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Demolition Man
07-26-2006, 01:42 PM
Let me just say for the record I was a bit nervous about "Clerks 2" when it was first announced. Sure I had a feeling it could be good but then again there has been a number of sequals over the years that have either been too much of a fan service for its own good ("Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children"), tried to emulate the original so much that it felt heartless ("Blues Brothers 2000"), or tried to demystify what made the original a classic ("2010: The Year We Made Contact").

Thankfully, "Clerks 2" doesn't fall under any of those. Sure this sequal has a far bigger budget than Kevin Smith would of dreamed of having when he did the original. And yes while it might be in color and the two main characters are now ten years older along with a few other changes... it feels like you have come home after a ten year absense only to find that little has changed since when you left.

The movie begins with Daunte starting to open up the Quick Stop just like he has for over a decade. As he opened the steel shutters the store is on fire. A few hours later after the firemen have contained the fire Randal shows up to open RST Video only to find out that... well... its gone. Randal's response...

"Oh s*it... I f**king left the coffee pot on."

We now jump a year down the road to Daunte and Randal working now at a fast foot joint. Its Daunte's last day as he and his new fiance are moving to Florida. But things aren't so peachy rosey since, after all, this is Daunte Hicks we are talking about here. Between this point and the end credits its a fun ride of bumper cars, donkey sex, porch monkeys, Jay and Silent Bob being themselves, Randal being Randal, and quite a bit more.

What's great about "Clerks 2" is that by the end it feels like the circle that started with the original "Clerks" and go through all of Kevin Smith's films up until "Clerks 2" is now complete. There are numerous little references throughout the film to the original "Clerks" but nothing that would detract someone who has never seen the original from enjoy the sequal.

I had a great time overall. "Clerks 2" is a fun light hearted sequal. Thankfully like I wrote we finally do get a sense of closure on the Daunte and Randal characters enough to make the sequal worthwhile. The acting here is much better than the first one - especially Brian O'Halloran who really improved a lot since the first "Clerks."

Its worth it folks. Go see it. Enjoy.

Shane R. Monroe
07-26-2006, 02:21 PM
God, please tell me that the Health Inspector dude from the first one shows up and gives them a fine for something ... Man, I'd LOVE that...

Demolition Man
07-26-2006, 03:42 PM
God, please tell me that the Health Inspector dude from the first one shows up and gives them a fine for something ... Man, I'd LOVE that...

Sadly no Shane. But we do get a donkey sex scene that "is so disgusting yet I can't look away."

Oedipus
07-27-2006, 01:57 AM
Nice review. I really want to see this. Clerks is still my favorite film Kevin Smith has directed (Chasing Amy is probably my 2nd favorite).

TripHamer
07-28-2006, 04:53 PM
The one thing that I liked about it was the fact that it was a sequal that didn't suck the way some do. What I mean is that usually they do things like overact and re-hash the same stuff that they did in the first one and it doesn't work the second time around. I thought that this one was good.

Enjoy!

Demolition Man
07-28-2006, 05:32 PM
Yep. As I said in my review Smith did a nice job of having subtle jokes refering to the first film throughout Clerks 2 that people familiar enough with the first one will catch right away (ie: Milk Maid Woman). I'm glad he did the sequal tho. Its done well enough to stand on its own as its own film yet is a nice continuation of the film we have loved and enjoy for many years.

I just wish that Mr. Smith would take a chance and see if perhaps Adult Swim would pick up the Animated Series. We know that they would be far less restrictive than ABC was on what they could get away with. :D

Demolition Man
07-28-2006, 08:29 PM
Wow... I just found out about Joel Siegel walking out on a screening 30 minutes into it.

http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/media/joel-siegel-not-sharing-kevin-smiths-donkeyonwoman-vision-188484.php

There's a mp3 of Siegel vs Smith on Opie & Anthony Show. Pretty funny. Kevin totally owns over Joel on this.

Nectar
07-28-2006, 09:21 PM
This brings to mind the dispute between Roger Ebert and Vincent Gallo over the Brown Bunny. I wonder if this is actually staged and Joel and Kevin are in on this together. Hey, it seems like fun.

Flare
12-08-2006, 11:30 AM
Just saw this movie. I loved it.

My absolute favorite moment is when Elias talks about Pillow Pants. Damn, I was laughing hysterically looking at Randall's expression of inmense disbelief. The psychotic music in the background made it so much better.

Demolition Man
12-10-2006, 12:58 PM
I'm glad they included the deleted scenes on the DVD. They really should be put back into the movie.

davidmt
12-10-2006, 05:46 PM
Watched it this weekend. The first half didn't do much for me, but it definitely got better and by the end I gave it a thumbs up. Kind of a sweet little story really, if you look beyond the typical crudeness associated with Kevin Smith films. I love the throwbacks to the original, especially the scenes at the end.

For Kevin Smith fans, I recommend taking a look at the "Evening with Kevin Smith" DVDs. They are basically taped Q&A sessions he does for college students, which he apparantly does in between films. A new 2-disc release came out a couple weeks ago to go along with the Clerks 2 DVD. I find Smith to be a very entertaining speaker, if you like his sort of shtick, and I found these discs to be more enjoyable than some of his movies.

Link for those who use Netflix:
http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=60030569&trkid=174833
http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=70053822&trkid=188469