Clerks II (6 of 10)
Review by James Jones
Kevin Smith is a polarizing, frustrating director. A lot of moviegoers love or hate him, but there’s a much larger segment (of which I am a member) that lies somewhere in the middle. We are the people who find Smith’s stuff entertaining, but uneven. We sometimes enjoy Smith’s films (despite their consistent visual shortcomings), but realize he’s not very talented, in over his head and getting by on pluck, determination and his carte blanche with movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. We weren’t offended by the supposedly incendiary, Catholic-themed Dogma, we just thought it was hot garbage.
With all that being said, I pretty much knew going in how I would feel about Clerks II. It offers that same cinematic mixed bag seen in Smith’s previous work.
Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are back. It’s now ten years after the original Clerks and they work/pontificate about pop-culture/engage in crude sexual discourse at Mooby’s, a fast food restaurant. Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) are also in the mix, indulging Jay’s inappropriate fixation with Buffalo Bill’s nude scene from Silence of the Lambs.
Rosario Dawson makes a nice addition as Becky, Dante and Randal’s flirtatious boss. She’s adorable in the film and I’m not sure if it’s because she’s just that great, or because she’s the only professional actor that gets extensive screen time.
To sum up, Clerks II has some good jokes. And some bad jokes. I liked some of the monologues (the rant against Lord of the Rings was great). Some of the monologues sucked (ass-to mouth, who cares?). I laughed. I winced. Well, at least I laughed.