Dogma

In 1999, Jason Lee played the demon Azrael in the Kevin Smith film Dogma. Here's a deleted scene that many viewers, including me, think should have stayed in the film:

Enemy of the State

In 1998, Lee had a small but significant part in the action adventure Enemy of the State, which starred Will Smith and Gene Hackman.

Here's a clip featuring Lee's character, Zavitz:



Next up: The 1999 movies Dogma and Mumford - stay tuned.

Janet

Cuisine Americaine

Besides Kissing a Fool, Lee made two other movies in 1998.

He had a starring role in a French film called Cuisine Americaine. Here's a trailer:



This is not an easy film to get a hold of, and I have not seen it yet.

Janet

Kissing a Fool

A year after making Chasing Amy, Jason Lee made the movie Kissing a Fool. Playing Jay Murphy, Lee got to be the kind and gentle best friend to David Schwimmer's shallow, obnoxious Max Abbitt.

This was a nice change of pace for both of them. Schwimmer, of course, was playing lovable nerd Ross on Friends, while Lee was best known for playing the obnoxious best friends in Mallrats and Chasing Amy.

After the bad reviews this film got, I had avoided watching it. What a mistake!

It wasn't perfect (hey, what is), but it was a pleasant little comedy, especially if you're a fan of any of the actors.

I thought Mili Avital was wonderful in this. She has the grace and charm of the actresses of the 30s and 40s. It's easy to believe that both Max and Jay fell in love with her.

Here's a trailer:



Hope you enjoy it.

Janet

Jason Lee Proves Himself in Chasing Amy

In 1997, Kevin Smith cast Jason Lee as comic book creator Banky Edwards in Chasing Amy. While the story is about the relationship between Holden McNeil (Ben Affleck) and Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams), Banky figures in what could be called a weird love triangle.

Banky has a lot in common with Lee's Mallrats character, Brodie Bruce; both are argumentative and obnoxious. But Banky is both nastier and more vulnerable.

Banky's crankiness is evident from the very first scene in Chasing Amy, in which he's accused of being a mere "tracer" for the comic book he draws and writes with Holden (be forewarned, there's a lot of swearing):



One of the things I love about Jason Lee is his ability to make you like a character who, by all rights, should not be likable. Banky is one of those characters.

I think you'll also like this seen (also featuring way too much of the "f" word) featuring Dwight Ewell, who's a lot of fun as Hooper X, a gay black comic book artist who needs to put on a macho black pride persona to sell his comic books.



Chasing Amy is an original and thoughtful, albeit infuriating movie. I wanted to bang Holden and Banky's heads together as I watched them mess things up. But it's definitely worth a watch.

Drawing Flies

Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier financed a little-known movie called Drawing Flies in 1996. Smith cast his usual gang. Jason Lee stars as Donner, a guy who convinces his friends to venture into the Canadian wildnerness to his uncle's cabin. Unfortunately for them, he's crazy and there is no cabin.

I haven't seen the movie, but I hope to get hold of a used copy one of these days. From what I've read about it, it's a low-budget, uneven film that's best left to fans of Kevin Smith and the cast (well, that is us, after all).

It's hard to find clips of this movie, but here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

Drawing Flies

Janet

Mallrats - Jason Lee's First Big Acting Gig

You can't make a lifelong career out of pro skateboarding and Jason wanted to leave the sport while at the top of his game. So, after appearing in Video Days and the Sonic Youth video, he decided a good career to fall back on would be movie acting. Yeah, he himself admits that was pretty naive.

Yet by 1995 he landed the part of Brodie Bruce, one of the two leads in Kevin Smith's movie Mallrats.

Here's a scene that clearly shows why Rene (Shannen Doherty) could, and should, find a better boyfriend than Brodie:



And a very fun video featuring Jay & Silent Bob dancing to the song "Build Me Up, Buttercup":



There are scenes from the movie in this, but they don't start until well over a minute into the video.

I didn't love the movie, but I do think Jason Lee is awesome in it.

Enjoy!

Janet