Review: Madness in the Method

Madness in the Method is the directorial debut of Jason Mewes of Jay and Silent Bob fame. Although, bringing up Mewes’ famous part seems at odds with the movie, as so much of it is concerned with separating Jason Mewes, the actor, from Jay, the character. However, that seems to be about as deep as the movie ever goes with nothing more to say than “take me seriously” while also endlessly referencing the very work he wants to leave behind. 

The plot involves Jason Mewes (as himself) desperately trying to get heavier, dramatic parts and climb the Hollywood star ranking. After yet another failed audition, Kevin Smith (as himself) recommends a specific method acting book to Jason that will take his performances to another level. So, he travels to a heavily guarded house and is given the book by a mysterious, seductive man. With instructions to read it slowly, Jason is on his way. But, he does not follow the advice and reads the book too quickly, thus deteriorating his mental state and making him more aggressive. Through an accident, he inadvertently gets his friend Vinnie Jones (as himself) fingered for a murderous hit and run. Things only begin to deteriorate from there once he hears about friend Brian O’Halloran’s Oscar buzz generating project, The Odyssey. Jason wants the lead and will stop at nothing to make that happen. 

Going into this film, I was interested to see Mewes’ take on a more serious part, as performers mostly known for comedy trying their hand at drama has the potential to at least be interesting. While he does not fall on his face in this regard, he could have benefited from an experienced director rather than splitting his creative energy. He is serviceable in the part if not a little one-note and flat. 

When it comes to the film itself, unfortunately, I do not have much positive to report. It is plodding and shoddily paced. The whole movie feels as though events are simply transpiring because the plot requires them to happen. None of the characters have tangible, real goals in the film, even Jason. The writers needed them to feel or do things so the movie can happen and nothing else. Scenes begin and end with no real purpose, and for a movie that wants to distance itself from the past, we sure are treated to what feels like a never ending stream of “snoochie” references or lines, even appearing as a triumphant one-liner in the end. This flies in the face of the whole point of the movie. 

This is a comedy movie with no real jokes and no real suspense from the bare bones crime story package it comes in. Mewes as a director is woefully out of his depth here. The whole thing exudes a “good enough” attitude. From poor framing to confusing editing, it is a minefield of poor execution. Even acknowledging that this is his first film, it feels like it was put together by someone who does not have a firm grip on the job he is meant to do.

The performances across the board are stunted, likely due to some pretty amateurish dialogue. Zach Galligan’s Director character being a small bright spot, as well as Kevin Smith seemingly riffing or adding to his scenes heavily being that they do not sound anything like the other written lines. There are a lot of cameos in the film too, notably including Stan Lee’s last film role. However, all of that is really icing at best and is rather grating when the cake underneath is completely under cooked. 

I do not know the budget on the movie, and I am well aware/forgiving of small budget films on a technical level. However, that does not excuse what amounts to some First-Year-in-Film-School level production. The sound is at times booming, as if it were recorded on the wrong microphone for the space. This is paired with some truly bad ADR and hisses and pops between edits in the dialogue. The cinematography is also frustratingly bad. It is hard to explain where the movie went visually wrong without going into great, overlong detail. Suffice to say, the stock footage used in the movie stands out horribly, because they are the best looking shots in the film. When we go back to the actual scenes the quality dip is drastic. 

I will note that one particular scene in the movie did grab me. *SPOILERS* Towards the end of the film Jason confronts Kevin about holding him back from getting the lead part in The Odyssey. The two fight, and it results in the fictional end to their actual friendship. It’s a really nice little scene. The performances are quite good from both of them and the dialogue is a cut above what we have been accustomed to hearing. It’s a pointed look at what could happen when a group of friends get famous together but not equally. The resentment displayed by Mewes was surprising. I really enjoyed it. The only negative aspect is that I wish the rest of the movie was that good. 

Madness in the Method is attempting to take a shot at Hollywood fame culture. Unfortunately, the film has nothing real to say. It’s a vehicle only to show a more serious side of Jason Mewes, with a comedy coating to help the new identity go down smoother. Yet, the crime film aspects are undeveloped at best, and the jokes were funnier when they were said better in other movies.