Clerks II: The Second Coming
Director/writer: Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Trevor Fehrman, Jennifer Swalbach
Rated: 18
Ten years after Kevin Smith's debut film CLERKS made him darling of the independent film world, he has carved himself a nice little niche in New Jersey-based movies that feature a motley crew of reprobates, including his alter ego Silent Bob and his (non-gay) partner Jay (Jason Mewes). CLERKS was so successful it even spawned an animated series and a comic book (comics being one of Smith's passions). After the original film, Smith produced a bunch moderately successful follow-ups, which peaked creatively with DOGMA, a film that showed his writing had reached a new maturity and depth. The movie created a lot of anger among the religious right, which can't be a bad thing.
Wanting to break away from stock in trade dick and fart jokes he made JERSEY GIRL, which was a critical, and some say a total, failure. It was partly because of this that the director reassessed the type of films he really wanted to make.
CLERKS II: THE SECOND COMING is a return to his roots, a movie with plenty of talking and potty-mouth humour, but tempered with his new writing maturity, with profundity among the profanity. In this latest outing for Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson), the two fan-boy slackers have to take a new job at a Mooby's takeaway (the same fast food chain that felt the wrath of Loki in DOGMA), after the film's opening scene of Dante's inferno. Although some things haven't changed, (Jay and Silent Bob are still hanging out in front of the store), Dante is engaged and planning to move to Florida with his new bride-to-be. Randal is upset with this, but still plans to give his best buddy an unforgettable send off, involving inter-species erotica. This new story introduces two other characters into the dynamic, if you can call what these slackers do as dynamic. Apart from the Mrs Hicks-to-be (Jennifer Scwalbach - the real life Mrs Smith), the first is Elias (Trevor Ferhman), a geeky and totally naive Christian, who is a fan of TRANSFORMERS and LORD OF THE RINGS. The other is Becky (Rosario Dawson), the manager of the Mooby, with whom Dante has developed a strong friendship that goes beyond a standard employer/employee relationship.
It is these two new characters that act as the catalyst for the film's best moments of humour and emotion. Yes, there is emotional content in a Kevin Smith film! It was something he explored in JERSEY GIRL and CHASING AMY, but slipping it in between the dick jokes it doesn't get a chance to get mawkish, not even the rooftop dance sequence. There are also some philosophical discussions, the likes of which made DOGMA such a great film. And of course there are plenty of fanboy debates (the battle of the trilogies is priceless), which no View Askew project would be complete without. Askew alumni Ben Affleck and Jason Lee (and his onscreen Hickey brother, Ethan Suplee) make cameo appearances.
In some parts of the film I laughed till I had tears in my eyes, which seemed to hang around for some of the other scenes (that's my story and I'm sticking with it). It's not a film to everyone's taste, with some of it guaranteed to upset people who think what happens in movies is real. Kevin Smith fans will definitely not be disappointed. For those unfamiliar with the Askew universe this is a good place to jump in, Smith's writing and direction are assured and matured and once you accept his juvenile brand of humour, it is a lot of fun, but definitely not for those who are easily offended.
On general release from September 22 through UIP
Check the official website.
CLERKS II won the Standard Life Audience Award at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival, with almost 70% of the votes. The Award was presented to UIP by film legend Sir Sean Connery.
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Trevor Fehrman, Jennifer Swalbach
Rated: 18
Ten years after Kevin Smith's debut film CLERKS made him darling of the independent film world, he has carved himself a nice little niche in New Jersey-based movies that feature a motley crew of reprobates, including his alter ego Silent Bob and his (non-gay) partner Jay (Jason Mewes). CLERKS was so successful it even spawned an animated series and a comic book (comics being one of Smith's passions). After the original film, Smith produced a bunch moderately successful follow-ups, which peaked creatively with DOGMA, a film that showed his writing had reached a new maturity and depth. The movie created a lot of anger among the religious right, which can't be a bad thing.
Wanting to break away from stock in trade dick and fart jokes he made JERSEY GIRL, which was a critical, and some say a total, failure. It was partly because of this that the director reassessed the type of films he really wanted to make.
CLERKS II: THE SECOND COMING is a return to his roots, a movie with plenty of talking and potty-mouth humour, but tempered with his new writing maturity, with profundity among the profanity. In this latest outing for Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson), the two fan-boy slackers have to take a new job at a Mooby's takeaway (the same fast food chain that felt the wrath of Loki in DOGMA), after the film's opening scene of Dante's inferno. Although some things haven't changed, (Jay and Silent Bob are still hanging out in front of the store), Dante is engaged and planning to move to Florida with his new bride-to-be. Randal is upset with this, but still plans to give his best buddy an unforgettable send off, involving inter-species erotica. This new story introduces two other characters into the dynamic, if you can call what these slackers do as dynamic. Apart from the Mrs Hicks-to-be (Jennifer Scwalbach - the real life Mrs Smith), the first is Elias (Trevor Ferhman), a geeky and totally naive Christian, who is a fan of TRANSFORMERS and LORD OF THE RINGS. The other is Becky (Rosario Dawson), the manager of the Mooby, with whom Dante has developed a strong friendship that goes beyond a standard employer/employee relationship.
It is these two new characters that act as the catalyst for the film's best moments of humour and emotion. Yes, there is emotional content in a Kevin Smith film! It was something he explored in JERSEY GIRL and CHASING AMY, but slipping it in between the dick jokes it doesn't get a chance to get mawkish, not even the rooftop dance sequence. There are also some philosophical discussions, the likes of which made DOGMA such a great film. And of course there are plenty of fanboy debates (the battle of the trilogies is priceless), which no View Askew project would be complete without. Askew alumni Ben Affleck and Jason Lee (and his onscreen Hickey brother, Ethan Suplee) make cameo appearances.
In some parts of the film I laughed till I had tears in my eyes, which seemed to hang around for some of the other scenes (that's my story and I'm sticking with it). It's not a film to everyone's taste, with some of it guaranteed to upset people who think what happens in movies is real. Kevin Smith fans will definitely not be disappointed. For those unfamiliar with the Askew universe this is a good place to jump in, Smith's writing and direction are assured and matured and once you accept his juvenile brand of humour, it is a lot of fun, but definitely not for those who are easily offended.
On general release from September 22 through UIP
Check the official website.
CLERKS II won the Standard Life Audience Award at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival, with almost 70% of the votes. The Award was presented to UIP by film legend Sir Sean Connery.
posted by Chris Patmore at 12:58 PM
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