Kevin Smith has come a long way in the time he started out as the dude from the block who made it by some strange twist of fate and a fair share of amazing luck. From an admittedly awful looking 16 mm black and white film about mid-Nineties slackerdom to working at Skywalker Ranch, advising on what became Superman Returns, directing legitimate Hollywood films (for good or bad), submitting bits to late night comedy shows, and turning thirty, he surely has grown up over the last ten years. While I love "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", it's in the way I love "Animal House" or "Super Troopers": funny as all hell but not exactly the most emotionally fulfilling film. When that film ended and Smith said it was the end of the so-called "Jersey Trilogy", I was left kind of sad, mostly because the people I cared about most in the first film only got a passing one-liner about their cancelled TV show. If you also felt like something was left out, then fear no more, because "Clerks II" is a fitting continuation and resolution to the story of worisome Dante Hicks and ever-crude Randal.
Following the set-up of the original film, the story follows Dante and Randal again as they go through the grind of a minimum wage job. With the Quick-Stop having burned down the year before, the two now have ended up working at Mooby's, a satirical take on corporate fast-food restaurants. It's Dante's last day. In the morning he will drive to Florida with his over-bearing fiancée Emma to live out his days running a car wash owned by his in-laws. What follows is one eventful day, as Dante is forced to re-think his plans while Randal plans a going away party, argues the merits of Lord of te Rings against Star Wars, and tries to re-capture a racial slur as his own. Jay and Bob are also in tow, still slinging buds and standing around in between dance routines, but now Jay has the power of Jesus on his side, keeping him from smoking his product (a not-too-sublime nod to Mewes's real stint in rehab for heroin, which prompted Smith to write the script as a incentive to help Jay stay clean). Also in tow is the ultra-naive, ultra-Christian Elias the fry-boy, who can't seem to get over the Transformers cartoon, and Becky, the attractive boss who is the only one who could keep Dante in Jersey.
On the outside it sounds like a sequel in the lamest sense, meaning revamp. But underneath is a subliminal and poignant presence of the fear of having wasted your life and the painful awareness of a need to grow up, personified in Randal. And in Jeff Anderson there are moments of real acting gold. In the original, even admitted by Anderson, Randal was in many ways a one-dimensional putz, the foil to Dante's attempt at order. Here we see the character of Randal really develop into a painfully aware thirty-something who is in intense fear and pain about losing his best friend. In fact, the emotional climax of the film comes from Anderson, whose speech about how much Dante means to him is enough to make anybody who ever had THAT best friend, the one who you've known/knew for more years than you can remember, want to break down blubbering. Some may call it manipulative, but the fact remains that Smith is still the guy from the block, and he knows what he's talking about. Anderson may seem lame to some, but he's the voice of an entire generation's emotions and stands for what's important in life, mainly your boys and how to have fun with them.
Worry not, however, Clerks II is far from tame. This is as vulgar as all the Jersey Trilogy combined, and will have anyone with a sick sense of humor (read: male) rolling on the floor with hysterical laughter. Ignore what Mr. Siegel says, he has no idea what the meaning of this film is, and probably never will. This movie is worth every minute, but with some pre-requisites. To paraphrase the tagline of the equally-great Dazed and Confused, you have to see it with a bud.
Following the set-up of the original film, the story follows Dante and Randal again as they go through the grind of a minimum wage job. With the Quick-Stop having burned down the year before, the two now have ended up working at Mooby's, a satirical take on corporate fast-food restaurants. It's Dante's last day. In the morning he will drive to Florida with his over-bearing fiancée Emma to live out his days running a car wash owned by his in-laws. What follows is one eventful day, as Dante is forced to re-think his plans while Randal plans a going away party, argues the merits of Lord of te Rings against Star Wars, and tries to re-capture a racial slur as his own. Jay and Bob are also in tow, still slinging buds and standing around in between dance routines, but now Jay has the power of Jesus on his side, keeping him from smoking his product (a not-too-sublime nod to Mewes's real stint in rehab for heroin, which prompted Smith to write the script as a incentive to help Jay stay clean). Also in tow is the ultra-naive, ultra-Christian Elias the fry-boy, who can't seem to get over the Transformers cartoon, and Becky, the attractive boss who is the only one who could keep Dante in Jersey.
On the outside it sounds like a sequel in the lamest sense, meaning revamp. But underneath is a subliminal and poignant presence of the fear of having wasted your life and the painful awareness of a need to grow up, personified in Randal. And in Jeff Anderson there are moments of real acting gold. In the original, even admitted by Anderson, Randal was in many ways a one-dimensional putz, the foil to Dante's attempt at order. Here we see the character of Randal really develop into a painfully aware thirty-something who is in intense fear and pain about losing his best friend. In fact, the emotional climax of the film comes from Anderson, whose speech about how much Dante means to him is enough to make anybody who ever had THAT best friend, the one who you've known/knew for more years than you can remember, want to break down blubbering. Some may call it manipulative, but the fact remains that Smith is still the guy from the block, and he knows what he's talking about. Anderson may seem lame to some, but he's the voice of an entire generation's emotions and stands for what's important in life, mainly your boys and how to have fun with them.
Worry not, however, Clerks II is far from tame. This is as vulgar as all the Jersey Trilogy combined, and will have anyone with a sick sense of humor (read: male) rolling on the floor with hysterical laughter. Ignore what Mr. Siegel says, he has no idea what the meaning of this film is, and probably never will. This movie is worth every minute, but with some pre-requisites. To paraphrase the tagline of the equally-great Dazed and Confused, you have to see it with a bud.