Clerks II
When Kevin Smith exploded onto the scene with the first Clerks, bad acting, convenient generalizations and an absence of any real storyline were forgivable. In fact, these things added to the appeal of the film! Because the film was produced on little over twenty-five grand and, yet, still managed to shine among so many mass-produced movies thanks to its utter uniqueness and extreme dialogue-driven approach, any potential bad qualities were outweighed. Fast forward over ten years and multiple big dollar projects later, though, and you'd expect the producer to grow and his films, then, to improve. Instead, he came out with Clerks II which, for all apparent purposes, is just another leech on the fleshiest part of Hollywood media: the money-making sequel segment.
Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson) return as clerks of some sort. But this time around, they are fast food worker since the flame-induced passing of ye ole convenience store. It was understandable when these twenty-somethings held down service industry jobs. You got the feeling that they might eventually venture out to other possibilities in the future. Now that the future has come, though, their witty yet pretentious parleys--- once passable as evidence of intelligence--- are now just a tad pitiful. The pity factor for these fellows is intensified all the more by the fact that Dante's segue out of his McJob is a hitch on the star of marriage to attractive but controlling Emma Bunting, played by Smith's wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith and Randal is putting way too much effort in keeping Dante single and stagnant alongside him. Boss Becky (Rosario Dawson) is tossed into the mix to indicate the lack of commitment Dante really feels for his bride-to-be as Becky and Dante are the only two allowed any real chemistry on the set.
Jay and Silent Bob, of course, also creep in and out of scenes as they did in the original. But, again, the magic that was created over ten years ago in the original should evolve somehow in this new creation, shouldn't it? Instead, we get the same over-exaggerated eye-pops of Silent Bob and the freaky mannerisms of Jay. These characters are great, but the same old thing is just way too tired a replay again and again. I understand that these characters are little vessels of nostalgia and, therefore, they must stick true to form. But why make a sequel if something is not to be improved upon?
Clerks II appears to be less of a sequel and more of a continuation of the original with a where-are-they now feature to inform die-hard 'askewniverse' fans. Where they are now, though, is basically the same place they were a decade ago. This film is meant to benefit from the additional dollars thrown in and cameos from folks like Ben Affleck and Jason Lee. Yet, instead, the charisma of the original is gone despite the snappy dialogue that flows through this vehicle as it did in the first. Smith's time in the industry has sucked from him what made the original Clerks so original in the first place.
Grades
Overall: C-
Story: C
Acting: C
Visuals: C
Originality/Innovation: B-
Enjoyability: C+
DVD/Extras: C
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