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MOVIE REVIEW . Clerks 2

I first saw Clerks on VHS during its initial release week my freshman year of high school. Back then no one really knew about Clerks, or director, Kevin Smith. So, I made the mistake of watching it with my mother. Now I had watched a lot of R rated films by that time, but that was the one film that offended her. I had to turn off the tape, and return it to the store. Such a reaction was quite surprising to me, and ensured that I would do everything in my power to obtain a copy of the film, which I would then keep hidden, and show to all my friends. My days as a Kevin Smith fan had officially started.

Flash forward to today. A little older, a little wiser, my rabid fandom for all things Smith has all but ended. While I was one of the two people to purchase a ticket for Mallrats, and one of the few Denver residents to make the trek to the godawful MST3K style theater playing Chasing Amy, I can’t really say I was all that excited about the rest of his films (I didn’t even bother to watch Jersey Girl). So how was Clerks 2? Read on.

For those that don’t know (yes, both of you) Clerks 2 sees Dante and Randall working at Mooby’s fast food joint, having lost their cushy Quick Stop and RST Video jobs to a freak fire. Dante’s about to get married to a heartless “hottie” (played by the Mrs. Smith), Jay and Silent Bob are off the drugs, and Randall’s still Randall.

Naturally, being a sequel/10th anniversary reunion, the film has more than a few parallels with the original Clerks. The infamous Snowball discussion (which so offended my mother when I first checked out the original Clerks) is here mirrored by a discussion on the legitimacy of “ass to mouth” intercourse. The Star Wars discussions now incorporate riffs on the Lord of the Rings, which prompted quite a few howls in the audience. Similarly the rooftop hockey game is mirrored by rooftop dance lesions, complete with an abundance of bouncing Rosario Dawson breasts. Randall’s obsession with chicks with dicks? Dethroned by donkey sex. Jaws refences? C.H.U.D. and Transformers. To be honest, a lot of these dialogues seem a bit forced, and while funny, never quite match the hilarity of their counterparts in the original film. However, I must say Jay’s updated storefront dance cum Silence of the Lambs “fuck me” moves is absolutely hilarious, and some of Randall’s jokes at the expense of the hard core Christian clerk were quite funny.

Where the film differs from the original is its treatment of the two main characters, Randall and Dante. No longer are they the cool slackers of the 1990’s, but rather tragic 30 something minimum wage earners who awaken to find they’ve wasted the past 10 years of their lives. Dante never took Randal’s advice to “shit or got off the pot,” and remains a community college dropout. He faces the prospect of marriage to a girl he doesn’t really love and relocation to a place no one really wants to go (Florida). Randall’s life peaked with high school. He’s added a bit of a paunch and become that sleazy guy at the park that lusts after underage girls. It’s actually pretty sad to see them as they are. Compounding insult on injury are the two’s interactions with a former classmate Lance Dowds, who has gone from geek to internet millionaire in the same time they wasted at the quick stop. Consequentially the thrust of the narrative is concerns the duo’s anxiety about truly “growing up”, and their need to do so before life completely passes them by. It’s an interesting position for Smith to take with the sequel to his best loved film, and displays a surprising amount of maturity from the notoriously juvenile director. We all know people like this — disappointing friends who seem to do nothing with their lives — and possibly because of that an affinity for Randall and Dante is not quite ensured.
Smith, notorious for his overuse of static shots, does make sure to display steady cam and crane shot skills acquired post Clerks, and also manages to insert a few quasi-poignant moments in line with what was supposedly attempted with Jersey Girl. When all is said and done, Clerks 2 is a familiar and comfortable last hurrah for the Jersey boys; far from being as good as the original, but far better than his last three films. It’s not quite a return to form, or a transcendance to new style but I am interested to see what lies ahead for Mr. Smith.

About the Author

Chris Nelson is a Java Developer and contract Technical Writer living in the Silicon Valley. He has been a film fan since age six.