Review - Clerks II (2006)

          Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, we talked about the original Clerks yesterday, so today, let's discuss Clerks II. But, before we get into the movie, let's talk about some other goings on with Kevin Smith's filmmaking career at that point. After the release of Clerks, Kevin Smith teamed up with Universal Pictures to release Mallrats, which is my personal favorite Kevin Smith from, and one that I plan to review at a later date. After that, he re-teamed with Miramax, the studio that released Clerks, for his film Chasing Amy, with Lionsgate releasing his film Dogma, and Dimension Films releasing his 2001 film  Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Initially, the plan was to finish out the View Askew franchise with that particular film, with Kevin going to work on other projects, such as the ill-fated Jersey Girl, and it was just around the release of that film that Kevin was offered the chance to direct a film adaptation of the comic book The Green Hornet. Unfortunately, the failure of Jersey Girl made Kevin a bit skittish about the scale of The Green Hornet, but decided to work with the studio that offered him the gig, which was The Weinstein Company, on Clerks II. Which is where we find ourselves now, so let's get into the movie. 

            So, we open up with Dante Hicks getting ready to open the Quick Stop, only to find the store on fire. After a quick bout of disbelief, Dante realizes that the store IS on fire, and calls for the fire department, who show up and put out the blaze. While sitting utterly stunned, Dante watches as his best friend, Randal Graves, walks into the store, oblivious to everything going on. Randal, after getting forced out of the charred store, head towards Dante, and realizes that the fire was his fault, as he left the coffee pot on overnight. Oops. 

          Some time later, and Dante and Randal are now working at a local fast food joint, Mooby's, alongside Elias Grover, a nerdy teen who is obsessed with both Transformers and Lord of the Rings, and Becky Scott, who is the incredibly attractive manager at Mooby's. On the day the movie takes place, Dante is preparing for his last day, as he is now engaged to a woman named Emma Bunting, and the two are getting ready to leave New Jersey and move to Florida. Dante and Randal open up the restaurant, preparing for the breakfast crowds to arrive, and for both Elias and Becky to show up as the day goes on. We also see that Jay and Silent Bob have followed Dante and Randal from the Quick Stop to Mooby's, and while they no longer consume pot, they still sell the stuff. 

           The incidents of the day range from some really absurd scenarios, including Randal and Elias debating over the then-upcoming Transformers film by Michael Bay, to meeting an old classmate of theirs, Lance Dowds, who became wealthy by selling his website to another website, to Dante and Randal leaving Becky and Elias behind so they can drive go-karts, to debating whether or not a certain phrase (that I will NOT be repeating here) is, in fact, racist, to even Randal hopping online to set up Dante's going away gift: a donkey show. We also have a song and dance number, with Dante and Becky on the roof, and several patrons being led by Jay and Silent Bob in the parking lot, all to the tune of the song "ABC" by the Jackson 5. It's here where Becky reveals that she's pregnant with Dante's child. This creates a new wrinkle, as now Dante is torn between moving to Florida with Emma or not, as now he realizes he'll be leaving behind a child that is his.  Dante tells Randal about it, but after he blurts out a quote from The Godfather to Becky, she storms off. Randal has Dante go after Becky, while he gets everything set up with the guy running the donkey show. 

         Dante returns, and thinks another fire broke out, so he calls it in, only to realize that there is no fire, just a fog machine. The donkey show goes on, but is quickly revealed to not quite be what they thought. Becky shows up, sees what's going on, and both she and Dante profess their love for each other. Emma, seeing the two kissing, breaks off her engagement to Dante. Police and fire crew show up, and Dante, Randal, Elias, Jay, Silent Bob, and the Stud (that's the guy running the donkey show, and I won't say his full name for reasons) are all arrested. Dante and Randal have a fight in jail, and when they look to Jay and Silent Bob for advice, for the first time, Silent Bob is drawing a blank. Finally, when pressed by Dante about what he'd do, Randal reveals he'd buy the Quick Stop an reopen it personally, and that's what he and Dante should do. When Dante reminds Randal that they don't have the kind of money to buy the Quick Stop, Jay and Silent Bob offer them the money, because they had it left over from their check they got because of the Bluntman and Chronic movie from during the events of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

          Upon getting released, Dante heads to Mooby's, and puts a box in Becky's hand with an engagement ring in it, deciding to marry her instead. Dante and Randal, thanks to Jay and Silent Bob's money, successfully but the Quick Stop, and begin the process of renovating the store. Elias is hired on to work at RST Video, and the finishing touch is a big canvas sheet with the message on it that reads "I Assure You, We're Re-Open." Jay and Silent Bob take their place outside of the store, and Dante and Randal look over the Quick Stop, ending the movie as the new owners of the place. 

         Okay, so I am probably among the handful that really enjoyed this movie. However, as time has gone on, I can see that it does have some flaws. However, the casting isn't one of those flaws. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson are still terrific as Dante and Randal, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith are still hilarious as Jay and Silent Bob, and I thoroughly enjoyed newcomers like Rosario Dawson as Becky and Trevor Fehrman as Elias. Jennifer Schwalbach, who is of course the IRL wife of Kevin Smith, is really good as Emma, and her scenes are pretty funny in the early parts of the movie. 

            Some elements that don't work are, again, the topics of discussion throughout the movie, including the validity of The Lord of the Rings trilogy compared to Star Wars, and of course the talk about whether or not certain phrases should be considered racist (news flash, any racist phrase should be seen as such, guys. Just saying). But the most bizarre part of the movie is, obviously, the donkey show. Now, just for the sake of keeping the movie R-rated, the movie made sure the donkey show wasn't visually graphic, but yeah it was still effed up, dude. 

         Overall, I enjoyed what Kevin Smith did with Clerks II, and I definitely recommend it. I give the movie a rating of 4.5/5. 

          Well, that'll wrap up my Clerks reviews until next Tuesday, when I go to see Clerks III. But, be sure to stay tuned for later in the day, as I'll be giving my thought on the announcements, reveals, and trailers for upcoming movies and projects being showcased at the D23 Expo. Until then, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you guys next time.