Kevin Smith of ‘Jay and Silent Bob’: 'When I die, I want to go to Chicago. That’s my idea of heaven.’
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Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes got together as Silent Bob and Jay, respectively, on screen in “Clerks” in 1994 and they’ve taken their act on the road in various guises since.
They were young once. Now they’re older, though are they “old,” really? Their 10-year-old podcast “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old” began when Smith was 40. Now he’s 50. They’re in Chicago this week for two reasons. One involves a fictional restaurant pulled into reality. From Friday through Nov. 6, a pop-up edition of Mooby’s, the fast-food joint Smith invented for his movie, offers takeaway burgers, onion rings and “vegan cow tippers” at St. Lou’s Assembly in the West Loop. The Tribune wrote about it recently.
The other reason Smith and Mewes are coming to town: They’re doing the live podcast Sunday night at the McHenry Outdoor Theater. Here are some excerpts from a recent conversation with Smith, which reveal, among other things, why he considers Chicago “heaven” and what’s the deal with his unlikely decades-long association with a certain Chicago suburb.
Tribune: There’s a certain pathos the way the Sunday event is worded on the podcast website: “Jay and Silent Bob Get Old in McHenry, Illinois."
Kevin Smith: There really is. You know, I wrote McHenry into “Dogma" back in 1999. Twenty years earlier, my family took a big Amtrak trip across country. We stopped in Chicago to hang out with my uncle and his family, who lived in McHenry. Years later, when I was writing ‘Dogma,’ I needed my characters to be in Illinois, but not necessarily Chicago. So I went, ‘Ooo! McHenry!’ Then years after that, we’re setting our gig for the Mooby’s pop-up opening in Chicago, and we’re looking for a place to do a live show. Jordan, Jason’s wife, who kind of runs our company, says there’s an outdoor theater in a town called McHenry, and I went omigod! In “Dogma” Jay and Silent Bob went to McHenry looking for Shermer, Illnois! They wound up in front of an abortion clinic and that’s how the whole movie gets started! So I just hope that everything’s there where I left it back in ’79.”
Q: What’s the best thing about getting older?
A: I’ll get to that, but the weirdest thing about getting older is how you’re no longer in any of the key demographics whatsoever. You turn 50 and it’s like your money don’t spend anymore. But I’ve been lucky. If you’re lucky you make it to chairman emeritus status. I’ve outlasted “Oh, he’s a hack, he sucks, what did anyone ever see in him?" Now I’m in the phase of “Oh, he’s lasted a long time! He knows what he’s talking about! Twenty-six years in the movie business!” That’s kind of cool. I’ll tell you one of the best things. One of my favorite things in the world to say is, “Well, I’ve been in this business 26 years!” It’s nice when you get to a place in your career when people don’t consider you a fossil; they consider you a senior citizen.
Q: So what’s it like, doing a live podcast at a drive-in?
A. Crowd interactivity becomes different, for sure. You have to cut way back on crowd size, with the pandemic. Inside a theater, you can look into people’s eyes, at least if they’re in the first few rows. You can hear the waves of laughter instantly. Here, you don’t hear the laughter. The best response you can get is a bunch of car horns beeping at once. If one of us says something funny enough so that we hear actual collective laughter, lemme tell you, we feel super proud, because we’re hearing it through steel car doors and glass windshields.
Q: Best thing that ever happened to you?
A Honestly? My heart attack, nearly three years ago. It allowed me to catch poor health before it got poorer. My dad died at 67 of a heart attack, after a couple of strokes. My daughter, who’s 21 now, told me: “Go plant-based!” So after the worst chicken nuggets on the planet on my last day in the hospital, I went vegan, I lost weight, my cholesterol dropped and it gave me a recommitment to my life.
Q: The last time you were in Chicago …
A: October 2019, when we were doing the “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot" roadshow tour. We did two sold-out shows at the Music Box. It was glorious, man. Those Chicago shows set up the rest of the tour for us. I shot both screenings on my iPhone from the back of the audience. Whenever I’m sad, or I get blue, I just run that footage, man, and listen to the crowd reaction.
When I die, I want to go to Chicago. That’s my idea of heaven. Those folks get me. They wear layers, and they get me.
“Jay and Silent Bob Get Old” live podcast with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes, 6 p.m. Sunday Nov. 1, McHenry Outdoor Theater, 1510 N. Chapel Hill Rd., McHenry. Remaining tickets: $109.79 (up to four passengers) and $68.04 (two passengers). $56.18 per additional passenger.
Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic.
Twitter @phillipstribune
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