Review of Clerks II (2006) by Raymond J — 27 Aug 2012

Randal Graves: You're gonna be rolling in the pussy, man!

Elias: Don't be gross!

Randal Graves: Says the guy who was just playing tonsil hockey with his mother.

Comedies rarely generate more than adequate sequels, however Kevin Smith is skilled at taking characters from his comedies and putting them into different scenarios with each other. Clerks II is not really just a sequel to Clerks because all of Smith's most known movies are all interconnected anyway.

The story follows Dante and Randal 12 years after the events of the first Clerks. They have now been working at the fictional fast food restaurant Mooby's. Randal is still acting the same as he was in 1994 and is having trouble accepting what the world has become, while Dante wants to move on with his life.

Randal Graves: If Peter Jackson really wanted to blow me away with those "Rings" movies, he would have ended the third one on the logical closure point, not the 25 endings that followed.

I love Clerks II for two main reasons that the film balences perfectly.

First off, Smith shows here how perfectly he can satisfy his diehard-Kevin-Smith-fans. Most of this movie is filled with total vulgar dialogue that is hilarious to listen to and just really reminds me why I like these characters.

Randal Graves: That look was so gay. I thought Sam was gonna tell the little hobbits to take a walk so he could saunter over to Frodo and suck his fucking cock. Now *that* would have been an Academy Award worthy ending.

Hobbit Lover: Hey faggot, they're not gay! They're hobbits!

Randal Graves: And then, right after the Sam/Frodo suckfest, right before the credits roll, Sam fucking flat out bricks in Frodo's mouth.

Jay and Silent Bob are also present here and it is all for the better. If you like these characters it is pretty much impossible not to appreciate what they have to offer this time.

Jay: You know, sometimes I wish I did a little more with my life instead of hanging out in front of places selling weed and shit. Like, maybe be an animal doctor. Why not me? I like seals and shit. Or maybe an astronaut. Yeah. Like, be the first motherfucker to see a new galaxy, or find a new alien lifeform... and fuck it. And people'd be like, "There he goes. Homeboy fucked a Martian once.".

The second main reason I love Clerks II is because while it has these satisfying and hilarious aspects throughout, the movie still manages to have a good heart and establish a satisfying, and a bit heart breaking, conclusion to this Kevin Smith universe.

Randal Graves: Why because I enjoyed what I did? I got to watch movies fuck with assholes and hang out with my best friend all day, can you think of a better way to make a living? Yeah maybe it wasn't what everyone does but it was pretty fucking good.