>>REVIEW
CLERKS II
STARRING Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson and Jason Mewes DIRECTED BY Kevin Smith
Opens Friday, July 21
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I didn’t love Clerks II, but 12 years ago I sure loved the original Clerks. What’s happened to me between then and now? Has the daily occurrence of F-bombs in the workplace made me oblivious to the word? Have I become so desensitized by the Internet that inter-species erotica holds no shock value for me? Or, maybe, is it possible I’ve just grown up and don’t find such juvenile jokes and filthy dialogue funny anymore? Nah, must be one of those first two.
With a few years behind them, as well as their jobs at the Quick Stop, Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) find themselves working at Mooby’s on the cusp of the biggest change of their lives. However, things haven’t changed quite yet, so there’s still a healthy dose of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) to be had. If these four names hold any meaning for you then there’s a good chance you’ll get some laughs from Smith’s latest Jersey offering. If not, then you shouldn’t be seeing this movie. Get your ass down to the video store and start at the beginning – you’ve got some catching up to do.
As one would expect, most laughs come courtesy of Jay and Randal, with Smith giving Randal a new naïve, Christian fanboy co-worker to shock and appall, as well as a new boss (Dawson) to torment. Consequently, Randal’s rants, whether they be about Transformers, Lord of the Rings or the appropriateness of going ATM (ask your friends) are fantastic (and who knew Jay was such a Silence of the Lambs fan?). The best scenes, however, occur when Randal and Dante are together. It’s such a wonderful throwback to the chemistry that made Clerks so great that you wonder why it took so long to make this sequel.
Unfortunately, scenes without Dante are frustrating. Likewise, scenes featuring Randal ranting or Jay saying – well, things that can’t be printed here – really drag the movie down. While a plotline of some type is obviously necessary it merely becomes horribly boring time filler between the good stuff. It’s also quite obvious that Smith cares a great deal about these characters and where they end up, because onscreen the sentimentality becomes a bit overwhelming and almost oozes at some points.
Is this the final film in Smith’s Jersey box set? Hopefully, because it’s obvious he needs to move on and give audiences something new and fresh. |
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