So I decided to go see the new Smith film last night. When we walked into the theater the first thing I noticed was the theater was warm. Turns out the A/C was broken. So while we were sitting inside a theater, I basically watched Clerks II outside in the dank Florida swamp. I was a wet mess when I left the theater. Could this have ruined my experince watching the movie? Sure. I don't believe if effected my opinion though. So despite the incomfortable enviroment, how was the movie?
Well, let's get this out of the way, Clerks II had more then a few laugh out loud (LOL for webnerds) moments. Smith seems to still have a few tricks up his sleeve. The funniest parts of Clerks II were the zaniest ones. Humor that just seems to come out of nowhere, most likely thought of on the spot. Without spoiling it too much for those who haven't seen it. The Pillow Pants story made me giggle, as did Jay's tribute dance. The few geek conversations had me chuckeling here and there. Frankly, my positive attitude stops there.
When Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back came out, Smith had sworn to stop making films in his viewaskew universe. His next film Jersey Girl was a commercial and fanboy bomb. It's the film that so many people love to hate despite half of the film's so-called critics probably have never seen it. So while dealing with the blow of a commercial bomb, Smith decided to go back to the beginning of it all. He wrote on his Clerks 10th Anniversery DVD that he realized he still had something to say about the slacker life, and Clerks II would be his outlet of sorts. So what was so important to go back to his original?
Clerks II is basically about what happens when a loser decides it's time to gorw up. Hmm... I can see what Smith has in mind already. The problem with his point in this film is that it feels like more of a surrender then a happy ending. The film's message is completely illogical and contradictory. Sure, if a ton of money appeared out of NOWHERE, maybe you could graduate from working for the man, to being the man. The probability of this happening is about the same as becoming a famous movie director like Smith himself did. Is it wrong to want more from life? Smith seems to think so. I understand the importance of friendship in life, but that doesn't make your life complete. Not that I agree with completely leaving your so-called life to start over either. So Smith's message just comes off washed out in the end.
The other problem with Clerks II is it's timing. Clerks II's original sub-title was The Passion of The Clerks, a lame joke that wouldn't have fit this film at all. Thank goodness they dropped it. Unfortunately, the film has plenty of lame jokes as well. The Lord of The Rings jokes are a few years too late, as are the Star Wars refrences. The Transformers jokes also felt off balance too. Do 19 year olds like Transformers? That show's popularity was at its peak when I was a kid, I'm 27. Most of the jokes had been done to death on various message boards, SNL skits, or sitcoms. When it comes to pop-culture mockery, Smith seems to be a little behind the times. Where the origianl Clerks bascially started it.
The characters may have changed a little in ten years, but mostly not for the better. The new guy is absolutely overblown, making him pretty useless in conversation and humor. Randal appears to be more of ignorant prick, then the sarcastic underachiever he was in the first film. Dante plays a much happier role then before, taking away a bit of his cynical bite. Rosario Dawson plays the perfect catch, but I doubt any fast food resturant in the world has a manager that good looking. Smith's wife does okay, though I still don't fell like she should ever be a love interest in any film. The cameos are mostly weak despite a funny performance by Wanda Sykes.
With all of this down, I havnen't even gone into why Clerks II ultimately failed to me. It all comes back to the original. The first Clerks film was an honest look at the slacker life. These people seemed smart enough to get places, but were stuck behind for various reasons. It was written at a time when culture was changing. At the time Clerks was ahead of the game. It was smart, cynical, and real. Clerks II seems to miss all of these points for me. The banter between Dante and Randal never reaches the hillarious complexity of the original. Instead of a witty statement on counter-culture, Smith has made gross-out comedy that pales in comparison. In the end, the real question is what did Smith really say by returing to Clerks. If you see the film, Silent Bob's only line says it all, not much.
An appropriate 6.9/10