Movie Review: CLERKS II
Clerk II (2006)–***
Clerks II is not your usual sequel, which in most cases is just the continuation of a series based on market forces. This follow-up to Kevin Smith’s 1994 indie classic seems like a rational and natural progression of a story which never really seemed like it was going places in the first place. True Kevin Smith brings something new, slightly more mature to the characters of Dante and Randal, but the best part is these guys haven’t changed all that much even when confronted with adulthood.
Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are both in their early thirties now. After their decade long employment at the Quick Stop Food Mart ends due to a sudden fire, the two find work at a fast food chain called Mooby’s (of Smith Askewniverse fame). Flipping burgers at 33 is not the way Dante sees his life, so he is packing it up with his new, hot fiancee and moving to Florida to live that American Dream. With the influence of Randal, born-again drug dealers Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) and his boss and potential soul mate Becky (Rosario Dawson), Dante’s last day in Jersey may just turn out to be the first day of the rest of his life there.
I know that last sentence is sappy, but Kevin Smith uses it in the film. It’s one of the things I thought I wouldn’t like about Clerks II. But I did. I appreciated Smith’s vision of Dante’s existence and the character’s Alexander Payne-like enlightenment in the face of what seems like a life lost. We know, and never really believe, that Dante is supposed to leave Jersey, and for all the times I wanted to make a Jersey Girl comparison, sentiment-wise, I couldn’t.
Dante and Randall are characters worth revisiting because they are getting older. The geek speak in the film, debating whether Lord of the Rings or Star Wars is the better fantasy trilogy, is as spirited as ever and the smutty sex talk still more cathartic and realistic than pornographic, but there is an appropriate change in the characters that doesn’t get lost. Dante and Randall may just be Smith own version of Antoine Doinel.
My issues with the film lie in Smith continued attempt to be a more active director. His crane shots or 360-spins around characters don’t lend themselves to making a better film. His best moments are still when he allows the characters to act as a mouthpiece, despite what many critics say. The film also has a terrible soundtrack, along with bad montages, that feel like it should be an homage to something out of the 1980s, but they never achieve that status.
The truth is I liked the film for allowing the characters to exist mostly in the world that they are supposed to live in, not for watching Smith play with technique. We know his style and it comes from the mouths of his characters. It’s my hope that Smith realizes this in 10 years when he makes the next Clerks movie. Like the first film, Clerks II doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a sequel, but it doesn’t necessarily lead to an ending either.
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