Clerks II

In New Jersey, when Dante (Brian O'Halloran) arrives to open the convenience store "Quick Stop Groceries" for another labor day, he finds the place on fire. The losers Dante and his friend Randal (Jeff Anderson) find another job position in the fast food restaurant Mooby's, managed by Becky (Rosario Dawson), and working with the Christian employee Elias (Trevor Fehrman). The new and improved potheads and drug dealers Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) also move their traffic spot to the new location. Dante is planning a new life in Florida getting married with his fiancée Emma (Jennifer Schwalbach) while his friend Becky is a woman that does not believe in romantic love. On the eve of Dante's departure to Florida, Randal decides to promote a farewell and bachelor party to his best friend, and he invites Kelly and the Sexy Stud (Zak Knutson) from Tijuana to heat the celebration. However, things go wrong and Dante rethinks his future.

"Clerks II" is a hilarious sequel of the cult "Clerks" that was the debut of Kevin Smith. The story follows the usual politically incorrect style of this director, with racist and sexist jokes blended with drugs, gross situations and a romance. However, what else can a viewer expect from a Kevin Smith's movie? Rosario Dawson is extremely charming in the role of Becky, and the witty lines with double sense meanings are very funny. The conventional conclusion fits well to the story. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Balconista 2" ("The Clerk 2")

Last time i watched CLERKS 1 and 2 was many years ago. I remember that i've loved them both, and CLERKS 1 was slightly better. I've watched them again last night. Whereas my rating for CLERKS 1 didn't change (8,8/10, masterpiece), my rating for CLERKS 2 did. This is the best CLERKS movie (including the third part). I love it with all my heart.

Kevin Smith himself said that this is his favorite movie of him (In CLERK documentary, 2021). I get him. Everything is as it should here. Everything works. Kevin Smith is in the zone. Perfect doses for comedy and drama. Characters growing up, facing reality, without being bleak nor sad of course, this is a comedy after all. A movie for all those who try to find their way in life. A movie about true friendship, about true love. You cannot not love these characters, especially if life is a struggle for you. Of course it's juvenile and vulgar at times, this is not a preachy movie. This doesn't try to lecture you. This tries to give you a hug.

This is peak Kevin Smith. Congratulations. Anyone who hasn't watched it in years, should watch it soon again. It's better than you remember it. It's getting better as you are growing older.

Clerks II:**** Clerks II is a strong and poignant retelling of the story of when two slackers grow into adulthood. In many ways this is writer/director Kevin Smith's most adult film in that we see four characters that we've grown up with over the past 12 years finally grow themselves. It opens on the final day of work for Dante who is finally getting up and out of Jersey with his fiancé, leaving Randal figuratively alone at Mooby's. Randal hasn't changed much over the past years, and in many cases neither has Dante. Randal still wrestles with the customers in pitiful pop culture debates, among them whether the LOTR trilogy is better than the Star Wars trilogy, but this time around he has a new foil in a 19 year old gamer-geek named Elias. The banter between these two is really funny especially when Randal tells him what he has planned for Dante's departure gift (but you'll have to see the flick to find out what that is because it is too gross for me even to write). After a short stint in re-hab Jay and Silent Bob have found solace in the Lord but this doesn't stop them from the dispensing with the drugs. Its odd to find that in the past decade it is Jay and Silent Bob that have changed the most, true they still are up to their perverse antics such as ass rubbing on the window and the disturbing recreation of "The Silence of the Lambs" dance but they have grown more sensitive to other people's emotions and needs, especially Jay. I haven't mentioned Rosario Dawson, who gives a very charming performance as the clerks' boss. She brings a lot of presence to a slightly underdeveloped character. But it is Jeff Anderson, Randal, that deserves the full attention this time around. He gives an award worthy performance and delivers it with an astonishing amount of sympathy. He's loosing his best friend which, though he'd never show it, absolutely devastates him. The last 20 minutes are really tear jerking, I know I was in tears and couldn't stop the flow. This film sort of keeps to the feel Smith created with Chasing Amy and Jersey Girl in that they lay the drama on thick and it almost works better than the comedy, an oddity for Smith proving he too has grown as a writer. It isn't all drama though you do get great comedic scenes such as, my favorite, the "porch monkey" scene. I nearly had laughing tears during it. This is probably Smith's best looking film elevating it to the quality one would get whilst watching a really good episode of television. The camera even moves! And a neat little digital effect is shown at the beginning where the clerks' world seamlessly transforms from black and white to color, I was shocked because I didn't even realize it was happening. This is one of Smith's best films and one of the year's best. I give it a high recommendation but I ask that you stick with it a little while because it moves at a slower pace then any of the other Jersey Chronicles, it may take a bit of getting used to for some, but this is a film that can not be missed.

