I would have to agree with my colleague, Joel Siegel – Kevin Smith is a great filmmaker. In 1994, he shook up the world of film, long plagued by monetary ventures known as event films, with a little project called Clerks. It was a simple story of two friends caught in the monotony of working dead end jobs at a small store called the Quick Stop. It was then that we fell in love with a project that only cost $27,575 to make and these two slackers named Dante and Randal.
The rest, of course, is history. Smith’s success with Clerks not only spawned a vast and loyal fan base, but it opened the doors of filmmaking to any kid with a camera, a few credit cards, and a dream. The next two films he made completed what is known as the Jersey Trilogy (Mallrats, in 1995 and Chasing Amy, in 1997), and thus a cult following was born.
Since the late 90s, when the Jersey Trilogy was created and subsequently loved by many, Smith has had his ups and downs. His most loyal fans stuck with him through Dogma, which was his most adventurous project. We welcomed the long awaited return of Jay and Silent Bob (Smith’s most beloved characters who have shown up in all of his movies, except one). And some of us even loved his most mature and heartfelt movie, 2004’s Jersey Girl. And then there was a time of doubt for the legions of Kevin Smith fans. What would he do next?
The critics beat Jersey Girl hard, saying Smith’s fanbase would not follow him into adulthood. His fans wanted more wanton humor and sharp dialogue. It was clear that before he could unleash the next Jersey Girl on the world, he would have to go back to his roots. Last year, he set out to accomplish just that, as he began filming what would be his most long-awaited and heavily anticipated film to date, Clerks II.
Clerks II revisits the lives of the lovable duo known as Dante and Randal 10 years after the first film took place. The Quick Stop has burned down. Dante has made plans to move to Florida with his newfound fiancé (played by Smith’s wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith), and Randal… well he is just the same old Randal. The two have gone to work at another moniker of Smith’s films, Mooby’s Fast Food Restaurant. Now, along with some new characters (Rosario Dawson as Mooby manager Becky and Trevor Fehrman as Lord of the Rings geek Elias) and some old faces (Ben Affleck and Jason Lee make appearances, and Jay and Silent Bob make their triumphant return), Dante and Randal are once again forced to deal with what they are going to do with their lives.
Article comments
1 - Steve C.
There's a certain irony in starting a positive review of Clerks II by citing Joel Siegel...
Also, Jersey Girl is a 2004 release.
2 - Neil Miller
Arghh... I need to stop writing so late at night.
Glad you caught the irony, by the way...
3 - Ty
This time I hope to finally get a response to my comment re Clerks II
I thought the movie was good, but I had an issue with Emma Bunting.
She should NOT have been played by Jennifer Schwalbach, who conveniently dropped the "-Smith" we saw in her credit for Jay & Silent Bob Strikes Back.
She is cute, but in the movie she looked god-awful, and not believable as Dante's early 30's fiance. She should have been someone who isn't Mrs. Kevin Smith AND a "name." It probably would have helped box office numbers.
M. Night showed his ego by making himself a bigger role in Lady in the Water, and Kevin Smith showed HIS ego by casting his wife in Clerks II.