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Moriarty’s DVD Blog! CLERKS 2 Review!
This summer, Kevin Smith made news for his reaction to various critics and his policies about who got to see CLERKS 2 before it was screened and who didn’t. I’m still not sure if I was never invited to see the movie because I was intentionally excluded or if it was because I moved right around the time it screened, and I just didn’t get my invite. Whatever the case, I think it’s always sort of a losing game when you do that as a filmmaker, because there are always going to be people who don’t like what you do. The more of a voice you have, the more I think you’ll ultimately divide audiences. And I think the happiest artists are the guys who have figured that out, and however much Smith still seems determined to answer his critics online, he appears to have learned the lesson where it really matters, in his filmmaking.
If you want to see just how far Smith has come as a filmmaker, I don’t think you should compare CLERKS 2 to the original CLERKS. Instead, I think you should compare it to JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, which is pretty much the exact opposite of this in terms of maturity. J&SBSB is a goof from start to finish, so absurd and ridiculous that it has no more consequence than a Cheech & Chong movie. And that was by design, I’m sure. With CLERKS 2, Smith has made a film that looks like a dick joke on the surface, but it’s got something else on its mind, something that lends unexpected poignancy to these characters. It works because it is 100% confident in tone, a sign of just how much control Smith has as a filmmaker.
I want to take a moment to pay a direct compliment to the work of Dave Klein, Smith’s cinematographer on the film. He shot CLERKS, MALLRATS, and CHASING AMY for Smith previously, and I’ve never particularly thought much of his work. Here, though, I think the look that he and Smith came up with for the film is clean and crisp and colorful, and I think it’s a big part of what works about the film. For once, I think the style works completely in a Kevin Smith film, and anyone attacking him visually does so out of habit, not because of the film itself.
I know a lot of guys like Randall and Dante. I’ve kept track of some of my high school friends and lost track of others, and what is fairly clear in looking at them as a group is that no one ever really does what you think they’re going to do. People confound your expectations. There are guys who just disappeared who you thought were going to be huge successes, and there are guys who pulled their shit together who looked like catastrophes then. And then there are the guys who haven’t changed at all. Those are the guys who sort of amaze me. They’re like the mosquitos in JURASSIC PARK, frozen in amber. And the idea of using these characters, so familiar to Smith’s fans by this point, to get at something real about those guys... that’s the quietly great idea that makes CLERKS 2 more than just a sequel. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but this is Smith’s version of Truffaut’s Antoine Doniel films, a step back into someone’s lives a full decade later. The only other American filmmaker who has done anything like this with a “sequel” in recent memory is Richard Linklater with the BEFORE SUNRISE/BEFORE SUNSET films.
Time has had its way with these characters and with these actors, and Kevin has written with the real-life experience of a decade informing all the humor. This world feels lived in because, for Smith, it has been. He’s spend a full decade now with this View Askewniverse in play in his head, and his enormous affection for the characters is evident in every moment of the film. How much you’re going to enjoy this film is directly proportional to how much you share that affection. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I prefer this to the original CLERKS, and that I think it’s Smith’s best film.
The 2-disc widescreen edition is just plain nice. I’ve listened to two of the three commentary tracks. The first one I played was with Smith, Scott Mosier, Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, Jason Mewes, Brian O’Halloran, and Jennifer Schwalbach. It’s a typically rambunctious room, and the ball-busting is epic. Schwalbach certainly has no problem calling Smith out on things, and no one seems to have a problem calling Mewes out on everything. Ferhman feels like a natural part of the group, and they haze him a bit during the commentary. Rosario Dawson is sorely missed, but it’s obvious everyone in the cast was smitten with her. Mewes goes on at length about watching her nude scenes in ALEXANDER while masturbating, and how proud he was to tell Dawson about that particular viewing.
The second commentary I played is the one with Smith, Mosier, and Dave Klein, and it’s a far more technically-oriented commentary track. If you want something that will actually offer some educational value for aspiring filmmakers, this is the one. I haven’t played the unused podcast commentary, originally recorded to be downloaded and played by viewers in the theater, but I’m sure I will.
Disc two features the 90-minute behind-the-scenes documentary “Back To The Well,” and it’s a solidly-produced piece that completely conveys the enthusiasm that they all had for the picture. I love how honest Anderson is about all the reasons he didn’t want to have anything to do with a CLERKS sequel, and he basically speaks everything that every fan must have thought at some point when they heard about the idea. There’s just as much history playing out in the subtext of this documentary as there is in the movie itself, and it really captures the emotional rollercoaster that is the making of any film in a very tangible way.
