Reviews

Clerks 2

Twelve years ago I went to the Vogue Theater to catch a late night screening of Clerks. I don’t remember where I first heard of Clerks or Kevin Smith but I was seventeen, working at Papa Johns and this sounded like a movie I could relate to. I laughed and admired the fast paced banter between Dante and Randall. I loved all the pop culture nods. Even more I related to the disdain towards the everyday consumer. They have to serve you, but they don’t have to like you. Truly summing up my experience of working in places like Syd’s Hot Bagels and Papa Johns. And at the end of Clerks, when the theater lights came up, I felt all possible questions were answered.

Twelve years later I’m sitting in a multi-plex and the Vogue Theater has been torn down and replaced by a shopping center. There’s a new batch of seventeen year olds filling the seats. Then Clerks 2 begins with the Talking Heads song, “Nothing But Flowers”. This opening song, while thinking back to seeing the movie for the first time, best sums up Clerks 2 for me.

Kevin Smith’s return to the good old days does deliver laughs but not on the same scale as the original. Example, what made conversation between employees and patron on Star Wars funny was the ability to relate that back to being employed. This time around, when an argument erupts between employee and patron we’re just watching nerds argue. Revisited scenarios and mentions of past situations, like the infamous funeral where Randall knocks over the casket, drove home that the original was funnier and the sequel is unnecessary.

I did laugh and you will too. Just keep in mind the jokes are a lot cheaper this time around. Only twice did the genuine feel from the first film rise up from our popcorn buckets. A conversation about ‘Pillow Pants’ and acceptable racial slurs were sharp. Every other joke boiled down to saying dick and pussy. My biggest complaint with Clerks 2 is half way through the film breaks into a musical number. Can you believe that? Clerks may have been sophomoric, it may not have shown younger people in the best light, but at least it didn’t break into a fucking dance routine.

Furthermore a comment is made about George Lucas being a toy peddler. Lucas is a toy peddler, but where does Smith get the balls to throw stones? Incase you didn’t notice, before the release of Clerks 2, Smith was selling shirts, posters, scripts and all kinds of shit on his site. Kevin Smith moved his attention from story telling to marketing.

In the end Dante, Randall, Jay, and Silent Bob all end up right where you thought they would within the first fifteen minutes of the movie. No real relevance to any age group. Just easy jokes that are easy to laugh at. If you’re willing to accept that you’ll have a good time. Me, it kinda bothers me to see a film I admired turn into its own punch line. If you liked the first Clerks or laughing, check it out. Just wait for the DVD.
6.5/10
Andy

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