Twelve years after “Clerks,” the clunkiness is gone from Kevin Smith’s direction and editing, which are now as polished as the romantic comedy in the next theater over. But his writing remains down to earth in “Clerks II” (2006), which checks in on what Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are up to. (They’re still clerking.)
It centers on a heartfelt love story and throws in enough sweet side moments about life and friendship to drown out the (often funny) raunchy comedy such as the Donkey Show centerpiece.
Ennui and irony
“Clerks II” is about post-30s ennui and how it lacks the romanticism of teen and 20s ennui. Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979” plays in its entirety as Dante drives around, reflecting. And Soul Asylum’s “Misery” is Smith’s final aural statement.
To celebrate Kevin Smith’s birthday, from Aug. 1-9 we’re spotlighting some of his work that we haven’t previously reviewed at Reviews from My Couch.
“Clerks II” (2006)
Director: Kevin Smith
Writer: Kevin Smith
Stars: Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson
I think Smith is going for irony here. These songs would fit with “Clerks”-era Dante and Randal, but they’re not right for 33-year-old Dante and Randal. Those songs are now “sad” under the other definition of the word.
“Clerks II” challenges us to reflect on that change, although Smith doesn’t have a catch-all answer for what these clerks should do with their lives.
Dante at crossroads
At any rate, “Clerks II” starts with the Quick Stop burning down. Cleverly, the switch from black-and-white to color occurs with the wall of flames.
As Dante gapes at the ruins, we wonder what he’s thinking. Not because O’Halloran doesn’t act well – he and Anderson smoothly slide back into their banter – but because Dante himself is of two minds. He always said he hated the Quick Stop, but – as everyone reminds him – he worked there for a decade.
Did he work there out of lack of ambition for more? Or did he actually like it? We can see Randal probably did like working there. (Or at the video store next door. Did he work at both places? Are they part of the same establishment? I’ve never been clear on that.)
Mainstreaming at Mooby’s
As the hetero life mates move over to McDonald’s stand-in Mooby’s – along with sidewalk-perched pair Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) – “Clerks II” becomes a slick, mainstream rom-com (with Smith’s brand of crass humor peppered in).
The original “Clerks” was separated into vignettes that slyly formed arcs and narratives. This one starts with a Courier-font title card for Jay and Silent Bob’s intro, but doesn’t stick with it.
We get humorous pop-ins from Jason Lee, Ben Affleck and Ethan Suplee, but overall this is Rom-Com 101. Dante is with Emma (Jennifer Schwalbach, Smith’s wife) but he clearly loves Becky (Rosario Dawson).
New to the menu
I like the comfortable interplay between Dante and Becky, where he paints her nails in her Mooby’s office. During the delightful Jackson 5 “ABC” dance number, their chemistry shines even more.
Becky is Dante’s boss, and she acts like one when she needs to (the film features only one rush of customers). But generally she has entered her 30s as rudderless as Dante. She’s a refreshingly real, flawed woman for a guy’s rom-com.
Another welcome cast addition is Trevor Fehrman as socially challenged Elias, who doesn’t make eye contact and loves “Transformers,” “Lord of the Rings” and his off-camera non-sexual girlfriend.
Smith makes this Mooby’s co-worker the target of Randal’s verbal barrages. But at the end of the day, he has sympathy for Elias, adding him to this group of flawed-but-real people rather than keeping him an outsider.
In the end, “Clerks II” is a traditional, though heartfelt, rom-com. It doesn’t hurt the “Clerks” legacy, but Smith’s flame of originality from 1994 isn’t blazing like before.