Clerks II is Smith’s follow-up to his cult-classic Clerks, an independent film shot in black and white that basically chronicled the lives of a duo of white collar guys on the job and introduced us to the now infamous Jay and Silent Bob. A few things have changed in the past 12 years, including the film stock which is now in every glorious color of the rainbow, but ultimately the white collar guys are still just that.
The guys I refer to are Dante Hicks and Randal Graves, played by Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson respectively, who are now 32 years old. When Dante arrives to the Quick Stop convenience store in flames due to Randal leaving the coffee pot on again, the duo get jobs at Mooby’s, a fictional fast food restaurant.
Trevor Fehrman is added to the cast as Elias, a loser, so to speak, with a fascination with Lord Of The Rings and the upcoming live-action Transformers movie. Rosario Dawson is also present as Becky, a woman who challenges Dante’s engagement to Emma, played by Jennifer Schwalbach Smith. Of course, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) are back to offer their unusual brand of humor.
Much like its predecessor, Clerks II is a very loquacious motion picture at heart. Instead of ever becoming boring, dull or otherwise uninteresting, the movie’s amazing humor keeps the audience on their feet. There is not a moment that passes that doesn’t have moviegoers rolling in the aisles.
Helping to keep the action rolling is a revolving door of cameo appearances including one by Ben Affleck and another by Jason Lee. These additional roles are funny but they are only supplementary to the stars of the film. O’Halloran, Anderson, Fehrman, Dawson, Mewes and Smith are true comedic geniuses.
Of course, Smith is also deserving of extra credit due to his intense direction and absorbing screenplay. It takes a lot of talent to pull off a comeback such as he did with Clerks II. It is certainly able to satisfy fans of the original while not alienating newcomers from enjoying the comedic event of the summer.
There is a lot of negative press surrounding Clerks II likely due to its raunchy sense of humor (the finale consists of interspecies erotica). For many, Dante, Randal and the rest of the cast are longtime personal friends. Who could resist applying for a position working alongside these people, especially if it means laughing this hard eight hours a day for the rest of your life?
We should all be so lucky.
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