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Utah and Latter-day Saint (LDS/Mormon) References

in the movie

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)



Directed by Kevin Smith

Screenplay by Kevin Smith



Starring: Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Jeff Anderson, Brian O'Halloran, Shannon Elizabeth, Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Will Ferrell, Judd Nelson, George Carlin, Carrie Fisher, Seann William Scott, Jon Stewart, Jules Asner, Chris Rock, Jamie Kennedy, Wes Craven, Shannen Doherty, Mark Hamill, Amy Noble



MPAA Rating: R

U.S. Box Office: $30,059,386

Production budget: $22,000,000

WARNING: "Jay and Silent Bob" was Rated R by the MPAA for "nonstop crude and sexual humor, pervasive strong language, and drug content." Although some care has been taken, even this webpage may contain objectionable content. This truly is a crude, vulgar movie, and this page should in no way be taken as a recommendation to see the film or as an evaluation of its artistic or ethical merits (if any).

"Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" is a crude, vulgarity-laced comedy featuring two stoners who had been minor recurring characters in some of Kevin Smith's previous movies. Nearly six minutes of the movie take place in Utah, where the title characters stop en route to Hollywood from their home on the Wisconsin. The movie contains multiple references to Utah. Although there are no overt references to Latter-day Saints (or "Mormons") by name, a number of the lines of dialogue implicitly refer to the state's predominanty Latter-day Saint population by invoking the state's highly ethical, traditionally moral reputation.

While hitchhiking their way to Hollywood, Jay and Silent Bob hitch a ride with four twenty-something female jewel thieves. These four young women are: Justice (Shannon Elizabeth), Sissy (Eliza Dushku), Chrissy (Ali Larter) and Missy (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith). The quartet of jewel thieves take Jay and Silent Bob to Colorado, telling them that they are radical animal rights activists who intend to "liberate" animals from a research facility. They do indeed release dozens of animals from the facility, but this is only a cover for their real plan (which they do not tell Jay and Silent Bob about): They steal diamonds worth millions of dollars from a museum next to the place they release the animals from.

After the heist, the girls' van explodes, leaving Jay and Silent Bob thinking that the four beautiful jewel thieves are dead. To throw authorities off their track, the thieves send the media a video of Jay and Silent Bob (apparently made by them) along with a message with threats and demands relating to freeing simians from captivity. The name of the phony organization is "Coalition for the Liberation of Itinerate Tree dwellers," a name chosen for the express purpose of vulgarly creating an acronym that sounds like a female body part.

Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly (played by Will Ferrell) is the primary law enforcement official who tries to catch Jay and Silent Bob after the jewel heist/animal "liberation." Willenholly is on a national television news show taking to the show's host (played by comedian Jon Stewart of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show"), discussing the crime and the radical animal rights organization that he has been led to believe is involved.

While being interviewed, Willenholly receives a phone call telling him that the two fugitives -- Jay and Silent Bob -- have been spotted in Utah. This leads to the movie's first reference to Utah, in which Will Ferrell's character looks into the camera, addresses the "citizens of Utah," and tells them that "stimulation" of this criminal animal rights group "is not recommended." The intended humor of this line is undermined by the fact that a law enforcement official would not actually use the word "stimulation" in speaking about how citizens might interact with a terrorist group or criminal organization. A law enforcement official might use words such as "confrontation" or "provocation." The word "stimulation" was used simply so that the sentence as a whole would indicate sexual act. The result is obvious and juvenile, much like the level of humor throughout the film. The juxtaposition of "Utah" with this sexual reference may be an attempt to derive additional humor by playing against the state's Mormon-based conservative sexual morality.

Later, in a scene that takes place in Utah, the dialogue once again plays against the state's conservatism. Jay and Silent Bob are in a diner in Southern Utah, in the Lake Powell area. Utah police officers in five police cars quickly drive up to and park in front of the diner. The Utah police officers are led by a sheriff played by actor Judd Nelson, who may be best known for his role as the rebellious teen "John Bender" in the movie "The Breakfast Club" (1985). Through a bullhorn, the sheriff demands that Jay and Silent Bob come out and surrende the orangutan. Willenholly arrives on the scene, and joins in the police effort.

In order to escape, Jay and Silent Bob dress the orangutan in a baseball cap and T-shirt from a young boy inside the diner. They then ask the police if they can leave, saying that the orangutan is their son. They hope that the police will be confused about who they are. Willenholly wonders aloud if Jay and Silent Bob are "one of those gay couples." Jay latches onto the idea, and proclaims: "Yeah, we're gay, and this is our adopted love child. We're not from around here. Don't make us go back to our liberal city home with tales of prejudice and bigotry from in the heart of Utah."

There are a couple more scenes in Utah. The Utah sheriff (Judd Nelson) actually has quite a few lines. Despite the fact that Nelson is playing a sheriff in predominantly Mormon southern Utah, there is nothing at all to indicate that this character is a Latter-day Saint. The sheriff uses a few harsh curse words in a way that an active Latter-day Saint would not. The Utah state flag can be seen in the police station where the sheriff's office is located, but there are no overt references to Latter-day Saints. The sheriff's use of vulgar language is unfortunate and inappropriate. On the plus side, the Utah sheriff and other police officers are portrayed as intelligent and capable, in contrast to Will Ferrell's character, who is also a law enforcement officer, but is something of a moron.

Worth noting, but completely unrelated to this film's Utah content is the fact that one of the stars of the movie is a Latter-day Saint: Eliza Dushku, who plays the gorgeous but tart-tongued international jewel thief "Sissy." Dushku (who still identified herself as a Mormon but was no longer an active churchgoer by the time this movie was made) has the 7th-billed role on the official movie poster. Dushku was born and raised in Massachusetts.





Below is the dialogue from this movie's Utah scenes, as it can be heard in the movie:



48 minutes, 31 seconds after the start of the film: