I admit it.
I had my doubts.
I had this creepy, crawly feeling that "Clerks II," the sequel to
Kevin Smith's cinematic debut and low-budget wunderfilm, was going to
suck...or even worse be boring.
God, Kevin Smith boring? The mere thought makes me shudder.
Why would Smith, who had sworn off a sequel for so long and stated
very publicly that he was done with these characters, suddenly find it
in himself to journey back to them?
Was it the "Jersey Girl" fiasco? (C'mon, be honest. It WAS a
fiasco...I don't care how much you love Smith. The film was, by far,
Smith's least cohesive and coherent effort).
Was it simply that Smith was out of ideas?
In recent interviews, Smith has declared that none of these things are
true. In fact, he has stated simply that, finally, a storyline came to
him that made sense.
Heck, Smith's producer didn't want to make the film...Jeff Anderson
was resistant to revisiting a character he'd long since put away.
Smith, of course, ultimately prevailed and Harvey Weinstein coughed up
a $5 million budget (just SLIGHTLY higher than the original film's
$27,000 budget <NOTE: Sarcasm>).
"Clerks II" picks up 10 years after the original film, with Randal
(Jeff Anderson) and Dante' (Brian O'Halloran) still working at the
Quick-Stop...or at least for about the first two minutes of the film.
A fire, caused by Randal's leaving the coffee pot on one too many
times, destroys the "Quick Stop" and both Randal and Dante' find
themselves changing locations to Mooby's, a bottom-of-the-line
fast-food restaurant featured in past Smith films.
"Clerks II" essentially picks up on Dante's last day on the job before
he heads off to Florida with his fiance' Emma (Jen Schwalbach-Smith,
Kevin's wife) to get married, run one of her father's car wash's and
live the life he's always thought he should be living.
Smith has added a couple new characters to the scenario including an
attractive Mooby's manager named Becky (Rosario Dawson), for whom
Dante' obviously has feelings, and innocent, Christian good boy Elias
(Trevor Fehrman), a "Lord of the Rings" and "Transformers" geek who
is
able to explain why his pastor believes that his Transformer obsession
doesn't conflict with faith in Christ.
Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith himself) are also back, of
course, and now hang around outside Mooby's (Smith incorporates the
real life rehab stint of Mewes into his storyline, even though Mewes
is still a dealer in the film). While a bit underutilized here, their
scenes are still filled with that hilarious mix of innocence and
vulgarity that we've come to love and expect from Jay and Silent Bob.
While much of "Clerks II" is, indeed, much of the same, the film
itself greatly illustrates Smith's enormous growth as a writer. Smith,
in "Clerks II," achieves a remarkable balance of emotion, humor, and
gentle (at times obscene) life lessons. For those who so deeply
connected with Randal and Dante' during the original "Clerks," Smith
seems to go the extra mile here and strips away their often humorous
outer shell to reveal a rich, authentic and surprisingly deep humanity
inside.
This approach is surprisingly effective for a couple major reasons: 1)
O'Halloran and Anderson have never really been regarded as
particularly strong actors, and 2) The original "Clerks" went out of
its way to avoid anything remotely meaningful.
While neither O'Halloran nor Anderson are destined for an Academy
Award anytime soon, their acting has grown tremendously and their
natural presence and chemistry works together to create a film that
never feels like "acting." Instead, it feels like a true dance of
friendship...constantly weaving its way through boundaries, choices
and the peaks and valleys that challenge all truly great friendships.
Especially in the latter half of the film, their onscreen chemistry is
so strong that one truly aches for Randal as he prepares to lose his
best friend and reveals with simple honesty that he has no clue what
to do now.
Perhaps it is the growth of Smith's writing or perhaps it is simply
the incredibly increased budget, but "Clerks II" feels like both an
homage to the original film but also a true tribute to the journey
both Randal and Dante' have been on. The film is beautifully shot, and
Smith's editing is nicely done in balancing the film's quick shifts
between sincerity and vulgarity.
The addition of Rosario Dawson to the View Askew Universe is a
brilliant stroke by Smith, and Dawson truly shines in a role that
allows her to relax and be the Dawson we see in interviews and on talk
shows. She brings a tremendous complexity to this young woman, long
cynical about life and love, and displays a tremendous vulnerability,
sweetness and, yet, also a rich humanness that offers both a "girl
next door" and a "bad girl" feeling to it.
Likewise, as Elias, Fehrman takes a potentially cliche'd character and
makes him a bit sad, tremendously funny, awfully sweet and a bubbling
volcano of emotional expression. His facial expressions, in
particular, are remarkably effective and often contrast really well
with Smith's as Silent Bob.
Mewes and Smith do here what they always do as Jay and Silent Bob.
While the characters are a tad under-written, they are still
entertaining and outright funny. Similarly, Schwalbach-Smith is
appropriately controlling and bitchy...but, again, also sympathetic in
portraying that she truly does love Dante', but also knows that she's
rescuing him and she wears that responsibility with pride.
Cameos, as expected, are offered from Ben Affleck (basically
pointless), Jason Lee (MUCH funnier), Wanda Sykes (Surprising, but
funny), Earthquake (Great with Sykes) and a donkey (OH MY! I can't
even describe it!).
The film's plotline is quite basic...it is Smith's dialogue that holds
it all together and makes it work. Will Dante' end up in Florida with
Emma? Will Randal and Dante' remain friends? Will Dante' ever reveal
his true feelings for Becky? Will Jay remain clean? Will Elias
discover his sexuality? What's with the donkey? How can so much drama
exist in a script that is so basic?
That's the beauty of "Clerks II."
Kevin Smith knows this life and he lived it. He remembers these guys
well, and he clearly loves them. In fact, he clearly loves everyone in
this film.
The View Askew Universe, in some ways, seems to be half like Adam
Sandler, who always finds himself working with trusted friends and
peers, and half Insane Clown Posse, whose juggaloes invite a sort of
comical yet sincere brand of acceptance, expression and being to their
unique, yet authentic community.
In "Clerks II," it's ultimately unclear if these guys have grown...at
all. In some ways, they're still slackers, still undecided and still
seemingly unmotivated. Yet, Smith, in his directorial wisdom, gently
guides these characters through their various minefields and into a
sort of low-budget, urban field of dreams where they can be who they
are even if everyone else thinks they're stuck.
The reality is that Kevin Smith doesn't need these characters to shine
as a director. He does, however, need characters who need him as much
as he needs them. The View Askew Universe isn't confined to Jay,
Silent Bob, Randal or Dante...not at all. However, it's not found in
the plastic, manufactured worlds of films like "Jersey Girl."
In Clerks II, Kevin Smith proves that he's a truly unique voice for
the disenfranchised and disengaged youth, young adults, gimps,
addicts, porchmonkeys (No, silly. This is not a racial slur I'm using.
It's a reference to one of the film's more irreverent and pointed
scenes), slackers, geeks, nerds and all the other outcasts of the
world. It's a virtual cinematic wonderland and nobody, I repeat
nobody, captures it like Kevin Smith.
Will these characters ever be back? Who knows? The door is certainly
left open. Most importantly, however, THIS is the Kevin Smith who
simply must come back..."Clerks II," while not quite a perfect film
is, indeed, a distinct, original and brilliantly realized film for the
Randal, Dante', Jay, Silent Bob, Emma or Becky in all of us.
On a lighter note, staying through the credits will offer two fun
items of note...one, the credits may very well be the funniest credits
I've ever read, and two, as director Smith had promised he thanks all
of the "View Askew" MySpace "Friends" by name in the credits.
It's a beautiful reminder that Smith remembers where he came from,
and he treats it with both reverence AND irreverence.
So, quit slacking...Quit reading this review...Get out and see
"Clerks II." Remember, if you're going to sneak into the theatre just
tell them at the box-office. |
