Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with Dr. Hfuhruhurr's look at CLERKS 2. I don't think I'm going to be able to see this one until after Comic-Con as the release falls right in my traveling back to the states. I love that the reviews all seem to be genuinely impressed with it and count it as a career best for Smith. I hope I agree! Can't wait to give it a viewing! Here's the good doc-tor!
CLERKS II: SEE IT WITH SOMEONE YOU LOVE IN A HETERO WAY!
Dr. Hfuhruhurr here, just back from the fancy dancy premiere of CLERKS II (all the cleverness was saved for the script I guess, not the title). And for the record, I went to the screening as a guest of one of the sponsors, not on the invite list. (You’ll see how I feel about Cinema du Smith in just a moment).
The big show was held at the gigantic world famous Cineramadome in Hollywood (imagine the delightful irony there -- a CLERKS sequel on the almost biggest, almost most famous’est movie screen in the world), Before the film began, Kevin Smith said that this was “the gayest straight film ever made” and that those who knew him knew that he was “the gayest straight man alive, just one cock in the mouth short of being gay himself.”
This is all good cause damnit, there ain’t enough hetero man love going around these days!
Cutting right to the chase, I think this is Kevin Smith’s most enjoyable film on many levels. But since Kevin Smith is a litmus test of sorts for many of you geeks out there who either love him or hate, here’s where I stand with him so you know whether or not you want to trust this review.
When the original CLERKS first came out, I was marginally impressed. I thought the acting was stiff, the direction mediocre, but the heart, soul and humor were amazing...and a breath of fresh air because there really hadn’t been anything like it at the time. Yes, Virginia, there was a time when self aware, ironic, slacker humor was unique. Then came the clones and every suit and tie in Hollywood demanded that all script now be “hip and edgy...like CLERKS.” And thus were begotten Dawson’s Creek, Reality Bites and SFW.
While the clones increased, Kevin Smith went on to make movies he wanted to make -- after pocketing tons of cash from being offered everything in town to write (from SUPERMAN LIVES to THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN) based on the CLERKS heat. And for that I say, God bless him.
Although I was never a Kevin Smith groupie or even a distant fan, I generally checked out his flicks. Skipped MALL RATS until years later when I watched it on DVD (thought it was an amusing misfire), dug CHASING AMY quite a bit, dug parts of DOGMA quite a bit, laughed way more than I should have during JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK and bought it (and CHASING AMY) on DVD. Still haven’t watched AMY again, but every once in a while I pop in JAY AND SILENT BOB for shits and giggles -- in small increments.
I’ll say right here, with all due respect, that Kevin Smith will never be accused of being a great filmmaker. His films still feel like, well, like films made by a gang of guys who found some equipment in their uncle’s garage and spent all their weekends for a year making their own "movie." I have come to think this is a good thing -- the real breath of fresh air that Smith offers, and by God he does amuse me so and over the years he has won me over. I have grown to love and admire this man’s balls and heart (not necessarily in that order). And what I now love about a Kevin Smith film -- which comes out in force in CLERKS II, is that he puts his heart, soul and passion up there. He loves what he’s doing, he loves (and knows) his niche in the film biz, and he loves his homies. It’s all up there on the screen and you can’t help but smile and be gleeful. It’s infectious. And CLERKS II is the pinnacle (at least for now) of all that.
Set today, as CLERKS was set in yesteryear, the film takes place approximately ten years after the original and everyone has aged appropriately -- unfortunately, they had no choice. The whole gang is back: Dante, Randall, Jay, Silent Bob , and all the expected cameos, plus newcomers Becky (Rosario Dawson) and the real treat of the film, new Clerk, the Christian-bred, Lord of the Rings/Transformers geek Elias (played to show-stealing perfection by Trevor Ferman and damn, damn, damn is this kid the shit! I want him to have his own spin-off like right now!).
Some things have changed for some of these Jersey folks, some things haven’t. Dante is engaged and about to move to Florida with his finacee to get married and to rise to middle management heights on her father’s coattails. Randall is not so thrilled to be losing his hetero life-mate. And from there, it delivers everything you’d expect (plus a little more) from a Kevin Smith film, complete with a stand off between Lord of the Rings trilogy lovers and Randall, still defending the original Star Wars trilogy as THE trilogy.
As I said, CLERKS II may be Smith’s most enjoyable, if not simply his best, film. It’s tight, it’s consistently funny, it’s clever, it makes you want to get up and dance at one point, it makes you want to toss your cookies at one point, and it makes you want to run through the streets yelling “Porch Monkey!” Also, after you see it, you’ll be demanding that Smith makes and mass markets "Pillow Pockets" action figure the way he did Buddy Jesus.
The film still looks like a film made by a bunch of buddies on weekends, and Dante and Randall still have not become master thespians, but everyone from Smith on down have gotten much better and tighter and visually more interesting (the opening comes to mind). There are no dead spots, no misfires, and many a great moment. And it’s really, truly about something: friendship and what happens to friends over a ten-year span. A lot of shit. You can tell that everyone involved had a helluva time reminiscing about how far (or not) they have come since they were a pack of nobodies 13 years ago making CLERKS for a buck and change...and the fondness they still feel for those days and for each other it shows up on the screen. It's a perfect film to see while we're all still celebrating ten years of Ain't It Cool News.
And on top of everything else. CLERKS II may be the ultimate hetero life-mate date movie. It won’t make you want to suck cock (if you’re a guy) but it might make you want to call all your old pals and suggest that you all dump your wives, girlfriends, and fiancées so you can live together like a Band of Brothers. Harry? Drew? Any takers?
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