Kevin Smith's YOGA HOSERS: Total Creative Bliss Through Apathy

  

Now, my opinion on Kevin Smith's  collective works may be biased....I was hooked around the time of CLERKS VHS release back in the day, and have faithfully laid down money to catch the rest of his filmography theatrically since then (seeing DOGMA in the Little Art Theatre in Yellow Springs, Ohio back in 1999 was certainly a trip, simply because the venue has, like, 6 seats).  I've seen him speak live on his college tours, and his podcasts (especially FATMAN ON BATMAN) seem to hit my geeky fanboy sweet spots.  Straight from the gate, upon viewing CLERKS the first time, I became endeared with his work due to identifying with the themes his stories contained.   Yes, at one time, I had a shitty  retail counter job.  Yes, I had friends that I could easily see filling the peripheral and incidental roles in his films.   Yes, I'm a life long comic book and STAR WARS enthusiast.  And, yes....I'm incredibly foul mouthed and have an extensive vocabulary.   So, naturally, I find him to be a kindred spirit.

Kevin Smith as a "Bratzi"

My opinions on his talent and ability as a filmmaker are:
His strengths lie in dialogue.   The cat has a way with words.
His personal aesthetics are ahead of the curve...he was nailing this whole comic book geekery and pop culture reference thing that kids are into these days straight from day one of his career.
His premises generally seem to be highly original....I'm looking straight at CHASING AMY, DOGMA, ZACK & MIRI, JERSEY GIRL and RED STATE when I say this (yes....JERSEY GIRL.  I honestly believe it's a good movie that became a casualty of tabloid romance bullshit.  GIGLI and "Bennifer" killed JERSEY GIRL, not the quality of the film).

Smith has had his missteps.  JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK comes to mind....it's basically IT'S A MAD, MAD WORLD made for Askewniverse fans of the previous decade.

Even COP OUT,  which is generally hated by fans, is a serviceable buddy comedy that's well made, IMO.  But, again, there may be personal bias somewhere in there because I find Tracey Morgan one of the funnier fucking people on this planet.

The Colleens: Harley Smith and Lily Depp

YOGA HOSERS is a completely different beast altogether,  though.

It's a little too short, the plotline seems rushed....there's about four or five really good ideas for individual films...and, it comes off feeling like a vanity project starring Smith's daughter and Johnny Depp's kid.

The two leads, Harley Quinn Smith and Lily Rose Depp, are cute as buttons, and Depp seems to have natural raw talent, delivering her lines with a fluid grace and ease.  Smith, on the other hand,....and I hate to say this because she seems like one of the few cast members that's genuinely having fun....well, half her performance possesses that natural fluidity I mentioned above of Depp's....while the other half feels forced and stiff.   But, in her defense, it is her first time onscreen and she appears to be in the process of figuring out how to be comfortable in front of cameras.

Johnny Depp: Comoletely unrecognizable as Guy Lapointe

The plot is as ridiculous as it sounds....Two 15-year-old yoga enthusiasts (Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith) join forces with a legendary man-hunter (Johnny Depp) to battle Canadian Nazis who take the form of deadly sausages.

I can see where the elder Smith is drawing his influences from for at least this particular film: 1980s low budget Indy horror comedy and goofy cheapjack direct to video Charles Band Full Moon nonsense from the Nineties.  And it feels like one of those films, only the pacing is slightly more breakneck than those movies (if that's possible).
Now.....having said all that, I must admit that I don't think it's a bad movie, as in entertaining....instead it's a really good Bad Movie, something that has potential for midnight and/or cult movie status.   Something in line with, say, PLAN NINE FROM OUTER SPACE.  There's a weird potential for multiple viewings of YOGA HOSERS, due in no short part to the charisma of the two leads.

Plus, I have to applaud Kevin Smith for finally coming to a creative milestone that can only be described as artistic freedom via total apathy.  Smith appears, via interviews and video presentations,  to have come to a point of creative Zen by turning a blind eye and/or just accepting barbs thrown at him by the critical community. ...and simply just telling the stories he seems interested in telling.

Plus, where else can you see the kid from THE SIXTH SENSE all growed up playing a Canadian Nazi. 

Bravo, Mr. Smith....if the truest form of unfiltered artistic expression is one not bound by the opinions of others, ie., the raw, unadulterated,  uninhibited id presented via tactile means....then you've achieved it, sir.