[Cop Out - Red Band Trailer]

GO SEE COP OUT this weekend!

Yes, I’m serious. I know I haven’t been epic levels of The Watchmen about this, but if you know me at all, you know I’m a serious Kevin Smith fan (post circa 2007).

It happened probably back in 1998 - I’m in 8th grade - when I saw Dogma on VHS and wondered who this Silent Bob was. That led me to Clerks then Mallrats and Chasing Amy and I was a Kevin Smith fan way before directing and acting out a scene from Clerks in 11th grade drama class (I played Dante).

My high school friends and I consumed Clerks: The Animated Series episodes on DVD like they were Family Guy episodes before their prime. We made a road trip from Philly to Jersey and checked out Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash comic book store in Red Bank and then made sure to hit The Quick Stop before heading back. I spent all of the money I had at the Stash and then spent my last quarter on Juicy Fruit at the Stop and it was one of the great trips of HS.

We saw Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back on IMAX and regular when it came out our Senior Year, now with many hours of View Askew goodness to quote on the regular.

Then college happened and my second year I submitted a 50 word “essay” to win a spot at Stash Bash #2 in Red Bank, where KS premiered Jersey Girl footage, signed everything, and then took us all bowling where I left and finally got back to my dorm at 5am, driving. That night Kevin signed 4 things for me, took pictures, and then took pictures again later at the bowling alley. That night I actually bowled the highest I’ve ever bowled.

After seeing Jersey Girl in the theaters opening Friday night before my first Kevin Smith infamous Q&A at UMD, back in 2004, I knew I was hooked. I bravely stood up early, got in line, and was able to ask why I didn’t see him in Jersey Girl at all, even though Jason Mewes was in it (a subtle tip of the hat in that the movie had only come out 24 hours before and I had already seen it). Kevin said it was so he could get fat and not worry about how he looked on screen, thanked me, and moved on.

I would go on to see Kevin answer audience questions for 5-8 hours at a clip; not just at UMD, but also Red Bank (3 times, including for his 37th birthday) and Carnegie Hall.

In that time Clerks 2 and Zack and Miri Make a Porno came out. Each time, my friend Greg came up to see it with me, opening weekend, in Manhattan. We truly enjoyed both.

I’m not claiming to be unbiased in any sense because I do own every single Kevin Smith movie, cartoon, and Q&A on DVD, both of his books, and some signed posters and other items. I have listened to every single minute of his 1-2 hr (on average) Smodcast (podcast conversation) on my headphones, adding up to a conservative estimate of 130-150 hours of Kevin talking in my ear. I even used to get the prolific Twitter user’s tweets sent SMS to my iPhone (didn’t last long). So yeah, I support him and think he’s great, and I’m thankful for what he’s given to film, etc. With that in mind, I’m telling you to go see Cop Out this weekend.

If you haven’t seen the Red Band trailer above, then I understand that this hasn’t particularly been on your to-do list. Kevin Smith did not WRITE the movie screenplay, nor edit/produce the trailer. For that reason (of it being a studio film) it’s also not surprising we’re seen it promoted everywhere advertising can be bought.

And you’re seeing this promotion and writing it off. I disagree. You’re looking for something new and original and that’s not what this film is. If I trust Kevin Smith with anything, it’s him watching and enjoying so many more movies than I for 30 years of his life that he can integrate the best elements into a genre he’s always admired: the 80s buddy cop movie.

As a guy that grew up even liking Cop and a Half, I guess I see something other people haven’t - a funny fun movie - something I haven’t seen a lot of recently. He’s not trying to be original or fresh or trying to reinvent the genre, he’s just trying to do another good one. And are you seriously not down for a movie starring:

Bruce Willis
Tracy Morgan
Kevin Pollak
Adam Brody
Michelle Trachtenberg
Jason Lee
Rashida Jones
Seann William Scott
Jim Norton
Fred Armisen

No? You’d be tuned into a 30 Rock episode with them though. And that’s what I’m looking for here, a movie I like watching. I think it’ll be that kind of movie. And it’s because I’m still a fanboy and it’s because I like truly funny movies. I’ll be seeing it in Manhattan this Saturday afternoon. Hopefully you’ll be excited too.