Allen Lyons (lyonsfreelance) Posted from myspace.com/lyonsfreelance.com An obsessed fan of Star Trek may be called a Trekkie. I call myself an Askewie: an obsessed fan of View Askew. There are now many films produced under View Askew, but the ones truly deserving to be obsessed by an Askewie are the ones in theView Askew Universe: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II (It is permittable, however, to enjoy other movies by the View Askew God, Kevin Smith, such as Jersey Girl and Zack and Miri Make A Porno) But what about their red-headed step-sibling? What about that rare lost View Askew film, Drawing Flies? What about it?Drawing Flies may be arguably part of the aforementioned series with many names:Askewniverse,New Jersey Trilogy, the Clerks films, etc. Although it is not written and directed by Kevin Smith, in which the others are, but by Malcolm Ingram, who did the less-known View Askew produced film, Small Town Gay Bar. Kevin Smith is, however, the producer, along with his partner, Scott Mosier (no, not that kind of partner, you sicko, that partner is Jen Schwalbach). The arguable points in favor are one: most of the cast are from other Clerks films (as Kev seems to enjoy recycling actors); and two: Askewniverse characters are employed in this film (as Kev seems to enjoy recycling characters).The said cast are Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Joey Lauren Adams (credited as Lauren Lyle), Renee Humphrey (Tricia Jones from Mallrats), and Carmen Llywelyn (Kim, Alyssa Jones's girlfriend in Chasing Amy; and the model of the poster in which Silent Bob crashes through and into the dressing room to reveal, again, Joey Lauren Adams, in Mallrats) (credited as her married name at the time to co-star, Jason Lee). The said characters are Silent Bob and William Black, portrayed respectively by their original actors, Kevin Smith and Ethan Suplee. The said are also credited as their character names ("Silent Bob as himself" and "Ethan as William Black").The story follows roommates, Lee, Lee, Mewes, Humphrey, and no-namer Martin Brooks, into the British Columbian woods for a camping/hiking trip after refused from their Welfare checks. Throughout their joint-and-vodka-fueled adventures, they stumble across a diaper clad gang led by Scott Mosier.Only later do they realize that they were used for a "delusional" mission of Jason Lee's character, Donner, to discover Sasquatch. After learning of Donner's ploy, wounded Az (Mewes) and Cassidy (Mrs. Lee) leave the rest of the gang to return to ....Vancouver...., while Meg (Humphrey) and Jake (Brooks) attempt to nurse Donner back to sanity. Meg and Jake fail however as Donner plunges to lows of rubbing himself in "sasquatch" feces and even eating it! The acting can be said to have been lost if wasn't for Mr. Lee's "Atlas" role of carrying the film on his shoulders, according to a reviewer on IMDb.com. Also, the quality is very low in the looks and sounds department. Clerks was also in black and white but did not look as shitty as this. In addition, I had a difficult time trying to classify the genre between my choices of comedy and drama, no clear signs were shown. Again, I'm going to have to recommend that you reserve some time from your busy movie-viewing life for Drawing Flies, the possible lost View Askew film.To read more reviews or other forms of writing from me, check out my aforementioned site.

