Clerks II

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by Willie Waffle

Clerks II

The biggest question writer/director Kevin Smith is going to face regarding this new sequel is, of course, "why?" After all of these years, why return to where he started? Since the original Clerks was at the forefront of the 1990's indie film revolution, could this sequel ever be as relevant? Groundbreaking? New? No, but Smith justifies the movie by showing us how everything is about to change for our heroes, even if that comes a bit too late.

When we last saw Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) at the end of Clerks, Dante was promising to change his life and move forward. However, over ten years later, the only thing that can drive him out of the Quick Stop is a fire that destroys the place once and for all. Without any other skills, Dante and Randal have found jobs working at Mooby's (it’s like McDonald's if it was run by Disney). Yet, Dante finally might be ready to grow up.

He has gotten engaged to Emma (Jennifer Schwalbach), and the two plan on moving to Florida, where Dante will be running one of her father's car wash establishments. However, on his last day, he is starting to have second thoughts about leaving New Jersey, his friends, and his sexy Mooby's manager, Becky (Rosario Dawson).

Can Dante make the move to Florida? What could stop him?

Clerks II has a huge been-there-done-that factor as Smith tries to recreate the magic of the original with too many tips of the hat to the scenes and dialogue that made Clerks awesome. The movie is filled with vulgarity for vulgarity’s sake (but I didn’t walk out and make a scene like Joel Siegel from Good Morning America), and it feels adrift through most of the first hour as Smith is more interested in shocking the audience rather than developing the story. However, in moments when Smith forces the characters to deal with their futures, and we see how they are changing (especially the last 30 minutes of the film), Clerks II is much more interesting, and compelling. The guys have to face reality, and their reactions almost make the movie worth the price of admission.

Smith still delivers some great dialogue, especially the much hyped debate between Lord of the Rings fans and Star Wars lover Randal, but most of the cameos feel awkward and pointless, especially Ben Affleck’s appearance, which is shot in a way that makes me think he wasn’t anywhere near the other actors and set.

2 Waffles (Out Of 4)

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