I've been lucky enough to see this movie twice, and I can't wait to see it again in theaters. I laughed so hard I NEED to see it again to hear what I missed the first two times around, and I even shed a tear or two.

Kevin Smith is in fine form as Dante and Randal return 10 years older. But are they 10 years wiser? After the Quick Stop is unexpectedly shut down, Dante and Randall continue their meager existences at Mooby's, a fast food chain. The movie takes place on the day before Dante is set to leave for broader horizons with his overbearing fiancé, played by the stunning and impressive Jennifer Schwalbach.

Can Dante really survive outside of the comfortable confines of New Jersey? What will Randal do without his hetero-lifemate? And speaking of hetero-lifemates, what are Jay and Silent Bob up to these days? Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson give stellar performances. Dante and Randal are back and in fine form. Trevor Fehrman is an excellent addition to the cast as Elias, new coworker and perfect whipping boy for Randal. I absolutely fell in love with Rosario Dawson as Becky, Mooby manager, several times over. Jay and Silent Bob pop in and out without disappointment. I can't tell you how fantastic it is to see Jason Mewes looking healthy and in top form.

Those looking for the intelligent, wry and vulgar humor of Clerks will find it here. Can you top screwing a dead guy in a bathroom? Oh yes, you can! Those who appreciated the heart of Chasing Amy will find that here too. Only Kevin Smith can pull off that combination. The soundtrack is a must buy as well.

I can't wait to see this movie again.

I had reservations about a sequel to the cult classic, Clerks. The charm of the first movie was how Kevin Smith relied on convoluted dialogue and effervescent characters to launch the movie. I was not confident that he could return to those roots after 12 years of success under his belt.

Fortunately, this movie does not disappoint. Smith's trademark witty dialogue is ubiquitous as ever. The characters argue and rant about meaningless topics with the same intensity as family members faced with the decision to pull the plug. O'Halloran continues to portray Dante as the hapless slacker who simultaneously makes us feel sorry for him and urges us to smack him for not doing anything about his circumstances. The latter feeling is embodied by Anderson, who plays the irresponsible malcontent, Randall. Fans of the first Clerks movie will be amused by their continued antics. One of the new characters is Becky, played by Rosario Dawson. Dawson performs admirably, making us fall in love with the free spirit who took a wrong turn in life and ended up managing a Mooby's restaurant. Becky provides a refreshing contrast to the stodgy and suffocating Emma, played by Mrs. Smith. Emma appears a bit too one-dimensional, but her purpose as Dante's fiancée is clearly to show yet another disappointing facet of Dante's life. Another new character is Elias, played by Trevor Fehrman. Elias's role is a bit over-the-top as the hobbit-obsessed geek whose life is enriched by the promise of a live-action Transformers movie. The flaw is that Elias is too repressed and weird and cannot garner much sympathy from the audience. This might be Smith's intent, as we enjoy a little schadenfreude every time Randall torments him.

The story is fairly basic and picks up where the first movie leaves off. Dante and Randall seamlessly move from the end of Clerks to the beginning of Clerks II. This may seem sad, since they are now 30-somethings working as clerks, and that is intentional. The sequel shifts the focus from young clerks trying to determine what to do with their lives to clerks approaching middle age trying to figure out why they're still in their dead-end jobs. The story of Dante whining about his life and Randall putting him in his place is rehashed from the first movie, but with a sudden afflatus, Dante is finally able to do something about it.

The humor is still strong with Kevin Smith, as he throws ridiculous sight gags at us in between the labyrinthine dialogue about Transformers, Star Wars, racial slurs, blogs, and life in general. Fans of Kevin Smith naturally will enjoy this movie and do not need to fear that he has "sold out." It's hard to say if newcomers will enjoy the movie. If they are into the humor of the movie, then they logically should already be aware of the first Clerks, as well as Dogma and Chasing Amy. I can only suggest for the moviegoer who is unaware of Kevin Smith's credentials to go rent Clerks. If the story bores you, then Clerks II probably won't appeal to you, though there are more sight gags that may appeal to some audiences. Those who are easily offended are also urged to stay away, as this movie contains scenes of profanity, bodily fluids, and (for most people) sexual deviance.

All in all, it is a solid movie. It has a few pacing problems (or did at the screening) but nothing that negatively impacts the movie. Some scenes are utterly ridiculous, but it is par for the course for this type of movie.