I just got back from seeing Jersey Girl, and it prompted a few thoughts.

Kevin Smith’s directing has tickled my funny for a decade now. I’ve found something to like in each of his films. The hook set in with Clerks, and carried right through this recent one.

I hardly expected to like Jersey Girl. The “chick flick” format, as it’s often called, has few things to offer the extended bachelor. Advertisements portrayed this as a chick flick. Based on trailers, I doubt I would have seen this film had it not been for a couple of free tickets I’d recently received.

Setting preconceptions aside, I settled into the theater’s stadium seat, and braced myself.

When the credits rolled, I realized I’d enjoyed every minute. Smith successfully walked a fine line between romance and comedy. He didn’t make a honey-coated movie. He made an accessible movie (compared to earlier efforts). He, gasp, made a family movie. Even with the inimitable mouth of George Carlin in tow, he made a film with broad, all-age appeal.

I’ll always reserve a place for Clerks on my movie shelf. The irreverent humor of that movie, epitomized by the homophobic and illicit substance jokes of Jay and Silent Bob, still makes me laugh. Repeated viewings have yet to dull it for me.

Yet, I’m not the same person I was 10 years ago, and neither is Smith. His latest movie reflects that.

Jay and Silent Bob are dead. Long live Jay and Silent Bob.

Body image is a problem for everyone; having to inhabit what is essentially a skin-wrapped sack of bones, blood and guts inevitably brings consciousness of that sack’s limitations.

In that vein, that I applaud the Web weight-loss project of J. Scott Wilson, who wears many hats over at Internet Broadcasting Systems. I met Wilson at the recent American Copy Editors convention in Houston, Texas. His new column, titled “Diary of a Fat Man,” documents his drive to lose weight. His secrets: turn off the television and walk; make sensible changes to eating habits; be honest with yourself; and have a sense of humor.

Stop by, and give Scott your own MPs, or share own your weight-loss stories with him.