Clerks II

It's Okay, He's Taking it Back

by Christian De Matteo

Super

I just came back from a sneak screening of Kevin Smith's new film Clerks II. Okay, that's a lie; it's 3:00 in the morning and I'm just getting back from a bar after the screening... but that's neither here nor there.

I've been a fan of Smith's movies since I rented Clerks on VHS (no really, VHS) and watched it in my parents living room with my friend Sappan (where ever you ended up, buddy, I hope you're well). I almost flat out crapped myself when Randall raddled off the list of excessively dirty pornos in front of the lady with her child. I was sold. This was hysterical, brilliant, vulgar film-making. I really liked Mallrats and fell over for Chasing Amy. Dogma is one of the greatest discussions of religion on film and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is the best thank you a director could ever give to his friends. Jersey Girl... well, let me tell you, to hell with all the other critics, I dug it. A lot.

However, it was with some fear that I would never express aloud that I approached Smith's first direct sequel. I trusted the man and new that his humor and delivery was right up my alley, but it had indeed been a long time since the original and I wasn't sure exactly why this was the direction he was going with his next film.

Well, whatever the reasons, I loved Clerks II. You've all been reading my reviews for a while, and hopefully, at this point, trust me when I tell you that something is funny. This is funny. Not small-little-smirk funny, mind you, but damn funny. Clerks II is the perfect sequel at the perfect time (at least for me, as I stare down 30 and life afterwards with someone else) and takes the ViewAskewniverse to it's natural progression.

Writing from a more mature and experienced point of view, writer/director Smith has written a mature film about the future of immaturity and it is far from bleak. The fact is men, most men anyway, never truly get beyond, as Smith likes to call them, "dick and fart jokes". The question is not when do we get beyond them, but rather when do we figure out how to make them fit into our new lives. And when life begins to tell you it's time to do certain things (build a career, get married, start a family, get a divorce, have a midlife crisis, etc...) how do we make sure we can move forward, without giving up that truest part of ourselves: our basest nature, and still move forward?

Dante Hicks, the man who's never even supposed to be here today, is going through this debate now. He's 33, engaged to a wonderful, overbearing, crazy, stuffy, controlling beautiful woman and moving out of Jersey and to Florida. His life seems primed for perfection, but it doesn't feel right to him at all, though far be it from him to admit it. The ever comfortable, take-it-as-it-comes-and-tell-it-to-f**k-off Randall knows his buddy is making the wrong decision but can't get it through to him. Enter ViewAskewniverse newcomer, Rosario Dawson as the uber-hot manager of the fast-food joint (you all know which one) they work at. And she is the perfect woman... in oh-so many perfect ways.

And so we have the set-up for Clerks II. Hardly a minute passes without something so outlandish, so bizarre, and (mostly) so disgusting being said, acted out, or pondered that you'll find yourself hard-pressed to hear all the great dialogue due to the annoying loudness of your own laughter. Whether it be the naiveté of a certain character about the nature of racism or whether certain sexual acts are ever appropriate (sometimes, in the heat of passion), the movie barrels forward allowing the viewers to bask in the banter of one of the silver screen's best ever comic duos. And just when you think the film is nothing but fantastic hysterics, you'll realize that things of great import are being discussed. Can one move forward without leaving all behind? Is there a balance of one's self still to be found when making that permanent pairing? Is there room for the things a person loves when making the decision to guarantee someone else their love forever? Can one truly live one's life without ever witnessing a donkey show?

Clerks II is a film Kevin Smith fans will love. If there is any justice and balance in the universe, all film fans, whether Kevin's or not, will find something to love in this brutally vulgar and obscene work of human study. Truly this is a film about being male and balancing all that is expected of you and all that you expect out of life. It is a film of hope, it is a film of love, and importantly, it is a film that screams there is always still room for more dick and fart jokes.

Kevin Smith shows his incredible dialogue chops here, but also shows the amazing ability he has as a director, culling from all kinds of actors excellent performances. Clerks II also represents his best camera work to date, particularly notable in the go-cart sequence that not only tracks the character physically, but also tracks them emotionally and, without dialogue and only filming, brings us to a new understanding of our clerks as people.

Thank you, Kevin, from a long time fan, for another great movie. And remember, I'm still waiting for your courtroom drama; I know you can make it rock.