Working Stiffs
Clerks II Falls Short of Original

I'll admit one thing. I missed the boat on Clerks. When that film hit the indie circuit in 1994, it was way below my radar. I finally saw it (as well as Mallrats and Chasing Amy) on DVD around the time that Dogma premiered in 1999. Nevertheless, I quickly grew fond of writer/director Kevin Smith's New Jersey slacker tale. When I heard that it was spawning a sequel, I felt some reservation, however. As Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) find themselves still working for the man after ten years, one wonders about the continued relevance of these two underachievers.

Clerks II
Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran reprise their roles as Randal and Dante in Kevin Smith's Clerks II. Photo credit: Darren Michaels. (The Weinstein Company, 2006)
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Written by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, and Trevor Fehrman

Rated R (for pervasive sexual and crude content including aberrant sexuality, strong language and some drug material)
Running time: 97 min.

FilmGuru's Rating : 7 out of 10.

Clerks II begins with a fire. The building in which Dante and Randal have "worked" for the past ten years is burning. Dante's inferno, no doubt. With no other prospects, the two aging slackers accept jobs at a burger joint called Moobie's (home of the golden calf immortalized in Dogma).

A couple of years later, Randal hates his job but delights in torturing his co-worker, Elias (Trevor Fehrman). Dante is engaged and preparing to leave for Florida with his fiancée, Emma (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith). Meanwhile, Dante is also trying to resolve a fleeting workplace romance with his boss, Becky (Rosario Dawson).

Aside from the change in location, Clerks II contains Smith's signature comedic dialogue. The film also has other trademarks of a Kevin Smith film, including graphic language, irreverence, and a penchant for sex jokes. There is also something that I never expected in one of his films: a brief dance number. The film also sports a few guest appearances by the likes of Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, and Wanda Sykes.

Clerks II is a rehash of the original. Or, if you prefer, perhaps it is an homage. Rather than arguing about the moral ambiguity of workers on the Death Star, there's a conversation about why Star Wars trilogy is better than The Lord of the Rings. In place of an off-site funeral trip, there's a trip to a go-cart track. Instead of a roof-top hockey game, there's a roof-top dance lesson. The sequel offers a lot of déjà vu, but maybe that is part of the point. Sometimes history repeats itself and makes the circle complete.

All in all, though, the sequel doesn't quite have the edge of the original. One might say that Smith is a victim of his own success. His characters (like Jay and Silent Bob) have become icons. His early work has met with both exuberant praise (Clerks.) and unbridled rancor (Dogma). He is one of those directors who can't seem to make a movie without audiences expecting it to say something.

Following up a cult classic is a hard thing to do. When Smith made Clerks. on a shoestring budget in 1994, it was a deeply personal movie about guys like Smith working in a convenience store. A decade later, Smith is a success, both artistically and financially. So why return to old material?

I think, with Clerks II, Smith is struggling to return to familiar territory and favorite characters, but he's not sure what he wants to say. Silent Bob (Smith's onscreen persona) has been a reticent philosopher throughout Smith's movies, always offering sage advice when most needed. It's not a coincidence that in Clerks II, when called upon by Dante and Randal, Silent Bob pauses and says, "I've got nothing."