NoFace for Film

Title: Clerks II
Year: 2006
Director: Kevin Smith
Starring Cast: Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, Rosario Dawson
Rated: A nice, big, fat R

NoFace for Film rating: 4.5 out of 7

In 1994 a young film student dropout named Kevin Smith directed a small film called Clerks, a cynical but hilarious look in the lives of disillusioned store clerks. Although Clerks was in all essence, a student film, with no big stars and cost a meager $27,000 to make, the film struck a vibe with Gen-Xers and was an overnight success, sending Smith on his way to directoral stardom.

Now 12 years later with 5 more films added to his belt, Smith wrote and directed a sequel to his original masterpiece. How does it compare to the first Clerks? Does it retain its magic? Or has Smith lost it? Is it actually better than the first film?

Clerks II takes place about 10 years after the first movie. Dante and Randall (O’Halloran and Anderson, respectively) not surprisingly have not changed much over the last decade. Although both men are now in their early 30’s, they continued to work at the Quick Stop convenience store and RST Video store. However, a freak accident forces both men to work at Mooby’s, a fictional fast-food joint.

The story officially starts about a year after Dante and Randall started working at Mooby’s. Dante is engaged and planning to move to Florida with yet another too-good-to-be-true woman in his life, Emma (played by Smith’s real life wife Jennifer). However, in typical wishy-washy Dante fashion, he becomes confused and torn between her and his boss Becky (Rosario Dawson). Meanwhile, Randall spends most of his days tormenting his coworker Elias (Trevor Fehrman), a 19-year-old Christian virgin Lord of the Rings and Transformers fanboy geek.

Of course, no Clerks film is complete without the appearance of Jay and Silent Bob (Mewes and Smith), who have now taken to hanging out at Mooby’s. The dim-witted duo are funny as ever, with Mewes easily getting the biggest laughs in the film with his homage to a certain scene in Silence of the Lambs.

Now, the big question is- does Clerks II live up to its predecessor? Overall, I say yes. On one hand, there is a lot of obvious improvement in terms of acting, directoral style, and cinematography. With a budget of $5 million (still a drop in the bucket compared to your typical film these days), Smith is now able to hire a few real actors and not have to resort to family and friends playing several different roles (though he still recasted his mother as the “milkmaid”, who appears at the end of the film) and film in color. Furthermore, Clerks II retains much of the original magic from the first movie. First of all, the characters have changed very little over the last decade, which is comforting to audiences familiar with them. Dante is still wishy washy and Randall is still an irritating asshole, while Jay and Silent Bob still hang outside selling pot. Second, the dialogue in Clerks II is similar as the first. Characters often spew pop-culture references in a rapid-fire manner. For example, Randall (a long time Star Wars fan) argues with Elias and another Tolkien fan over the merits of the LOTR trilogy, passionately proclaiming that “…there’s only one Return! and it’s Of the Jedi!” And third, Clerks II is just as crude and vulgar as the first film. The easily offended should stay far, far away.

On the other hand, Clerks II involves an actual, developed plot and stronger themes about growing up and changing one’s life- both of which demonstrate Smith’s growth as a writer. However, sometimes the plot bogged down the comedy with too much drama. Also, there are a couple of scenes which I just thought were unnecessary and too silly, even for Smith. For example the cliched impromptu dance sequence was neither funny nor added anything to the story.

Overall, Clerks II is a great, well-rounded sequel. It’s not something I’d want to see again soon, but I’d rent it once it comes out on DVD. But if you feel like escaping the heat and need to laugh for 1 hour and 37 (in a row?) minutes, check out this film.

By the way, if you’ve never seen the first or need a refresher, rent the first Clerks movie before watching its sequel to understand the little references to the first film.

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