Clerks II - Preview

Discuss this movie on our message board!

Length: 98 min

Rated: R

Distributor: The Weinstein Company/MGM

Release Date: 2006-07-21

Starring: Brian O'Halloran (Dante), Jeff Anderson (Randal), Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Trevor Fehrman, Jason Mewes (Jay), Kevin Smith (Silent Bob)

Directed by Kevin Smith

Produced by Scott Mosier, Kevin Smith

Written by Kevin Smith

Visit the movie's Official Site!

Previewed by Josh Tyler : 2006-07-04 23:46:30

At the age of 33, New Jersey mini-mart clerks and best friends Dante Hicks (BRIAN O’HALLORAN) and Randal Graves (JEFF ANDERSON) have it made they work with each other, slack off all day, and get paid for it. But when the local Quick Stop that has been their entire life and livelihood suffers a cataclysm, Dante and Randal have to do the unthinkable: find new minimum-wage jobs. Now, they¹re bringing their rapid-fire one-liners, bad attitudes and unbridled love of fun at the customer¹s expense to Mooby¹s burger joint, where the only other employees are an uber-nerd (TREVOR FERHMAN) and an entirely too sexy manager (ROSARIO DAWSON). But when Dante announces that he's going to leave Jersey forever and marry Emma Bunting (JENNIFER SCHWALBACH SMITH), his co-workers plan one last send-off that quickly goes awry. As unbridled debates rage over such burning matters as Return of the King v. Return of the Jedi; George Lucas v. Peter Jackson v. Jesus; and how far is too far in every area from teenage sex to "customer relations," Dante has to figure out an even bigger riddle: just how friendship, love, work and having a great time every single day can all come together in one humble adult existence.

After chickening out and buggering off from more challenging projects that might have stretched and challenged him as a filmmaker, Kevin Smith returns to the movie that made him famous in the first place by sequelizing it. I can't imagine a bigger give-up.

Smith was set to direct a movie version of The Green Hornet. He turned it down because, let's face it, he was afraid he couldn't handle the visual aspects of it. Smith was set to direct a new version of Fletch. He left the project, for reasons that are still unknown. It was Jersey Girl that killed his spirit. Kevin went out on the edge a bit with that one, for the first time really getting away from his Jay & Silent Bob crutch to try something new. It failed, flopped, was critically bashed and he has since turned turtle. Kevin Smith is no longer the bold, brash, in your face filmmaker of Clerks, he's a middle-aged guy scared to death of failure.

What do you do when you're scared? You stick with what you know, and apparently all Smith knows is dick and shit jokes. Expect a lot of them in the sequel to Clerks; a movie which by the way is a product of a specific time and probably should have been left alone. We don't need an update on these characters' lives, doing so makes this new movie little better than a Brady Bunch Reunion special. Smith has lost his nerve, and this is him waving a white flag.

So several people have emailed me to complain that my above comments somehow mean I don't think the movie will be any good. Quite the contrary. Kevin Smith knows this stuff, he's good at it, it's what made him famous. I have little doubt that Clerks II will work every bit as well as it can possibly work.

If you've seen any of the recent trailers for it, then you know it looks like he's got it right on target. I'm even looking forward to seeing it.

But however good it is, it's still a step back for Kevin. Maybe I'm just expecting too much from him. I love the guy, he's got amazing talent. In his place I'd probably make a million Clerks sequels as long as there was money to be squeezed out of them. I don't expect much from myself, I'm nothing. But Kevin… come on, who hasn't wanted to see him tackle a superhero movie? Broaden to become that BIG director everyone always hoped he'd become?

Clerks II is a signal that none of that will ever happen now. Kevin Smith fans now know what kind of director he is, and it's what he'll always be. Chasing Amy will probably always be his greatest, most complete film. He's a niche director and we'll have to be happy loving him for that. I plan to enjoy the heck out of Clerks II, and then say goodbye to a future in which Smith becomes the greatest director in the world. Hey, that's ok. I like dick and shit jokes.

upcoming movie

Latest Previews:

Married Life

I've Loved You So Long

I Served the King of England

Ashes of Time Redux

Adoration

The Goods: The Don Ready Story

Defiance

The Soloist

Sukiyaki Western Django

Thumbnails Gallery for Clerks II

Social Bookmark This Article

Blinklist

Del.icio.us

Digg

Furl

Slashdot

Facebook

StumbleUpon

Yahoo!

Propeller

Comment on “Clerks II”

Note: This website is not intended for use by minors. The views expressed in this comments section are not necessarily our own. Comments that we deem to be poorly worded, off topic, or threatening will not be published. For free, uncensored discussion visit our forum.

