Clerks 2 (2006)

It was neat to see a movie made with sub $30,000 when I saw “Clerks”. The production value was a bit irritating but the jokes were funny and delivered what I expected. And then watching “An Evening with Kevin Smith” I knew I needed to watch the rest of the movies I haven’t seen from him. So today I decided that to finish off the series I watched “Clerks 2”. My thoughts after the jump.

We start off right where we ended in “Clerks”. Dante opens up the shop he’s worked at for years, but today is different. The convenience store is on fire, and there is nothing he can do but watch it burn to the ground. He gets a job at a mom and pop burger joint, but not all is bad. His fiancé loves him, they are moving out of the hell hole A.K.A New Jersey, and Dante’s got a job waiting for him. But his last day at the burger joint, he realizes that he still has small feelings for his boss/close friend Becky. And don’t worry, Jay and Silent Bob still loitering the side with Randal causing trouble for everyone.

We got the entire Clerks Crew.

Right off the bat, the comedy is a lot funnier. The lines are timed better, the jokes are raunchier and Randal is still amazing. The jokes are still about oral sex and anilingus, but what was I really supposed to expect. But there were many times I was laughing my head off, just with the cheer childishness of these jokes. The great thing was, most of it was rather creative.

But an integral part of the humour is the conversations between the characters. It gives these jokes a back story, and a reason to be ridiculous as it is. Where it could be about “Mouth Trolls” or Star Wars vs. Lord of the Rings, and this is what I find amazing. A lot of these conversations seemed to be shot in one take, so it felt like a natural conversation. And after watching Kevin Smith explain that these are real conversations that have been a tad bit glorified, you know some degree of the scene you’ve watched can actually happen between two people.

Never have two men loved, but not loved each other so dearly.

And what really supports these in depth and deep conversations are the characters, they felt real. They were the people you expect to work at a fast food joint or a gas station. We might have been one of those guys behind the counter making food while air humping the fryer. And maybe that is why I like this movie so much is because I can relate to everything, the characters, the jokes and the wacky talks I have with my friends. And I am sure we all have these inner circle of friends that is our own ‘Clerks’ crew.

What I think lacks in movies nowadays is that good moral feeling we have at the end of the day. Even with the inter-species erotica and masturbation scenes, I finished the movie with a good feeling. Like I learned my lesson and got my morals back to par of a normal person. This feeling also comes from the small love story between Dante and Becky. Because when they finally kiss at the end, that we all knew was coming, it felt like justice was served.

The crazy duo is back, and again with a phenomenal dance number.

Even though the recent fad of heterosexual man love is diluting the true bromances out there, Dante and Randal still hold strong. It’s great to see them arguing and laughing at each other. And it’s great to see best friends being nothing more than just best friends. And the authenticity carries on to their relationship, again it feels real and it well welcomed.

This is definitely a fun movie to watch with yourself or with a few buds. And I could be totally wrong about this but I think a lot of people left watching this movie thinking, “Wow they really captured my life and made a movie out of it.” The humour is great, there is a good feeling at the end and the bromance is as real as it can get.