Movie Review: Clerks II

Making of Clerks II

I finally got around to seeing Clerks II. First, I will admit to be a huge Kevin Smith fan. The only movie that I couldn’t stomach was Jersey Girl, which is no surprise. I had high hopes for Clerks II. This is Kevin Smith doing what he does best. Smith is not a big budget dramatic director. He is a niche director. He creates his own brand of irreverent slacker humor that appeals to a certain core audience. Smith wisely returns to his roots and does what he does best in Clerks II.

I loved this movie. It was a nice follow up to Clerks. Clerks has always been one of my all time favorite flicks and Clerks II didn’t do anything to bring shame to the first movie, unlike what the second and third Matrix movies did to the first one. Smith delivers his typical sarcastic slacker humor through Randle’s rambling diatribes. There are many hilarious scenes. Some are incredibly crass and rude, but that is what I like about Smith’s humor. If you can’t handle jokes about racial slurs, donkey shows, going ass to mouth and pussy trolls then this definitely is not the movie for you. However, if you don’t mind plenty of outrageous humor then you will enjoy this flick.

Plus, you get the typical comic book/sci-fi debates like Star Wars versus Lord of the Rings and why the Transformers cartoon was garbage. Smith knows his audience and makes sure to put in some inside jokes for comic book readers.

But, what surprised me was that Clerks II actually had a descent little story to it. There were some rather serious scenes that I was not expecting. And being a slacker of the 90’s I could relate to what Randle and Dante where going through. At some point, you have to ask yourself what the hell are we doing here on this planet? When are we supposed to grow up and do what the rest of society expects from us?

Now, the acting isn’t anything amazing, but it is solid enough to make the film enjoyable. Plus, we get plenty of guest appearances including Ben Affleck (Uggh, I could do without this stiff) and Jason Lee.

Overall, I enjoyed Clerks II. It was outrageously funny and provided me with a stronger plotline than I was expecting.