Clerks 2
by Catherine Lee

I should have some sort of self-protection reflex to keep it to myself that I'm not. I confess I was a little scared that maybe I wouldn't spark to the non-stop vulgarity I knew Clerks 2 would be. And I confess that I'm relieved that Clerks 2 made me laugh as much as it did, because it helps me believe that I'm not hopelessly over the hill yet. Even better, Clerks 2 demonstrates that writer/director Kevin Smith is still in touch with the audience that gave him a career.

      I loved the first Clerks. Clerks is everything a real indie film should be. It has its own very specific, very true voice. It was made for very little money, mostly at night, so everyone involved could keep their day jobs. And, most importantly, it was made by a filmmaker and his friends. I confess I was a little scared that Clerks 2 would be a gruesome betrayal of what made Clerks so great. It isn't. Not in the least. Clerks 2 is sweet at its core – and that core is layered over with sharp truths about how we tick.

      How constant are the kinky sexual references and use of profanity in Clerks 2? Well, when a friend who had seen it asked, "What was your favorite part?" I could barely think of a "favorite part" that I could describe that would be printable as part of this review.

      Actually, my favorite scene is the dance montage number set to the Jackson 5 singing, "ABC." It begins as a dance lesson between two people on the roof of a fast-food restaurant, and by the end of the song a rainbow of Jersey types are dancing in the parking lot as the camera jumps around, thus showing us how a great, infectious pop tune is loved by all.

      Clerks 2 picks up with Dante and Randall 10 years after Clerks. They are working at a fast-food restaurant, Moobies. They didn't leave their jobs as clerks at the Quik Stop and neighboring video store willingly; rather, the place burned and then closed. These two best friends are still torturing customers and amusing themselves with long, strange conversations about God, movies, sex and lots of goofy topics in between. Dante and Randall are again played by Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson. Dante and Randall may be the only roles these two are genuinely qualified to play, but I think their performances are really good, heartfelt and true.

      Dante is engaged to Emma (Jennifer Swalbach) and is about to move with her to Florida for the wedding. Emma's parents are giving them a house and giving Dante a car wash to run. This deal is so sweet for Dante, how can he say no?

      As he says, Emma may be a bit controlling, but she is attractive and a good person and, miraculously, she loves him.

      Clerks 2 takes place on Dante's last day of work. Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) are back. They've been busted and sent to rehab and, though they're clean, they're still dealing in front of Moobies.

      Jason Lee, Ben Affleck and Wanda Sykes come in as customers for cameos. Randall is organizing a particularly disgusting going away present for Dante. He's also offering extra torture to Elias (Trevor Fehrman), a fellow clerk and young Christian who is obsessed with Transformers and The Lord of the Rings movies.

      The real fly in the ointment of Dante's future happiness is his boss, Becky (Rosario Dawson). She and Dante are buddies, and she keeps asking Dante the tough questions about whether or not he's doing the right thing. Dawson is lovely and charming as Becky. She's a real pro, and her performance stands out.

      Regular readers may ask how I can embrace Clerks 2 and then complain so often about stupid, vulgar humor in other movies. Here's how and why. First of all Clerks 2 is vulgar and profane, but it isn't stupid. These characters know themselves and are honest. In too many movies, the characters are clueless dopes who behave in dishonest, deluded ways in service to some gross, boring premise.

      I haven't seen the movie, but I feel pretty confident – based on the disgusting behavior exhibited in the trailer – that John Tucker Must Die is a lot more vulgar, stupid, selfish and disgusting than anything in Clerks 2.

      Too many movies are slick, pretty packages that use their packaging and slickness to slip in really offensive stuff. They make it look pretty and inoffensive, so how bad can it be? Hollywood tacks on some "message" at the end, so the multitude of sleaze in the movie is "balanced," when it is really just junk.

      Kevin Smith isn't trying to fool anyone. Clerks 2 comes at you full frontal. It isn't pretending or hiding behind anything. It is honest, kinky and vulgar. Smith is true to his characters. He doesn't leave them hanging. Elias is so over the top at the beginning of the movie you can't imagine where Smith is going. By the end of the movie, Smith and Fehrman have brought the character and the performance home.

      "It's the crude humor that trips up the movie," says Scott Bowles of USA Today, proving only that he just doesn't get it. Bowles' quote is typical of what passes for movie news these days. Joel Siegel, one of the most useless movie "critics" walked out of Clerks 2 swearing about it. Online you can even download a hilarious exchange between Siegel and Smith on the "Opie and Andy" radio show.

      Don't go see Clerks 2 if you don't have a high tolerance for profanity and kinkiness. But don't listen to critics who slam the film because they want it to be as generic and phony as every other "edgy" studio release. Smith knows what he's doing. He uses "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on my Head" – which probably cost as much to license as the whole budget of Clerks – very cleverly. It's a funny riff on Butch and Sundance, and the scene is shot so "Hollywood" that it proves Smith can do what he wants.

      For Clerks 2, what Smith wants is to do justice to what he started with Clerks. And he @#$%ing nails it.

Catherine Lee is the executive director of Fort Wayne Cinema Center, the only independently operated movie theater in Fort Wayne, specializing in independent, foreign, documentary, specialty and classic films.

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