Andy (film-critic) Now, I am typically not one to generally insult a film. I realize that when creating artwork there are those that devote their sweat, tears, and blood to the project. While some films are horrendous, there is always the need to take a moment and appreciate the time that the director put into his/her work. Alas, with Drawing Flies that theory doesn't apply. What has happened with this film is simply two directors wanted to have a good time, sold Kevin Smith on the concept (a darn good sales pitch if you ask me), asked him to invite his friends, and they would provide the room and food. It reminded me of those first parties at college where you don't really know anyone, but you still invite upperclassmen so that it won't be a total bust. That is exactly what happened with Drawing Flies. While the directors (yep, sadly there were two) will complain about their lack of budget and film, I believe they got exactly what they wanted. A cheap independent film that can be endorsed by Kevin Smith and stars the now popular Jason Lee. Good or horribly bad, those are some decent names to boast for such a cheap film.Drawing Flies was a cheaply made film that carried with it a sloppy story. In all attempts to pull in a independent crowd and possibly create a "cult" classic, these directors have done nothing more than provided us with an hour and ten minutes of pure slop. The beginning should have been our tell-tale sign when Jason Lee's voice-over provided the first ten minutes of the film laying what could have been the groundwork for the film, but instead just random dribble. There was no A-B-C logic in this film. There was no defined story. There were no intelligent characters. There was literally no emotion. I could continue this "missing" list for quite some time, but I would need several milk containers. All this film had was Kevin Smith's View Askew production name stamped (very proudly … nearly too proudly) on the front and actor friends that apparently didn't care what a decision like this would do to their career. The entire "Jay & Silent Bob" moments were only included in this film to pull drooling fan-boys to the rental stands. They had no impact on the actual story itself. In fact, the mere seconds that they share aren't even funny, just cliché and completely cheap.I hate to continue to use the word "cheap" to describe this film, but as I watched the production value of Drawing Flies fall dramatically as the 76 minutes came closer and closer to ending, I kept thinking of those $1 movies found in those bins at your local stores. They may be good movies, but the value is so cheap that you nearly feel like the $1 isn't worth it. That is how I felt with Drawing Flies. One minute we are at a beer guzzling party, the next we are moping about welfare, and the next we are in the woods concerned about Bigfoot. Where was the logic behind these segments? My answer … there was none. This film was a cheap attempt at creativity, mental instability, and those darn Sasquatch. For a View Askew production, the voice dubbing was horrendous, the actual acting was atrocious, and the sets were amazingly poor. Even the outdoor shots just screamed "Blue Light Special". Nothing worked in this film. Nothing of value was created. Nothing could make a mother say, "I am proud of the work my son has done." That is sad.I am tired of Kevin Smith. While I love Clerks (both the live-action and cartoon) and think Chasing Amy is one of the most brilliant films about modern culture created, Smith has continued to disappoint his die-hard fans time and time again by feeding us cheap cliché moments like that of Jay & Silent Bob in Drawing Flies. It is as if he has found his one character and is not afraid to exploit it to the very end. Jason Mewes should not continue to work. Jason Lee needs to stay focused. He is an exceptionally talented actor, but this film could seriously ruin his resume. Everyone else just did this film because Smith was involved, and Smith was involved only because he likes to think that he still has his hand on the pulse of independent cinema, but alas he does not. Kevin Smith is mainstream, even when Passion of the Clerks is released it just won't have that pizazz it once did. His originality is gone and we can only blame films like Drawing Flies for that change.Overall, in case you haven't guessed already, this was one of the worst films that I watched this year. As the year begins to close, I thought that good cinema would be pouring in, but if I continue on the Drawing Flies path, I do not see good things in my future. I am tired of clichés, of overused pop culture references, and of Kevin Smith. I am disappointed in this film because it wasted 76 minutes of my day.I just kept waiting for these lines to pass our character's lips:"I gave you BACK the map, Heather.""I gave you the map.""I gave you BACK... THE MAP."Grade: * out of *****

tarrantino_fan This movie is funny as hell. Jason Lee is the man. This movie is funny, dramatic, and at times unusual. I really like it and wish it had gotten bigger. Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier both appear in the film. Jason Lee, Carmen Lee and Jason Mewes all give awesome performances as a bunch of burnouts.

WrathChld I would have to agree with allot of the comments I read on this movie. The sound is a big part of why people may not like it. Although, I must say I was expecting the worst ... so when I saw it the sound actually didn't bother me. You can totally tell the points in the movie where the sound is really bad. Just keep in mind, that this is an independent film and with that I don't think you will be disappointed. I have been a big fan of the Kevin Smith movies. I have all of them on Dvd and decided to see what other movies he was connected to. When I saw "Drawing Flies", I noticed it was PACKED with many of the actors that make up Smith movies. Even smith (himself) makes a debut in this movie. I would have to say if you are a Kevin Smith fan (even though this is NOT a Kevin smith movie) you will enjoy it. Probably because you see many familiar faces. If you are not interested in a low budget Kevin smith type movie, then I suggest you take a pass. I bought this movie through amazon before I watched it. I kind of got nervous when I read the reviews, thinking I wasted my money. I just finished watching it and would have to say it was not a waste. I look forward to seeing the director's cut and sharing this with other K.S. fans. I would recommend adding this to your dvd collection, or at least renting it.