All of the production diary entries that were shown online are included on the disc, and then there’s also a hefty blooper reel that is just as profane and funny as you’d expect. In particular, watch for Rosario Dawson's adorable addiction to squeaking out "Moobys!" just before or just after a take.
All told, this is one of the nicest discs that The Weinstein Company’s put out since they’ve started publishing their titles through Genius Products, and I think Smith’s fans are going to be particularly pleased.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
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i do
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I didn't get an invite either and I haven't moved in over 7 years. Just a fluke with Kevin's contact system I'm guessing.
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Yeah, they're nice
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Well, why would you be?
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I'm gonna by this DVD, and you can put that on your f'n front page.
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did your invite not appear before or after you started using 'Drew McWeeeny, Los Angeles' rather than 'Moriarty'? It seems that Mori wouldn't be so indignant :-P
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irredeemable crap. I can't think of any filmmaker who squandered as many opportunities as Kevin Smith has.
Smith's only worth is as the ultimate example of 21st century American Man-Child, the aggressively ignorant video-game-playing arrested-adolescent angry infant in an oversized doughy, goateed body. -
"L'auberge Espangole" and "Les Poupees Russes" also show real time having passed between two films and work as individual films.And of course, the Mad Max series.
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Rosario Dawson naked in Alexander. I still have never seen it, but am told to, as quickly as humanly possible.
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LOL, just kidding. You're alright with me. I'll rent this since rosario dawson's in it. I could care less about two dumb slackers.
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Austin Texas. or has it moved....
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I left the theater actually proud to be a Kevin Smith fan. His characters are roughly my age. I grew up with people like them. I am people like them. Hell, at 32, I've been in my first real non-nametag job for just over a year. I can relate to the characters and situations (not the donkey show, tho), and can appriciate how they've grown and matured over the years. Kevin's done a terrific job of capturing my generation, and I'm damn sorry to see the Askewniverse end. But damn, what a perfect way to do it.
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I've totally fucked myself by posting a positive comment on this board, haven't i?
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discuss how awful the movie is. what garbage
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if it were not for the really lame musical number of which the only value is the smokin’ hot Dawson dance number in that tight little shirt and the really way drawn out and self indulgent go cart montage scene. I know Smith was paying homage to Butch and Sundance and all that but it was just a very long and unfunny moment in a movie that is wall to wall laughs before and after that point.
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It's fucking hilarious and adds a realistic depth to characters who would even work great without it!
Fuck Tarantino (I had to say that, sorry. But I mean it!)!!! -
I think that pretty much sums it up. Clerks 2 is mediocre on all levels: as a comedy, as something poignant, and as a movie. Kevin Smith has some clever witty dialogue from time to time, but that’s about all he brings to his films. In Clerks 2 I found that even that was sorely missing. He shot for something meaningful, fell short, and ended up with a very uneven average movie.
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You are so wrong. I don't have a goatee.
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Clerks was a crappy film that had some very good moments. Viewers tolerated the overall crappiness and praised the good moments because it was obviously a low budget film. Now Kevin is a “seasoned” director who can spend millions on putting a decent film together but we still get a hunk shit with a few good moments in it (skittles?). If ANY other director put this movie out, they would be universally panned for their effort.
Moriarty, you know this to be true. People want to like Kevin Smith because he has a Cinderella story. But he has made seven films now and he still hasn’t improved very much as a director since the Mallrats days. Do you secretly think that Kevin is retarded and anything that he does is acceptable as long as he doesn’t shit himself? It seems like it. But that’s ok. Kevin is really one of us. Because we all deep down want to direct romantic comedies about family tragedy and we all openly believe that Ben Affleck is the best actor ever.
Oh, and, I would lick Rosario Dawson’s toilet seat. Just thought that I would throw that out there.
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Dogma is by far his worst film. He was far to pussy to make that movie as controversial and meaningful as it needed to be or could have been. Jay and Silent Bob Strike back is a close 2nd.
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I saw this opening night. You could hear a pin drop in the theater. Who is Kevin Smith blowing on this site anyway? Clerks 2 couldn't have sucked more.
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Hmmmm....
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You've got to be kidding me. I saw this on opening weekend, and ended up missing half the jokes because the audience was roaring so loud. Yes, I'm sure it was all the Smith fanboys who had come out for the premiere, but no way in hell do I believe you sat in a silent theatre on opening night.
