Clerks II

In Clerks II (2006), we find Randal (Jeff Anderson) defending his loyalty to Star Wars in the face of the Lord of the Rings nerd-slaught, while Dante (Brian O’Halloran) must choose between his loyalty to New Jersey or a new start and marriage in Florida. It’s likely there is a meta-comment in here from Smith about his loyalty to his audience over appealing to the middlebrow, but who cares about such semantics here. The question is whether the film works as a comedy, and indeed it does, though its restrictions are also always evident.

Enjoying a Kevin Smith film pretty much means that you must have an encyclopedic knowledge of pop and worldwide web culture. The more averse you are to the things most people find endlessly entertaining on the web, the less likely you’ll be entertained by what’s on the screen. Everyone can appreciate Dante realizing his love for Becky (Rosario Dawson) to the tune of Jackson 5’s “ABC”; however, a lesser number of viewers will find Randal’s presentation of “interspecies erotica” funny. Since I lie, for better or worse, in the category of those amused by Clerks II’s scenes of bestiality, I was impressed with how Smith nonetheless refrained from going all Farrelly Brothers on the audience, and never pushed for that extra scene that, at the end of the day, would reduce the film to gross-out cinema.

However, the film doesn’t get a free pass, either. Elias (Trevor Fehrman) never quite understands the lyricism of Smith’s dialogue, and Fehrman’s delivery of his lines often conflicts with the more naturalistic delivery that O’Halloran, Anderson, and Dawson use. As a result, those scenes where Elias is featured become bogged down by contradicting acting styles. Also, Dante’s fiancée is too much of a caricature, so that the audience never really empathizes with her in light of Dante’s betrayal.

Yet Smith still clearly enjoys his characters, and his enthusiasm for them is contagious. It is always a delight to see Jay and Silent Bob around, and the repartee between Dante and Randal is still as engaging as ever. Even Anne Frank could see the infectious enjoyment that this film offers. Well, she could, if she wasn’t blind.

Clerks II: 7/10