Few filmmakers like profanity quite as much asKevin Smith, whose characters tend to have dirty mouths and – at the best of times – an almost poetic manner in which they can use the foulest of language. Admittedly, some of his movies are PG-13 (likeJersey GirlandYoga Hosers), so non-stop profanity isn’t present in every film of his, but a good number have a good many f-words.
And, yes, there are other swear words out there, but for present purposes, profanity is being counted in terms of how many uses of that particular word there are.The following Kevin Smith movies use it the most, with some having dozens of f-bombs, and the crudest of the bunch having more like hundreds. They’re ranked below, starting with the very profane and ending with the extremely vulgar.
10‘Clerks’ (1994)
F-Word Count: 89
If anything, it’s a bit surprising thatClerksclocks in with less than 100 f-words, because it’s easy to remember the whole movie as being extremely profane. And, like, it still is, but it might well be other words that contribute to that feeling more than the big one; that word that starts with an “F,” continues with a “U,” has its penultimate letter be “C,” and then concludes with a “K.” Not sure how to spell it out any more than that.
Anyway,Clerksis a great bottle movie, being made on a budget and really just focusing on a couple of young men trying to survive a day of work in their dead-end customer service jobs.It was Smith’s first feature film, and one that set a precedent for profanity… though he certainly surpassedClerks, in terms of f-word counts, as his filmmaking career went on.
9‘Cop Out’ (2010)
F-Word Count: 95
There’s an argument to be made thatClerksremains Kevin Smith’s best film and, similarly, it’s pretty easy to labelCop Outas his worst. This is a pretty dire action/comedy/crime movie, not surpassing Clerks when it comes to quality, but besting it in f-words, at least, containing 95 all up, versus the 89 that can be found/heard inClerks.
As for the premise ofCop Out… ugh, who cares. It sucks.Everyone knows it sucks. Don’t watch it. In just about every way,Cop Outwas both a mistake and a misfire, and you’re probably better off watching any other semi-comedic crime movie out there; it’ll probably be better than this. It’s only mentioned here because, technically, it is obscene language-wise. It’s also obscene quality-wise. Stay as far away as you possibly can.
8‘Dogma’ (1999)
F-Word Count: 104
Back to some good Kevin Smith, thankfully,Dogmais one of his more unusual movies, and certainly the strangest thattakes place within theView Askewniverse. All the films within this shared universe are comedic, in one way or another, but most are relatively grounded, with perhaps the occasional over-the-top action scene.Dogma, though, is a full-blown fantasy movie, and one with surprisingly religious themes, too.
The clashing of crude humor with some loftier subject matter (and the inclusion of somepretty prestigious actors; namely,Alan Rickman) does makeDogmaa very interesting film, and an admirably ambitious one.The dialogue is consistently funny, too, with profanity being a given when Jay and Silent Bob are involved(okay, when Jay is involved, given Bob doesn’t speak much and all).
7‘Red State’ (2011)
F-Word Count: 125
Red Statestands out from most other Kevin Smith movies because the profanity here generally isn’t used for comedic purposes, and is most often utilized to highlight what a stressful time everyone is having.Red Stateis not really a funny movie, but unlike Smith’s failed comedies, it’s not trying to be funny, and it actually works surprisingly well asa genuinely unpredictable action/thriller movie.
The less said about the plot, and the various twists and turns it takes, the better.Red Statealso returns to the topic of religion, as Smith explored inDogma, but he does so in a very different way, and with a completely different tone, too. Even without the stoner comedy and sex jokes, things stay pretty harsh when it comes to language, with125 f-bombs being an impressive number, considering the movie’s only about 88 minutes long.
6‘Chasing Amy’ (1997)
F-Word Count: 126
Though the execution wasn’t perfect, the step forward thatChasing Amyrepresented for Kevin Smith, during the 1990s, is still easy to admire. 1994’sClerksand 1995’sMallratsboth offered the same kind of comedy, but then in 1997’sChasing Amy, his brand of humor was paired with a story that was overall a little more serious, andgenerally more focused on romance, too.
