KEVIN SMITH, 2006
I had reservations about a sequel to the cult classic, Clerks. The
charm of the first movie was how Kevin Smith relied on convoluted
dialogue and effervescent characters to launch the movie. I was not
confident that he could return to those roots after 12 years of success
under his belt.
Fortunately, this movie does not disappoint. Smith's trademark witty
dialogue is ubiquitous as ever. The characters argue and rant about
meaningless topics with the same intensity as family members faced with
the decision to pull the plug. Tweet
O'Halloran continues to portray Dante as
the hapless slacker who simultaneously makes us feel sorry for him and
urges us to smack him for not doing anything about his circumstances.
The latter feeling is embodied by Anderson, who plays the irresponsible
malcontent, Randall. Fans of the first Clerks movie will be amused by
their continued antics. One of the new characters is Becky, played by
Rosario Dawson. Dawson performs admirably, making us fall in love with
the free spirit who took a wrong turn in life and ended up managing a
Mooby's restaurant. Becky provides a refreshing contrast to the stodgy
and suffocating Emma, played by Mrs. Smith. Emma appears a bit too
one-dimensional, but her purpose as Dante's fiancée is clearly to show
yet another disappointing facet of Dante's life. Another new character
is Elias, played by Trevor Fehrman. Elias's role is a bit over-the-top
as the hobbit-obsessed geek whose life is enriched by the promise of a
live-action Transformers movie. The flaw is that Elias is too repressed
and weird and cannot garner much sympathy from the audience. This might
be Smith's intent, as we enjoy a little schadenfreude every time
Randall torments him.
Watch Film 1
Watch Film 2
The story is fairly basic and picks up where the first movie leaves
off. Dante and Randall seamlessly move from the end of Clerks to the
beginning of Clerks II. This may seem sad, since they are now
30-somethings working as clerks, and that is intentional. The sequel
shifts the focus from young clerks trying to determine what to do with
their lives to clerks approaching middle age trying to figure out why
they're still in their dead-end jobs. The story of Dante whining about
his life and Randall putting him in his place is rehashed from the
first movie, but with a sudden afflatus, Dante is finally able to do
something about it. The humor is still strong with Kevin Smith, as he throws ridiculous
sight gags at us in between the labyrinthine dialogue about
Transformers, Star Wars, racial slurs, blogs, and life in general. Fans
of Kevin Smith naturally will enjoy this movie and do not need to fear
that he has "sold out." It's hard to say if newcomers will enjoy the
movie. If they are into the humor of the movie, then they logically
should already be aware of the first Clerks, as well as Dogma and
Chasing Amy. I can only suggest for the moviegoer who is unaware of
Kevin Smith's credentials to go rent Clerks. If the story bores you,
then Clerks II probably won't appeal to you, though there are more
sight gags that may appeal to some audiences. Those who are easily
offended are also urged to stay away, as this movie contains scenes of
profanity, bodily fluids, and (for most people) sexual deviance.
All in all, it is a solid movie. It has a few pacing problems (or did at the screening) but nothing that negatively impacts the movie. Some scenes are utterly ridiculous, but it is par for the course for this type of movie.
All in all, it is a solid movie. It has a few pacing problems (or did at the screening) but nothing that negatively impacts the movie. Some scenes are utterly ridiculous, but it is par for the course for this type of movie.
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