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There was a nearly 60 year old black man in the theater we saw Clerks 2 in and he was laughing so hard at the porch monkey jokes I think he nearly pissed himself. We were talking to him after the flick and he had not seen a single other Smith film except the first Clerks.
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smith just threw it all against the wall and saw what stuck. unfortunately, it got so gross and abstract that in the end, it felt really pointless. most people didn't laugh at the screening i went to, and a girl in a wheelchair ended up leaving 10 minutes in after the 'crip boy' joke.
i thought it was a better buddy film than a comedy. -
she is soooo white in /all/ the marketing for this film....it can't be anything but intentional...really disapointing...
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Ditto on the opening night, hysterical laughter. I don't know WTF Lucasblows is talking about. Some of the gags just fucking sucked. The donkey show was just weird. The Elias pussy troll...not good. Virtually everything else was killer.
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The Mr. Pillow pants story was one of the funniest moments in any of Kevin Smith's movies for the look of disbelief Randal had on his face alone.
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That's so fucking silly. It may have worked with some other name, but McWeeny? Come on, it just sounds funny
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There hasn't been a more mismatched couple than Dante and Rosario Dawson since Ron Jeremy's last porn scene.
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That was my experience with the film. I loved the first Clerks but this just sucked. Kevin Smith's ass is unjustifiably licked on this website and the "Porch Monkey" dialogue some of the most forced Kevin Smith has ever written (and that is saying something).
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Try Kevin Smith and his wife.
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to go ass to mouth. Best Line in a movie ever period.
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No one gives two squirts if you were invited to the screening or not. You are nobody. Just get to the review, partner.
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Does every reviewer on this site labour under the false notion that their audience wants to skim over the first three paragraphs of irrelevant egocentric personal shit to get to the review?
When Harry does it, it's bearable because it's almost an unspoken apology for being such a lousy critic. But when Mori does it, it's so forced that you almost wonder if Harry has asked him to tack on some personal shit at the beginning because that's the AICN 'schtick'.
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But boy was the "Ass to Mouth" dialogue ever forced...All around I enjoyed the film, though I wouldn't say its his best to date. That award still goes to Chasing Amy. Clerks (1) Mallrats and Chasing Amy were all very personal films where he was drawing on his personal experiences growing up in Jersy and hanging out in the mall and working at dead-end jobs and so on...Jay and Sinelt Bob Strike Back was a lot of fun but it was a little goofy to fit in the same catergory as the others, and Clerks 2 felt like it was Kevin Smith trying to show us what he THINKS it might have been like to be stuck in the same crappy job 10 yrs later...the problem is that Kevin didn't get stuck in a dead-end job so he has no perspective to make a movie like this...I still laughed my ass off, but I think he needs to make something in a different genre now...we know he can do comedy.
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Everyone was cracking up.
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and i'm a huge smith fan. seen every movie, loved dogma i dont know wtf you guys are talking about on that one, and i thought j&sb was classic, although i saw a rough cut early so it was a much raunchier cut than the one that got released wide, hell i even like jersey girl (george c especially). they're all good, but something rubbed me the wrong way with clerks 2. #1, they werent even clerks, they were fast food attendants. #2, the acting was much worse than normal, and #3 the casting of mrs. smith was vomit inducing. i wish i could go off on a tangent a spew point after point, but the bottom line is i havent seen this turd since opening night and i smoke waaay too much of the sticky icky to remember. there was so many other ways he could have "fleshed" out the story of our two heroes and he chose to rehash every fucking movie he's ever done. the plot was jacked right outta mallrats. kid#1 wants to marry girl#1, was going to propose in orlando... but i think this time he used miami, it all felt too familiar, and i dont mean using the same takes, actors, and delivery of the jokes. smith, i hope to god, hasnt peaked, and he just wanted to make a safe (if you can call man on donkey sex safe) film after the crap he took for jersey girl. the man is way too rich & successful to be this touchy about what other people say. i'll see every one of this dudes flicks as they come down the pipe, i owe him atleast that for giving us jason lee, but jeezus, i hope this dude learns to just trust his big godzilla sized gut.
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Since you seem to be reviewing just the disc and not the movie, how about a link to your original reviews of the movies if they exist. I'd assume you like most of these DVDs since you shelled out money for them but it'd still be interesting to revisit your thoughts.