Principally,Chasing Amyis about a man who falls in love with a woman, but then finds out that she’s actually a lesbian, and drama, alongside a little comedy, ensues.It’s probably the kind of thing that would be handled differently, to some extent, if made today, butChasing Amywas good for its time and more mature than anything Smith had done before, all while still retaining his trademark profane dialogue.
Chasing Amy
5‘Clerks III’ (2022)
F-Word Count: 132
Nearly 30 years on fromClerkscameClerks III, which explores getting old in a sometimes funny – but also sometimes genuinely depressing – way. Most of the characters from the first movie are in this one, too, but it takes place like three decades later, and so the guys who were in their early 20s thereare now hovering around 50 age-wise, perhaps even putting them beyond the halfway point of their lives.
Though there are more f-words to be heard inClerks IIIthan inClerks, the humor is more gentle, and certainly less likely to offend. Kevin Smith has mellowed a little as he’s gotten older, andseems less willing to push boundaries in terms of humor that could seem obscene or overly sexual… but there’s still a bit of that there, alongside your more garden-variety (at least by Kevin Smith standards) profanity.
Clerks III
4‘Clerks II’ (2006)
F-Word Count: 150
Clerks II, in contrast toClerks III, has no qualms about being offensive. It tops the original in terms of f-words quite comfortably, and it’s probably theClerksmovie that has the crudest humor overall. That does make it feel like a relic of the 2000s, but thankfully, it’s the kind of offensive humor that is genuinely quite funny at times, so long as you approach the whole thing knowing it’s going to be a little edgy.
It is an effective sequelin the sense that it is “moreClerks,” having a good deal to offer narratively by exploring the characters still somewhat young, but stuck doing the same thing in their 30s that they were doing in their 20s.It doesn’t suffer from the same thingClerks IIIdid, in terms of getting too maudlin, and though the hangout nature of the film isn’t as novel as it was duringClerks(1994), it’s still a strong follow-up in most ways.
3‘Jay and Silent Bob Reboot’ (2019)
F-Word Count: 193
Actually, though some very negative things were said not too long ago aboutCop Out,Jay and Silent Bob Rebootmight wellbe just as bad, or even potentially worse. Like withClerks III, the profanity is there, but kind of empty; the whole film lacks bite. And maybe that’s okay, givenClerks IIIis borderline a drama, butJay and Silent Bob Rebootshould probably be a little more fun than it is.
Okay, yeah, the titular characters here are getting older, too, but does anyone want to see Jay and Silent Bob mature as people or grapple with the genuine consequences of being stuck in arrested development? There are nearly 200 f-words here, but the film lacks any kind of wit, grit, or edge. There’s a risk of going too edgy with a comedy made nowadays, sure, but if something R-rated feels so weirdly tepid, as this film does, it’s also frustrating.But hey, at least Jay still swears like a sailor who’s also perpetually stepping on pieces of Lego, for whatever that might be worth.
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot
2‘Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back’ (2001)
F-Word Count: 219
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, more than its sequel, shows that it’s kind of possible to make a feature film based solely around the titular duo, even if they do tend to work better as supporting characters. This 2001 movie has just enough juice to sustain itself for a feature-length runtime, which is kind of impressive when there’s little story here, even by Kevin Smith’s standards.
InJay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the two lead characters feel as though they’ve been ripped off by Hollywood, andso they travel there to wrong certain rights, getting into a series of misadventures along the way. It’s a road trip movie, and a fairly episodic one, but anyone who has a soft spot for early Kevin Smithfilms – or just profane comediesfrom the late 1990s and/or early 2000s – will probably find things to enjoy here.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
1‘Zack and Miri Make a Porno’ (2008)
Yes,Zack and Miri Make a Pornohas the same number of f-words as can be heard inJay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but it tops that film in this current ranking through a tiebreaker of sorts.Jay and Silent Bob Strike Backis 104 minutes long, whileZack and Miri Make a Pornohas a runtime of 102 minutes, so it technically has a higher rate of f-words per minute (just).
And if the tiebreaker involved picking which movie was better,Zack and Miri Make a Pornowould probably be worth putting in the number 1 spot there, too (which might be a hot take). It’s a crude comedy that doesn’t take place within theView Askewniverse,containing a surprising amount of heartalongside all the expected dirty humor… you know, because it is about two people named Zack and Miri making an adult film, after all.
