Clerks 2

[Highly rated reviewer]

Disapointing

What Kevin Smith achieved with the original Clerks on a shoe string budget has to be commended; it was edgy, believable and most importantly funny. Ever since however the quality of his films has been on a steady decline, culminating in the God awful Jersey Girl and unfortunately Clerks 2 doesn’t alter the trend. 10 years on the lead characters are older, fatter, and none the wiser, and with age they’ve morphed from charismatic slackers into unbelievably pathetic losers still cracking fart jokes. I simply didn’t sympathise them and it’s telling that the characters not involved in the first film come out of this the best. Dante (played by Brian O Halloran….who can’t act to save his life) is most at fault, a decade on this character still hasn’t discovered a personality and is just used to prop Randals delinquent wise cracks (yet the plot centers around him and the two beautiful women pursuing him!). The painfully over sentimental ending tries to alter the tone and give the film some sort of purpose but it just doesn’t fit and anyhow by then I was a long way from caring. To get the most from this film I’d recommend low expectations and paying zero attention to the barley there plot and enjoy the few sketches that are funny (Porch monkey, donkey show and the Lord of the Rings impression were priceless), that or just watch the first one.

The boys are back in town

Kevin Smith stated that Clerks 2 is for 30 somethings what the original was to 20 somethings and that's absolutely true. While the potty humour is still more than evident Clerks 2 shows a great deal more heart than the other films in his Askewniverse and the relationship between Dante and Randal actually reaches touching at times. That said there's still enough of the usual Smith vulgarity to keep the old fans choking on their popcorn.

The old cast (including a very healthy looking Jason Mewes) really look like they're having a good time while newcomers to Smith's world Rosario Dawson and Trevor Fehrman fit in perfectly.

So sit back and enjoy Mewes's Buffalo Bill dancing, the arguments about Star Wars and the er...cross_species erotica.