Review of Clerks II (2006) by Derek B — 06 Jun 2011

6.4/10.

Kevin Smith's debut picture "Clerks" was a spectacular buddy comedy as well as a rather surprisingly intelligent raunch fest. It was definitely a crude, very adult comedy; but it had charm, wit, and unlike most films that utter so many four-letter profanities, it was actually smart.

I liked the satire in the first movie. In one scene, the character of Randall tells his pal Dante that people always rent "intellectually devoid" movies from the video-rental store he works at. This is true; this happens. And that's why I laughed. Now, it's good to know that Smith made a sequel, and it's also good to know that "Clerks II" is not the kind of intellectually devoid film that Randall is speaking of. It's slightly smarter, funnier, and certainly more entertaining than the average comedy/raunchy comedy; although for me it lacks the same kind of appeal and raw wit as "Clerks". Simply put, it's no "Clerks", but this sequel is in a league of its own, and at least that's a pretty decent league, to say the least.

Granted, the film opens hilariously. Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) arrives to work (he's a convenience store clerk) to discover that the store is on fire. In an awkward exchange between Dante and the fire, we realize that this must be the work of Randall (Jeff Anderson), who also works at the place. As it turns out, he left the coffee pot on.

As we know, Dante and Randall are genuine slackers, and they tend to set their standards fairly low when it comes to work. They settle for a McDonalds-type rip-off/inspired joint. Their boss is an attractive young woman named Becky (Rosario Dawson), who Dante seems to like quite a bit in spite of the fact that he's set to move to Florida with his fiancé in just a few days. Dante and Randall also work along-side new-comer Elias (Trevor Fehrman), whose obsession with Transformers and Lord of the Rings might just win him a free ass-kicking via Randall's personal obsession with the Star Wars saga.

"Clerks II" is yet another pointless remake, but that's pretty much what it sets out to be. There's a sense that it knows how aimless and silly it is, and while I do admire that, I kind of expected the sequel to one of my instant favorite comedies of the recent generation to be, oh you know, a bit more...exciting.

There are a lot of decent, and even a few big laughs. Smith lampoons the hell out of several things; with the end result being mostly funny (the scene where he has his characters diss "Lord of the Rings" through insulting exchanges and dialogue is rather funny and sometimes ingenious). Sometimes, "Clerks II" isn't as clever as it thinks it is, but there were enough little "moments" to entertain, although it's not something I'd feel painfully desperate to revisit. But it's better than dreading the moment which I do. If I do.

The biggest change you may have noticed is the conversion from black-and-white to color. In the beginning (and again in the end), "Clerks II" cleverly tricks us into believing that the sequel is going to look like its predecessor. WRONG! Things go all colorful, and we start to wonder: what else is going to change? Well, plenty changes, and little of it is for the "great", although I can't say any of it is really for the "bad". I still like these characters (Dante and Randall) a lot, Jay and Silent Bob are still genuinely fun to simply have around, although the inclusion of Rosario Dawson's character is a win-win situation. Dawson is beautiful and talented, which is good, and her character is entertaining, if not terribly under-written.

Like I said, all these faults do not make "Clerks II" a bad movie; it's just not one that you should feel desperate to see. There's not too much that really sticks out, except for a donkey bestiality scene that is almost hilariously disturbing, if only because it WANTS to stick out. Well, it does its job; just like the good half of "Clerks II". If only the other half could have a change of heart, then maybe this thing could have been amazing. But hey: I'm fine as long as it's not total crap. And it's not so...there you go.