Over the last few years, director Kevin Smith has stepped away from the work that has endeared him to fans. From an incoherent mess in Red State to his thin, unimpressive work in Tusk, it has been awhile since Smith has provided us with a unique Kevin Smithy style film.
Yoga Hosers, while self-indulgent and strange at times, is an extremely fun, at times hysterical film last seen from Smith in 2008’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno. The free-spirited Smith that provided us with cult classics like Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is back with his recognizable style seen all throughout this 85-minute gem.
The premise of Yoga Hosers is a spin-off of Smith’s previous film, Tusk. In Yoga Hosers, two 15-year-old yoga fanatics Colleen Collette (Lily-Rose Depp) and Colleen McKenzie (Harley Quinn Smith) love their smartphones and hate their job at Eh-2-Zed, a Canadian 7-Eleven. What follows is a nod to Clerks, when the girls are forced to work a shift they were not originally scheduled for threatens their big invitation to a Grade 12 party. As an ancient evil rises in town threatening their lives, Colleen Squared team up with the man-hunter from Montreal, Guy LaPointe (Johnny Depp) to fight these evil forces. Smith pays homage to the 1980’s comedy horror films, which he jokingly compared to Gremlins or in his case Critters.
Yoga Hosers offers a stylish production and cartoon aesthetic shown with the social media screenshots to introduce characters throughout the film enhancing the mindset of the two teenage leads and is a fun way to show the audience that you are in the Colleens’ world, a world of social media and smartphones.
Lily-Rose Depp and Harley Quinn Smith are tremendous in their roles. The friendship these two girls share in real life shows up in their chemistry on screen and throughout the film. The cameos in the film came off as a nice surprise and natural. As a fan of these actors, it was a pleasure to see them pop up.
I had the chance to see the film last night in Red Bank, Smith’s hometown. Before the screening, Kevin Smith addressed the audience to give a background on how the film came to be. He stated that he made this film for the teenage girl that could not find a film directly geared for their entertainment and that provided a strong teen role model kicking ass.
He succeeded in not only providing that but also giving us the Kevin Smith film we had been waiting for quite some time now. This film will surely be panned by most critics. As an avid fan and critic of Smith’s work for years, it was a satisfying experience to view this film and finally be able to say, “Welcome Back, Mr. Smith.”
Reel Talk gives Yoga Hosers 3 reels
