Clerks II (2006)
Directed by Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Jennifer Schwalbach
Reviewed by Kim (Blairwitch63)
Ten years after the day that Dante wasn't supposed to be there, he and his pal Randal are still working at the Quick Stop—until the day they show up for work to find it on fire. Fast forward and the guys have been gainfully employed at Mooby's, the fast-food chain introduced in "Dogma" for the past year. Like the original Clerks, most of the events in this movie take place during the course of a single day—Dante's last day in New Jersey. His car is packed and his plans are set to hit the road for Florida with his fiancee', Emma, the next morning. He's excited to start a new life, but confused by his affections for his boss, Becky. Dante's torn between two women? Some things never change. Speaking of things that never change, there's wise-cracking, gum-chomping Randal, who when he isn't annoying Dante, the boss and the customers bullies co-worker 19-year-old Elias, a loveable nerd. Despite not wanting to lose his best friend, Randal is determined to give Dante a sendoff he'll never forget anytime soon. And what would a Kevin Smith movie be without Jay and Silent Bob? They're back too, fresh out of rehab and back to selling weed—just not smoking it. Will Dante follow his heart? Will Randal be obnoxious his whole life? Will Elias learn the truth about Pillowpants? Will Silent Bob speak? Most important of all, is Clerks 2 as good as the original? That's the only one I'll answer—of course not silly, but it's still a lot of fun.
Most of us probably know the Cinderella story of how back in 1994 a young wannabe filmmaker from New Jersey named Kevin Smith got some friends together, went into debt and gifted the world with Clerks. The low-budget indy film, shot entirely in black & white and mostly in one location--the convenience/video store where Smith was working at the time--earned much praise by the film festival crowd and caught the attention of Miramax execs who scooped it up for major distribution. The rest, as they say, is history. The movie, about a day in the life of Dante and Randal, two Quick Stop employees was noted for its intelligent wit, sharp dialogue and often very bawdy humor. It was loved by many and spoke to everyone who's ever had to serve the public. Now 12 years and several movies later Smith has given us Clerks 2. Though some may think a sequel to such a cult classic should never be done I happened to appreciate the chance to visit old friends and meet a few new ones.
The old friends were a welcome sight. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson were better actors this time around and showed a whole range of emotions that weren't present or really needed in the first Clerks. Of course Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith (Jay and Silent Bob) are eternally themselves and extremely comfortable in their roles since they've reprised them in most of Smith's movies. These guys are always my favorite and they didn't disappoint this time out either—I would have liked to have seen a little more of them but that's just me. The new friends, Rosario Dawson (Becky), Trevor Ferhman (Elias) and Jennifer Schwalbach (Emma) were all hilarious and fit into the story just fine. View Askew alumni Ben Affleck and Jason Lee even show up for some cameos.
The story itself was enjoyable and very funny with Smith's trademark flair for dialogue that's always been a strange mixture of intelligence and raunch—this time with a healthy serving of raunch. There's musical montages galore which I loved and a dance number that's really out of place but at least it's short. The movie had a lot of heart and a sniffle-inducing ending that wraps up the story nicely and brings it all full circle. If I have any real complaints with Clerks 2 it's that I would have liked seeing more old friends and some more customer interaction, although Wanda Sykes was hilarious as a very disgruntled one. Kevin Smith mentions in one of the commentaries that he wasn't trying to compete with the first Clerks when making this—only continue the story. I'd say he succeeded. All in all, I enjoyed and appreciated Clerks 2 for what it was—a big happy, sometimes sappy love letter to the fans of Clerks and to the characters we've loved.