Watching “Clerks 2” was more like a homecoming to a long lost family that it was a sequel to a movie.
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"Clerks" is sacred. Working behind the counter of a grocery store for most of my high school and college years, I could relate to many of the situations and discussions in Kevin Smith´s brilliant low budget cult classic. From the time I was first introduced to "Clerks," it was one of my favorite films. I have since followed Kevin Smith´s films and enjoyed them. Yes, even "Jersey Girl." I can´t tell you if I felt more excited or more concerned when I first heard rumors of "Passion of the Clerks" or any other title that was rumored to be the follow-up to the 1994 picture. I had heard rumblings that Jeff Anderson was not keen on the idea and would perhaps not return to acting and resurrect my hero, Randal Graves. Then, it was official and I learned that both Brian O´Halloran and Jeff Anderson would return as the Clerks. My trepidation became pure excitement.
There was still a bit of worry as the release day crept closer and closer. Would Kevin Smith create a dud that would tarnish the magic of the two beloved Clerks? Could he possibly ruin the aura and feeling of the best damn film he has yet to create? Kevin Smith had previously stated that Jay and Silent Bob and the View-Askewniverse had been completed and would never be revisited. As excited as I was to see the two clerks back for more arguments, conversation and uncomfortable moments, there was a lot of worry. Kevin reneged on his words and Jay and Silent Bob were indeed returning. Along with Dante and Randal. A rousing eight-minute standing ovation at Cannes helped alleviate my fears. A certain big named critic leaving during a supposed Donkey sex scene cemented the fact that Kevin was going to betray the characters with a fluff film. I became completely excited.
Then I witnessed the film and yes, the Donkey Sex scene was wrong. It was so wrong on so many levels, that as a supposedly mature adult, I knew down deep that I should not have been laughing my ass off in complete enjoyment. There was a nerdy kid masturbating to a man having interspecies erotica with said jackass. I was laughing hard and this was the final third of the film. Time flew by and I had loved every damn minute of Kevin Smith´s "Clerks" revival and even the controversial scene between Kinky Kelly and the Sexy Stud. The film slowed down after this unconventional storytelling, but did so on a heartfelt level that was fitting for these two beloved characters. The ending was simply perfect.
Jeff Anderson and Brian O´Halloran are the clerks. They are the soul and spirit of the films. These two men are not actors. They are Kevin Smith´s friends and they made "Clerks" to help their friend and not to become Hollywood success stories. No Hollywood acting school. No prim Donna attitudes. They are not the beautiful people that plague most Hollywood films. They are the common man. They are the guys I kick back with at the bar and shoot the shit with about the Flyers and the Devils or about how crappy films have become. We joke about the size of a girls breasts and we have a good time. Both Anderson and O´Halloran hit a home run with there performances and I´d rather see these two time and time again that people that make more in one film than they will see in their lifetime.
The opening of the film finds Dante (O´Halloran) going to work at the Quick Stop convenience store from the first film. There is no gum in the locks. Instead, the store is on fire. Randal (Anderson) left the coffee pot running and now the duo no longer have a place of employment. Fast forward a year and Dante and Randal now work at Mooby´s, a fast food chain. However, Dante is now engaged to a dominating and flighty woman, Emma (Jennifer Scwalbach Smith – Kevin´s wife), who wants to take him away to Florida to run one of her daddy´s car washes. This is Dante´s last day in New Jersey and Randal finds himself suddenly in a world where the only person that has ever mattered to him – his best friend – is now leaving him forever. Randal wants to give him a proper goodbye party, but deep down does not want him to leave. The store´s manager Becky (Rosario Dawson) does not want Dante to leave for other reasons. Their nerdy and backward co-worker Elias (Trevor Fehrman) respects Dante, but looks to Randal as being a white devil. Did I mention that Randal wants to reclaim the phrase "Porch Monkey" and "take it back?"
"Clerks 2" is a brilliantly written and highly entertaining film that keeps in tone with the original film, but is far more masterfully crafted than the first movie which was created when Kevin Smith had to max out his credit cards to finance the picture. Rosario Dawson seemed a stretch to star in such a film, but she fits in just fine. Trevor Fehrman is stereotypically perfect example of the nerdy fast food worker, and his inclusion is a wise decision as well. Still, Jeff Anderson is absolutely wonderful as Randal and Brian O´Halloran again shines as Dante. Two men who are not Hollywood actors are driving forces in this film and I can hardly imagine that Kevin Smith could have pulled off his favor to the rehabbed Jason Mewes by reviving Jay and Silent Bob and the Clerks without them.
In "Clerks 2," Kevin Smith redeemed himself for the string of films that were entertaining, but lacked the personality and human elements of "Clerks." The Batman flying scene in "Mallrats" and the third nipple were forgotten. Suffering through Ben Affleck in "Chasing Amy" was a distant memory. "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back" suddenly became better movies. "Jersey Girl" became a bit spunkier. All because of the brilliance of "Clerks 2" that restored my faith in Kevin Smith as one of the better Indie filmmakers who understood the generation that he and I share – a man from the same little corner of the world as my family. Watching "Clerks 2" was more like a homecoming to a long lost family that it was a sequel to a movie.
Video:
"Clerks 2" is presented with a good 1.85:1 widescreen transfer mastered with AVC MPEG-4 and in 1080p. Kevin Smith filmed "Clerks 2" on a shoestring budget and the film certainly looks like a film shot on a lower budget. Detail is very good in some scenes, but not nearly as defined as most 2006 transfers that have been released onto HD-DVD. Colors are great. There are lots of yellows and purples – the two colors of Mooby´s. They are bright and nicely saturated with good contrast. A few scenes in the film are riddled with some digital noise and film grain. However, the source materials are extremely clean and there are no other blemishes to be found throughout the transfer. I certainly can´t say that I was disappointed with the transfer of "Clerks 2," but it doesn´t quite stack up to "King Kong," "Batman Returns" or "Æon Flux" and other high end transfers released onto HD-DVD.
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