions come from the audience. Smith is obviously comfortable, and watching the two shows together shows that not everything is off the cuff. Smith has some canned material that he uses well, and what is interesting is how easily he uses the same story to answer two completely different audience questions, and he makes both answers sound so fresh, so natural. At the same time, the unexpected does happen, and he rolls with it brilliantly.

Smith covers a lot of ground here. There is some follow-up to a few of the stories he told the first time around (his dealings with Prince, of course, among others), and he goes into watching television with his daughter, Ben Affleck, shooting his wife for Playboy, movie financing, and so much more. At one point, he does a riff on Lord of the Rings that will be familiar to anyone who has seen Clerks 2. I wasn’t a fan of that trilogy, so it was nice to see it so casually deflated.

Anytime there is this much material - about four hours in total - it goes without saying that not everything is going to be gold. Some of it is great, some of it isn’t, and some of it, sad to say, is downright boring. Smith remains interesting, eager to engage his audience. He is obviously enthusiastic about being there, and the audiences return the favor. He is not always alone. Jason Mewes makes an obligatory appearance. Mewes seems out of it, incoherent in a way that makes one wonder if he doesn’t need a little more time to learn how to live sober. (That said, Mewes shines in the bonus material on the London disc, coming to life in a way one wishes he would on stage.) We get a hint of how connected his and Smith’s lives really are. There is something between the lines there; they are not just friends, they don’t just make movies together. One has to wonder what would happen to Mewes if Smith weren’t around.

There is much great material here. Smith talks about his daughter, his parents, his career, and much more, and he remains engaging. He knows people are interested, and he delivers.


Video

Evening Harder is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format. The shooting here is pretty straightforward, not intended to do anything more than capture the moment, which it does quite well. The image is sharp, the stage lighting well captured, and when the camera turns to the audience, which is not so brightly lit, the clarity remains.


Audio

This DVD is presented in 5.0 Dolby Digital sound. Like the video, the presentation here is strictly utilitarian, and it comes through sharply. We feel like we are part of the audience. The channels are well balanced, and the whole show is presented clearly and evenly.


Special Features

Toronto: Limo Ride Featurette: Smith is in a limo for part of this, but most of what we have here is a man on the street quest to find out exactly what makes up Canadian cuisine. There are some great moments here. This is a lot of fun. (11:15)

London: Man on the Street Featurette: Smith and Jason Mewes hit the streets of London to try out pick up lines on the girls of Merry Olde England. This could have been a movie in itself; it’s hilarious. (6:32)


Final Thoughts

An Evening With Kevin Smith 2 is a more refined presentation. The dialogue is interesting, and Smith clearly enjoys talking to his fans as much as they love hearing from him. The bonus material is light on quantity, but what we have is excellent. This is definitely worth a look, but owning the DVD will probably only appeal to Smith’s more die hard of fans.

VERDICT: RECOMMENDED

 

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Review posted on Dec 31, 2006 | Share this article | Top of Page

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