Kevin Smith’s “View Askewniverse” has brought us plenty of great characters, but no two have captured the imagination quite like Jay and Silent Bob.
The stoner pair are hardly seen without each other, yet are opposites in many ways. Both born in Leonardo in the seventies, they met as kids in front of the famous Quick Stop Groceries. Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) is, as you can guess from his name, the more reserved one, and also prone to coming out with profundities and harsh truths. Jay (Jason Lee) is happier to speak for the sake of it and often bullies others, which can annoy his silent companion. Jay’s also known for swearing like a sailor, to the point that, canonically-speaking, his first word is “f**k.”
Over the years the characters have developed in some ways, and stayed the same in others. Much of this has taken place in animated series, or comics, but a lot of it has also happened over the course of a number of films. If you want to check out their on-screen journey, then the easiest way is to watch all of the Jay and Silent Bob movies in order, which you can find below!
Please note that these are listed in the order of their release, not the order in which they take place in the View Askewniverse.
Clerks
The 1994 highly quotable underground hit that turned Kevin Smith into hot property remains a great watch to this day. It follows store clerk Dante as he shoots the breeze with his friends and contemplates his life. Jay and Silent Bob are introduced to us as weed dealers, and they make several appearances throughout the film, including a classic Silent Bob truth bomb to Dante as he agonizes over what to do about his love life.
Mallrats
Mallrats technically takes place the day before Clerks in the View Askewniverse, but the film was released a year after the black and white indie hit. In it, Jay and Silent Bob are hanging around the mall when they meet their friends Brodie and T.S., who have recently become single. T.S. wants to sabotage a game show that’s taking place at the mall that day as his ex is set to appear on it, and enlists the help of Jay and Silent Bob to cause chaos. However, the pair of stoners end up helping their friends reconcile with their girlfriends, gaining an organutan pal on the way. This is the first film we see Silent Bob’s talent for electronics.
Chasing Amy
Although Jay and Silent Bob aren’t the main focus of this film, the latter gives a speech from which the title is drawn, so they’re pretty important.
The movie follows Holden and Banky, comic book artists who created a series called Bluntman and Chronic which is based on Jay and Silent Bob. Holden is in love with Alyssa, a fellow writer, and a lesbian. As their relationship develops, he finds himself obsessing over her sexual past, leading to a fracture. He meets up with Jay and Silent Bob to give them money for using their likeness, at which point Silent Bob compares Holden’s situation to one he had previously with a woman called Amy. And so begins a third act that includes maturity, personal discovery, and another failed relationship.
Dogma
Bethany, an abortion clinic worker and lapsed Catholic, is the unaware last living descendant of Jesus. She finds herself thrust into a battle between good and evil, and discovers two unlikely companions in her adventure in the form of Jay and Silent Bob. The three are thrown together after Bethany mishears Jay talking about making a profit and assumes they are a pair of prophets she is looking for, and before we know it they’re battling fallen angels and trying to save the world. And, in the end, they still end up at the Quick Stop.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
The famous stoners got their first solo feature length film in this 2001 cult classic. In it, the pair are banned from hanging around their usual haunts thanks to a restraining order, and in the ensuing exile discover that Miramax is making a film based on Bluntman and Chronic. Determined to either stop the film or get the money they’re owed for their likeness, they head to Hollywood and cause chaos along the way. Eventually, they find themselves on the movie set, and are rewarded financially for their part in the film, but Jay is still angry enough to vow to beat up everyone who said anything negative about them online.
Clerks II
The sequel to Smith’s black comedy didn’t quite hit the high notes of the original, but Jay and Silent Bob were their usual hilarious selves in their appearances. In this outing, they’ve been born again and become devoutly religious after going to prison on a drug charge. The pair eventually use their Bluntman and Chronic money to help Dante and Randal reopen the Quick Stop, on the condition that they’re allowed to loiter outside as they used to in the good ol’ days.
Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie!
Jay and Silent Bob get animated in this film, which is adapted from a real life Bluntman and Chronic comic storyline. In it, they decide to become superheroes, which goes about as you’d expect. The film features some great cameos, including author Neil Gaiman as the pair’s Alfred-like Butler, Jon Lovitz as a mad scientist, and Stan Lee as himself.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
When they lose the rights to being Bluntman and Chronic, Jay and Silent Bob embark on an adventure to fan convention Chronic-Con in L.A. to get their rights back. Along the way they run into old friends, old flames, and even the KKK. After a whirlwind adventure they make it to Chronic-Con, where Jay realizes the joy of fatherhood, and Bob thwarts a Russian spy. The pair return to Quick Stop, ready for another day of nothing.
Clerks III
Jay and Silent Bob finally open a legal marijuana dispensary, but continue to deal outside for old time’s sake. They’re approached to play themselves in a film Randall is making about their lives outside the Quick Stop, which soon spirals into an absolute disaster as Randall and Dante fight about their past. The movie ends up pushing the pair back together, even though Dante dies soon after they reconcile.
