Clerks
II (*)
review by Jon
Waterman
Well, it’s been about ten years, but Dante is finally
about to leave the life of a clerk. He’s about to pack
up and wave goodbye to all the annoying customers he’s
encountered recently at Mooby’s fast food restaurant
(the Quick Stop burned down). He and his fiancée are
moving out of New Jersey for good. But with best buddy Randal
by his side, you know the day leading up to his departure won’t
be uneventful. Will he actually be able to bring himself to
make the change in his life that he’s been talking about
for the past decade?
Whereas “Clerks” should be viewed as a celebration
of what truly independent film can contribute to mainstream
cinema, “Clerks II” serves as reminder that the
studio system corrupts all who cross its path. I don’t
know if writer/director Kevin Smith forgot what really made
the first film so successful and why it launched his increasingly
pathetic career, but this so called sequel can only be connected
to “Clerks” by the title of the film and the character
names. And really, if you think about how interconnected all
of Smith’s films are, sharing characters and such and
mythos within Leonardo, New Jersey, it’s really only
because of the title.
Here’s what you won’t find in this “sequel:”
1.) Black & white cinematography. Although there is a dab
of it at the very start of the movie, which transitions us
into the whole new world of color clerking, it isn’t
used throughout the movie. Maybe “Clerks” was originally
meant to be shot in color as well, and now that he can afford
it, Smith is going all out and making this one the way he wanted.
Maybe not. Whatever the reason, the black and white worked
very well, because it made the film more gritty and real. It
gave the picture that convenience store security camera look
to it, without being so eye-in-the-sky. It accentuated the
drab, dull lives of everyone in the movie and really made you
focus on what they were saying, because there certainly wasn’t
anything of visual interest to distract you.
2.) Title cards. It seems like such a simple thing that could
have been included effectively here this time around, while
at the same time adding a nice throwback to the first film.
3.) Social commentary about the service industry. Well, I
guess actually that’s not true. But this time instead
of focusing on how stupid the customers are, the situations
really show how ridiculous and moronic the clerks themselves
are. Aside from the annoyingly indecisive Dante, we have Randal.
Before he was the devil on your shoulder, the voice of reason
you didn’t want to hear, but listened to anyway, the
point of view you usually choose to ignore. Now, he’s
simply a racist, perverted idiot.
4.) Interesting characters. A new clerk added to the mix is
Elias. He’s a naïve, sheltered religious mamma’s
boy that Randal continually tries to corrupt. All of the characters
here are completely one-dimensional. They even took away dimensions
from Randal and Dante, in what I can only assume would be to
tack on a couple more failed jokes. The customers don’t
provide much substance or add to the storyline like before
either.
What you will find are a few funny moments mixed in with the
dull, lifeless, incredibly predictable storyline that’s
so bad it makes you want to shoot people. You’ll also
get a bunch of references to the previous movie that aren’t
all that clever or meaningful. And we can’t forget about
the horrid, painfully long dance sequence set to the Jackson
Five. I was really disappointed, but not surprised, at how
unbearably formulaic the movie was. Just about every convention
you could think of is in here. It’s pretty disturbing,
considering Smith’s roots. If you like anything from
Smith from “Dogma” and beyond, then you’ll
probably like this one too. You’re also probably twelve.
If you’re more the “Chasing Amy” and earlier
type, then I think you already know this one isn’t for
you. Personally, I’d much rather see a movie adaptation
of the “Clerks” cartoon series. Although now, I’m
starting to question whether or not Kevin Smith should be involved
with that project.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
|