Bob B. Says:
June 7th, 2006 at 09:49
You never seen the movie. If this is a white flag of surrender, I hate to think what would have happened if Smith had decided to go for the brass ring.

This film is as edgy as anything that Smith has ever written, achieving a perfect blend of the raunchiness of Clerks and the emotional delimmas of Chasing Amy.

Why should a director who excells at a genre and a style, step out into other avenues?

Did anyone ever call out Mel Brooks for not making a serious War epic? Or Hitchcock for not doing a Neil Simon-esque Rom-Com? Smith does what he does as well as anyone ever has.

Shouldn't a film reviewer have enough sense to see a film before reviewing it/

Josh Says:
June 7th, 2006 at 09:53
I don't know Bob, I'll let you know when we review the film.

Till then, your comment is kind of irrelevant.

Roger Says:
June 17th, 2006 at 20:31
I agree with Bob. He actually had a well-thought out, sound argument. Having seen the movie myself (cuz I'm very cool and get perks like that) I'd agree in saying that Smith does what he knows works. And as for the movie? Well, duh, it works. It's not as timeless as the first Clerks, but then again, Navy Seal jokes were never timeless either. And I'll pay money to watch it again when it comes out, so this time I don't have to go watch it for work (hope I didn't give away why I get the cool pre-screening perks).

Bottom line, Josh, dude, the only thing irrelevent here is a review on a film you haven't seen yet.

Josh Says:
June 17th, 2006 at 20:32
Again Roger... had I written a review of a film I haven't seen, then you'd be correct.

Since I haven't, your complaint is invalid. You're complaining about a review that doesn't exist.

Roger Says:
June 29th, 2006 at 20:22
Oh, oops, your *opinion,* not review, is invalid. Excuse my poor word choice.

Josh Says:
June 29th, 2006 at 20:23
Now you're getting somewhere! Now just think of a reason why my opinion might be invalid, and we'll have a whole discussion going.

Sven Says:
July 3rd, 2006 at 20:49
anyone else getting the hint that josh is a douchebag?

obviously he is taking a huge risk with this one. I mean, he is sequalizing a classic cult film. Do you know how hard it is to try to that and do it well?

Josh Says:
July 3rd, 2006 at 20:52
No I don't and neither do you since cult classics rarely get sequels.

Clerks has already had it's share of spin-offs though, and those have worked to varying degrees. It's hardly a risk to simply do a sequel now. He's got plenty of rabidly devoted fans to defend it whether it's good or not. That helps... unless you're Joss Whedon.

Roger Says:
July 5th, 2006 at 06:11
So I went back and read the new addendum to what you wrote, and also noticed the Excite-O-Meter went up a notch. Gotta say, now that I don't disagree with what you have there, I can only dislike you for your condescending attitude toward people just trying to express their own opinions and open up a discussion. You sophomorically nitpicked at things like word choice and talked around addressing the point of their messages, which were neither mean-spirited nor pointed.

In regards to Sven, as for this particular sequel the main difficulty was waiting for Kevin to finish his another film ("Catch and Release") and for The Weinstein Company to establish itself from Miramax's agency.

The Weinstein Co. invested little money into this film (5 million I was told). It was apparent to Harvey and his board knew that with the built-in market of Kevin Smith fans in addition to how well "Clerks The Animated Series" DVDs and "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back's" theatrical performance did (in essence, a sequel to a plethora of Smith's cult movies) it would take very little for it to make a profit.

This is especially true with the viral advertising approach they've taken to save on TV ads (opting instead for YouTube, video blogs, message boards, IGN, etc.) There's also an abundant amount of word-of-mouth going around, and tons of buzz (note "buzz," not "hype" - everyone's just praying this movie won't suck.)

Hope that helps you out.

Josh Says:
July 5th, 2006 at 10:31
Sorry Roger, but I take it seriously when people accuse me of doing something as unethical as reviewing something I haven't seen.

People are welcome to express their opinions, but if you're going to falsely accuse me of dishonesty, then expect an unfriendly response.

Koko Says:
July 11th, 2006 at 06:40
Of course he's doing something he knows. So does every director. You don't see Spielberg making movies about dick and fart jokes, because spielberg ain't funny. He knows epics and big storytelling. Kevin Smith knows dickand fart jokes ... He ain't gonna be making a fu*king star wars franchise .... or become the greatest director in the world. Or will he?

I guess if Sean Penn can go from Spicoli to what he is now .... Wow! Wouldn't that be something!

Back to Clerks II

Clerks II - Preview

Social Bookmark This Article

Comment on “Clerks II”

Leave a Reply