When Dante turns up to work one morning to find the Quick Stop in flames, it triggers a deep-buried inspiration to really get his life on track; after all, he is well into his 30s. A year later, he and his smart-arse best friend Randal are working in a greasy burger joint, still pissing off their customers and dealing with all the characters they despise, the idealistic, the ambitious, the needy, the nerdy, and one hot babe. But everything is about to change as Dante is engaged and soon to move to Florida with his fiancé. Today is his last day of being a clerk and it’s going to be the most memorable day of his life.
Years later, Kevin Smith invites us to catch up with our crude and rude old friends for some good old-fashioned nonsensical banter and misdemeanours that make Clerks II pretty damned close to living up to its predecessor’s high standing. I wouldn’t say it’s as brilliant as the first one, but it definitely comes close and it’s just entertaining to see that some things never change and some dreams never mature.
When Dante turns up to work one morning to find the Quick Stop in flames, it triggers a deep-buried inspiration to really get his life on track; after all, he is well into his 30s now. A year later, he and his smart-arse best friend Randall have not moved on as much as they’d like; working as clerks in a greasy burger joint, still pissing off their customers and dealing with all the characters that they despise: the idealistic, the ambitious, the needy, the nerdy, and one hot babe. But both their lives are about to change as Dante is engaged and getting ready to move to Florida with his fiancé, leaving Randal without a friend. Today is Dante’s last day of being a clerk and, with the help of Randal and holders Jay and Silent Bob, it’s going to prove to be the most memorable day of his life.
Smith’s classic characters and look at over-the-counter culture takes on a new and revitalised edge in this movie. The first thing to comment on is the story, which is great because it’s one that’s genuine and I’m sure everyone out there knows people who are just like Dante and Randal. We see both the boys in whole new light because, we have to remember, that they are no longer the young guys working in a dead-end job. Beneath the wisecracks and hilarious customer service antics, Clerks II has a much stronger and touching story about friendship, the discomfort of change, rites of passage, and making the best lives for ourselves. Although the humour takes a turn for the crude and the strange, you can look beyond that and see a really nice story that you can relate to, and it was this, coupled with the fact that the movie is in colour and not black and white like its predecessor, that made it different and, therefore, not a letdown as a sequel. It’s really good. At this point too, I do need to point out the clever use of colour. The first Clerks was done in black and white: simple, security-camera-style, and clever. Clerks II begins on that track, only depicting coloured flames against the black and white Quick Stop. The movie then does a Wizard of Oz and converts to complete colour before snapping back to black and white at the end (no more being said on that because it would ruin the ending). Starring Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Rosario Dawson, Jennfer Schwalback Smith, Ben Affleck, Trevor Fehrman, and Jason Lee, Clerks II was a very funny and memorable movie that wasn’t as good as the first one, but came pretty close (this one didn’t make it into The Book). Filled with film nerdishness, comedy, romance, obscure sexual preferences, home truths, and a touching story buried underneath the coating of crude humour, it’s a film that I really enjoyed and, if you were a fan of the first movie, it’s one that won’t disappoint.
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