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This definitely has to go into my list of all time disappointments. In fact, it hovers somewhere between The Matrix Reloaded and Terminator 3. Dang. Sadly, it was a film that I really WANTED to enjoy.
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Why do we watch Kevin Smith's movies? Dick and fart jokes! Oh yeah and Mewes. Why don't you all get off your high horses and watch the movie for what it is. Has Smith made better movies? Of course, but what did you expect from "Clerks 2" and oscar nod? Come on, and if I was Kevin and had a wife as good looking (well, for Kevin anyways) as she is, I would put her in every movie I made too. Just take solace in the fact there is no MMAATTTT DDAAMMOONN in this movie.
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Shite with a couple of nice lines here and there (as pretty much expected by this point), but shite nonetheless. But really, was that much of a surprise? I mean everything since Chasing Amy has been varying degrees of shite, and Smith's only trick has worn way old by this point, as his skills as a 'director' or writer continue to stagnate at best. Yeah, we get it, you can write snippets of funny dialogue here and there, how about trying something else for a change (and something that isn't putridly sappy shit that would make even Disney puke). Or maybe he could actually learn how to use the visual medium and actually direct. You know, just a thought.And anyone who thinks that this is the end of Smith's little ViewAskewniverse or whatever the hell it's called is toking some serious crack, he'll go back to that well because, well that's pretty much all he does. Mister One Trick, your fucking pony is waiting...
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I love Kevin. Seen all his films except for Jersey Girl. Hell, I saw JSBSB like 7 times in the theater (mostly at the drive in). I've got the first 5 on DVD. Clerks II blew chunks. There were maybe three good laughs in the film. I think he's through. And being a shill for Jay Leno dosen't help at all. J.L.A's tits in Mallrats are better than RD's anyday. Kev...try for another Dogma or something...leave the romantic comedy shit at home woth your tomboy-beanpole wife (ain't nuttin wrong with that). And don't be a Tim Burton and cast her in everything....that's just annoying.
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Retire Now!
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Clerks II was hardly perfect (it sometimes had an uneven feel as it went from crude comedy to character drama). However, I think it got things mostly right. I actually felt like Smith had more to do with Dante and Randal as characters, which was the major triumph of the film. I like to look at the movie as a metaphor for Kevin Smith's recent career choices. He made Jersey Girl becuase he thought it was time to grow up (similar to Dante leaving for Florida), but ultimately he realized that he could have it both ways: doing something he loved while making a movie about growing up and taking responsibilities (similar to Dante getting his old job back and raising a family).
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Jack Palance has died http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061110/ap_on_en_tv/obit_palance
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Most of kevin Smith's movies are so cringe-worthy I wouldn't subject my worst enemy t them. Tons of people tell me to my face how "great" Kevin Smith's movies are, and those people generally look and act like Kevin Smith.
Every actor in this flick, except Dawson, was terrible. Bad line delivery. No charisma. Not one moment did I believe Rosario's character could fall for that fool main character. See? So forgetable I can't remember the names of the characters. The only memorable part was watching Dawson jiggle around on the roof.
Smith's only decent flick was Chasing Amy. -
Too bad about Palance. The guy was a legend.
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http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/15982993.htm
fuckin sucks ass. -
"Day ain't over yet..."
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Then you are fucking stupid.
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Now I know why you ahet K Smith and his films.. You've been away for like a year off of this planet doing dick impersonations... You just saw the Optimus flames or are you just that retarded that it just appeared in your head and you went "oh! flames... niiiiiiceee" Clerks 2 was good, very good, and for you all that think that K Smith had missed his career as a filmaker, well all I can say is that he's sitting at home writting scripts that are being made into movies, and you all are sitting home touching yoursleves in places the donkey would'nt lick... It was good, he makes is movies like that he likes doing them like that and we liked his movies like that... Hell he made a grat film in Jersey Girl, but heck everybody pissed on it because of Jlo, fuck how can anyone say that, being a father I know what the character goes thru by making the hard decision of either going for the big job, or fuck it all and keep the job that will keep you close to your little girl. Now he goes back, and he gets crapped on? C'mon... It was great, the "Porch monkey" thing, the whole huge Clit, the donkey, the great bounce (in a scene that I would've classified as the weak moment if not for Dawson's "talent") you have to say that he captures the greatness in the guys we all know that are still doing the same shit as in high school, yes it's immature, but wothout those guys life would be soooo fu**ing boring... Hell ya to Clerks 2 and I'll add it to my collection.
