Counter Terrorism returns to the workplace
Clerks II is the sequel to my favorite film of all time. When I first heard about it, years back, I was overjoyed. I thought it would provide another deep character study of the two minimum wage workers who spend their day harassing customers, talking derogatory about everyday life, and trying to patch up old and new relationships.
Most of that is there, but some of the delightful parts of Clerks are missing. The humanistic conversations are mostly replaced with dirty, filthy conversations between characters, and it lacks the idea of "ripping into the occasional customer" that provided much of the humor in the first film. Quibbles aside this is still a faithful sequel, if equipped with a few flaws.
Dante (O'Halloran) and Randal (Anderson) are now in their thirties, working at Mooby's, a fast food restaurant one would be familiar with if they saw Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, after Randal accidentally burns the Quick Stop convenient store down. Their lives haven't changed all that much; Randal is still ill-behaved and single and Dante is hoping to get married to his girlfriend Emma (played by Jennifer Schwalbach, Smith's wife) and leave his life of minimum wage.
Of course, in the View Askewniverse, nothing usually goes the way the characters hope. There are many bizarre, strange, and unexplainable antics I won't ruin for the curious. Sadly, this is kind of where I got a little upset. Clerks II sometimes feels like it favors the obligatory raunch comedy or antics based on outrageous situations over hard earned laughs in the dialog field that pack in wit. Still, many of the scenes are funny; take for example the scene involving shameless racism and Lord of the Rings vs. Star Wars. Those are two perfectly good scenes that center around creative and funny dialog. That's exactly what I was looking for.
Not to mention, I've developed such a love for these three characters. It's strongly satisfying to see them back on the screen again, even if they are in color and working a new environment. I love the extreme relatable qualities both Dante and Randal posses, not to mention Smith's utterly genius writing talents.
Clerks II is a fun, throw caution to the wind comedy. While it doesn't touch the original Clerks with a ten foot pole, it's still impressive to say it comes off as very, very good even after a twelve year gap. When you revive a film and make a sequel to it years later, it either seems tacked on or obligatory. Because the characters in Clerks have problems that concern their age and their lifestyle, it's safe to say a sequel can't be made just a few years after one another. Waiting almost a decade or so will give us the most amount of comedy, laughs, and believable dialog.
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Trevor Fehrman, Jason Mewes, and Kevin Smith. Directed by: Kevin Smith.
Most of that is there, but some of the delightful parts of Clerks are missing. The humanistic conversations are mostly replaced with dirty, filthy conversations between characters, and it lacks the idea of "ripping into the occasional customer" that provided much of the humor in the first film. Quibbles aside this is still a faithful sequel, if equipped with a few flaws.
Dante (O'Halloran) and Randal (Anderson) are now in their thirties, working at Mooby's, a fast food restaurant one would be familiar with if they saw Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, after Randal accidentally burns the Quick Stop convenient store down. Their lives haven't changed all that much; Randal is still ill-behaved and single and Dante is hoping to get married to his girlfriend Emma (played by Jennifer Schwalbach, Smith's wife) and leave his life of minimum wage.
Of course, in the View Askewniverse, nothing usually goes the way the characters hope. There are many bizarre, strange, and unexplainable antics I won't ruin for the curious. Sadly, this is kind of where I got a little upset. Clerks II sometimes feels like it favors the obligatory raunch comedy or antics based on outrageous situations over hard earned laughs in the dialog field that pack in wit. Still, many of the scenes are funny; take for example the scene involving shameless racism and Lord of the Rings vs. Star Wars. Those are two perfectly good scenes that center around creative and funny dialog. That's exactly what I was looking for.
Not to mention, I've developed such a love for these three characters. It's strongly satisfying to see them back on the screen again, even if they are in color and working a new environment. I love the extreme relatable qualities both Dante and Randal posses, not to mention Smith's utterly genius writing talents.
Clerks II is a fun, throw caution to the wind comedy. While it doesn't touch the original Clerks with a ten foot pole, it's still impressive to say it comes off as very, very good even after a twelve year gap. When you revive a film and make a sequel to it years later, it either seems tacked on or obligatory. Because the characters in Clerks have problems that concern their age and their lifestyle, it's safe to say a sequel can't be made just a few years after one another. Waiting almost a decade or so will give us the most amount of comedy, laughs, and believable dialog.
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Trevor Fehrman, Jason Mewes, and Kevin Smith. Directed by: Kevin Smith.
- StevePulaski
- 3 lug 2010