Boy, I hate to rip on this movie. Clerks was a masterful film, one of the landmarks of independent cinema, and Jeff Anderson's performance as Randall was a big reason for that. If Kevin Smith's name wasn't also on this thing, as in "Kevin Smith presents Now You Know" on the DVD cover, I'd be sorely tempted to let this one go and move on to the next piece of crap. But people who love Smith's work are going to rent this thing. People who loved Anderson in Clerks as much as I do are going to rent this thing. Somebody has to warn them they're better off watching Mallrats or Cop Out again.Before I get into the story, let me make this clear. Kevin Smith has a well deserved, and self acknowledged, reputation as an excellent writer who isn't all that wonderful a director. His movies are great because of what people say, not what they do or how they're shown doing it. Well, take all the criticisms of Smith as a filmmaker, multiply them by 5 and then subtract all the clever dialog and interesting characters. The product of that equation is Jeff Anderson writing and directing in this motion picture.Now You Know is about Jeremy (Jeremy Sisto) and Kerri (Rashida Jones), two New Jersey kids who grew up together, fell in love and moved to Las Vegas where they and everyone else expected them to eventually get married. But then Kerri called off the wedding and refused to tell Jeremy why. Now they're both stuck taking a trip back to Jersey for what would have been their marriage and instead they have to hang around with their old friends and try and explain what happened. That doesn't seem terribly promising but Anderson has genuinely come up with an interesting premise. As it's set up, it appears that Kerri is the bad guy in this situation. She's the one who broke up with Jeremy. But what Anderson tries to get to in his story is that while Kerri is the one who acted, it's really Jeremy's doubts about holy matrimony and their relationship which passive-aggressively pushed Kerri into calling things off. That's an interesting and somewhat sophisticated foundation on which to build a raunchy romantic comedy.After putting down that foundation, however, it's like Anderson hired a bunch of blind and deaf quadruple amputees to build his house. Scenes are staged and shot in the most boring and rudimentary manner. Instead of conversations between characters sounding like smarter versions of what you say to your own friends, the dialog hear is like dumber versions of what you say to people at work you barely know. The sets do look like they were made by professionals, but pros who barely had enough money to pay for coffee in the morning, let alone props and furniture. One of the characters only exists because Anderson wanted to begin and end with the same lame joke. Jeremy Sisto and Rashida Jones walk around with atrocious hairstyles that don't match up with the way any other character looks. Three extraneous characters are tossed in toward the end as though Anderson lost a bet with his agent and had to find work for the agent's other clients. And the head-shakingly worst bit is how Anderson repeatedly subjects the viewer to extended scenes that revolve around Trevor Fehrman, playing one of Jeremy's Jersey buddies, as though Fehrman is supposed to be this movie's Jason Mewes. The difference is that Mewes has undeniable on screen presence and Fehrman has all the charisma of a sea anemone.Now You Know is too long, too slack, too slow and too subdued. It has all the energy of an octogenarian with two broken hips and as much edge as a bag of tapioca pudding. I can respect Kevin Smith's loyalty in helping a friend make his own movie and get it out to the public, but sometimes supporting a friend has to take a back seat to not letting them embarrass themselves in public.

I must say this was a FABULOUS movie. Saw it at 2005 Vulgarathon(fabulous time by the way, got pics with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes and siggys from them and Brian Johnsen and Joey Loren Adams), and need to see it again(but first need to see Big Helium Dog again). This movie was very funny. And the love story gave a good balance although a bit mushy at parts for me. The changing furniture thing was genius. A couple days after i saw it with me friend, she was up late(as usual)and decided she would take his idea and freak her mom out by switching the living room and kitchen (she did a very good job). Now its my turn to do that to my house, mwahahahahaha. So yes, wonderful movie. I recommend it to all. And may I just add, I LOVE BISCUIT!!!!!!!can't wait to see him again in clerks2.

With the unsettling news of the end of the Jay and Silent Bob Era, this film brings hope to those fans of local Jersey humor. I was lucky enough to be in the first screening of Jeff Anderson's Now You Know his writing/directing debut at Vulgarthon this year, and it was quite the show. Now You Know is an Extreamly funny flick. 80's refrences, vulgar langueage, weird charrectors, and of course a few ViewAskew inside jokes and cameos thrown in here and there. It's defintely a comedy, but dig a little bit deeper and you come a cross a surprizingly personal piece. I can't wait for its release. If you are purely a Smith fanatic, well you'll see it no matter whats written, but you'll be rolling around laugh at his cameo in the Batchler party scene.If your interested in the plot heres a brief description: It's a story a guy trying to figure out What happened in his life. His marrage is called off just before the big day. And he is left to deal and break the news to his family and friends with no real reason why. Thrown in some weird and i mean weird frineds, landscaping accidents, crossdressers, botched batchlerparties, and a little B and E <breaking and entering for you non thugs out there and you have a film proud to bear the VA mark.

Jeff Anderson shows that he is not only one of the funniest unknown actors, but also a talented director and writer with this movie about a man trying to figure out why he's been left at the altar. I saw an early screening of the movie and must say that it was funny, heartfelt, and innovative. Not just a Kevin Smith knock-off, Jeff has taken his own direction making a romantic comedy for people sick of romantic comedies with simple solutions.