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Only a moron thinks differently.
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I used to like Kevin Smith and View Askew until I saw Borat and realised that Smith is only a shadow of the daring and intelligence of Cohen. Smith is the slacker who's playing like he's insightful and has a voice. Seeing the real thing today while watching Borat made me realise that View Askew is just a big waste of time. Kind of like the Jean Claude Van Damme to the Jet Li and Jackie Chan.
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Nov 10, 2006 8:02:40 PM CST
Clerks 2 was average, but at least it wasn't a disaster
by the wrong guy
...which is what I was expecting. Better than Jersey Girl, that's for sure.
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It seems most of them are fucking stupid. I think the nicest part of this movie was the maturing and final closure for Randall & Dante. It was honest, and that's where the movie shined. That and the pussy troll was funny as fuck. Fuck you guys.
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-Smith's wife was atrocious, and brought down every scene she appeared in
-too many pensive moments with nothing happening. works for some directors, but not Smith
-poor direction, even for a Smith film (see the outdoor confrontation between Randall and Dante)
-It annoyed me to no end how Smith completely misused Talking Heads' "(Nothing But) Flowers". It's not a warm, nostalgic song about Middle America. Didn't care for how he used Smashing Pumpkins' "1979" either -
the musical number needed to be cut. Impromptu musical numbers were overused to death on American sitcoms during the late 90's
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The dude had a chance to redeem himself with Clerks 2, but failed miserably. He has proven in the past that he can make amusing movies (Clerks, Mallrats,Dogma and to a lesser extent Chasing Amy), but now he is lost. If he thinks that dick and fart jokes make a movie funny he is sadly mistaken. I really want to see him direct a funny movie without dick and fart jokes, because I think he is able to do that. I mean, take a look at the Star Wars rant in Chasing Amy. No dick and fart jokes there but one of the funniest things I have ever seen in any movie.
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one of his piece of shit movies instead of the original Clerks. It will always be compared to the original. Face it. Clerks 2 was a not that good. I smiled once. That was when it ended. I am glad that some people enjoyed it.
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Wow, it's overwhelming. I saw the first Clerks when I got home from working at a gas station/convenience store one Friday night and it happened to be on late-night TV. I enjoyed it more than I've enjoyed most flicks I've seen in my life and continue to enjoy it now. Clerks II was one of the funniest movies I've ever seen in a theatre (my girlfriend agrees, she was losing her mind during a lot of the jokes), and I thought the ending was perfect. I'm not at that stage in my life yet so I really can't tell you if I'd identify with it as much as I did the original when I was in that exact same mindset/situation, but I definitely enjoyed the flick. Taking what's meant to be an entertaining movie that is empathetic towards its characters that drastically (either good or bad) really, really confuses me. This is like referencing Weird Science in conversations about metaphysics or something, just weird.
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Any deleted scenes? I thought there was 35 minutes worth.
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HIS take on CLERKS 2!
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the only worthwhile thing to come out of Smith's movies.
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Funny how everyone's all over the map on Smith, with maybe only agreement on AMY. I disliked DOGMA on just about every level, a no more a high minded self reflection of faith than his donkey show. But STRIKE BACK was prime stuff. Even JERSY was watchable fluff. Rosario just about saved CLERKS 2 from being self-indulgent dreck. The low budget stuff seems to me cultish uneven film school fodder. BTW, does anyone still question how much input Smith had on writing GOODWILL HUNTING? The diner scene looks straight out Smith to me. I mean what has Daffleck written since, other than their State Store lists? Just seems so incongruous. (Off topic rant) The GOODWILL cast 'made' that film which, IMHO, was a satisfying, but overt rip-off of ORDINARY PEOPLE. Including maybe the phoniest 'breakthrough moment'in Hollywood shrinkdom. The climax exactly copied OP, but didn't work because Timothy Hutton really DID blame himself for surviving the accident. And that root cause wasn't so obvious that it DID feel like an intuitive breakthrough. Sure, Will had a certain degree of self loathing under that bluster, but the big realization, the film's orgasmic finale, felt forced and hit a sour note, big time. Let's put it his way... if you admired OP and minored in Psych, you're yelling, "OH C'MON! You're gonna give THAT ending an Oscar?" But hey, Kev/Ben/Matt, the rubes bought it. It's not your fault. It's not your fault.
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