Why Jay And Silent Bob Reboot Is Rated R

Jay and Silent Bob in the Reboot movie

It’s been over a decade since Kevin Smith fans last saw Jay and Silent Bob in live action, but the pot-smoking heater life mates are finally returning to the big screen this fall in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. As one could tell from the red-band trailer that dropped at San Diego Comic-Con, like most of Kevin Smith’s cinematic directorial efforts, this movie is not meant for kids, and it’s now been confirmed that Jay and Silent Bob Reboot has been given an R rating by the MPAA for the following reasons:

Pervasive strong crude sexual content, language throughout, drug use and some nudity.

That sounds about right for a Kevin Smith movie, particularly one centered on Jay and Silent Bob. Jay’s foul mouth alone would warrant an R-rating, but throw in the sexual innuendos that are frequently present in Smith’s movies, a lot of weed usage and some nudity, and you’re resting comfortably in the R realm, but still safe from NC-17 territory.

Most of the movies in Kevin Smith’s filmography have been rated R, the exceptions being Jersey Girl and Yoga Hosers. It is worth noting, though, that those movies were initially rated R, but the MPAA eventually knocked them down to PG-13, with the Yoga Hosers reversal happening right before Smith was set to hold an appeal screening.

This rating announcement (via Vital Thrills) comes as Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is just two months away from hitting theaters. That said, rather than having a traditional theatrical release, the movie will first be screened through Fathom Events on October 15 and October 17, with the latter screening being a double-feature with Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

After that, Kevin Smith will do a U.S. roadshow tour until mid-December to present the movie in various cities and host a Q&A afterwards. Early next year, that tour will extend to foreign countries. And then, of course, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot will eventually be released on home media.

Despite what the title suggests, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is not a reboot of their previous View Askewniverse appearances. Instead, it’s poking fun at the reboot/remake/re-imagining craze in the entertainment sphere by having the duo travel to Hollywood to stop the Bluntman and Chronic reboot from being made, which is what they tried to do to the original Bluntman and Chronic movie nearly two decades ago.

However, don’t think this means Jay and Silent Bob Reboot will be a full rehash of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. There will be plenty of differences between that adventure and the new one, including Jay learning along the way that he has a daughter. Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is also packed with a lot of cameos, including Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Val Kilmer, Melissa Benoit, Joe Manganiello, Craig Robinson, Tommy Chong, Fred Armisen and many more.

Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more coverage on Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, but in the meantime, feel free to look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what other movies are opening in theaters later this year.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.