Randal Redux
It's almost hard to believe that it was twelve years ago that Kevin Smith first took Hollywood by storm with Clerks, his grainy, black and white opus to his own life as a counter jockey at a local convenience store. Smith has since become a cult hero, a champion for aspiring film makers who have plenty of attitude but no budget, and a figurehead for geeks in mainstream culture. And though his movies haven't always resonated with the majority of America - and his last film, Jersey Girl, was pandered by critics and fans alike (I'm on the record as a low-level fan of the flick) - he's remained a respected storyteller and a successful pusher of his own brand. As a present to his friend Jason Mewes, who went into a battle with drugs and came out the other side sober, Smith decided to revisit the scene of the crime that made him so popular in the first place.

The easy road in making a Clerks sequel would be to see Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) still stuck in their jobs at the block of stores, with nothing changed from twelve years ago. And while that would present plenty of fodder for the vulgarity-filled dialogue that people still quote from the first movie, it wouldn't be telling much of a story, and that's what Smith does best. The movie begins with a "flashback" to a year before our present time, when a disaster forces the duo to leave their jobs at Quick Stop and RST. Instead of taking the opportunity to let a flame be lit under their rears, though, they opt for flame-broiled burgers, taking a job at the conglomerated fast food joint Mooby's. In the year since starting at Mooby's, Dante has found a fiancé (Jennifer Schwalbach, Smith's real-life wife) and a promising future in Florida, close to her parents. Even so, neither he nor Randal has grown up much since we last saw them, and the action of the movie focuses on Dante's last day at Mooby's, when they are both forced to look at the fact that adulthood has been sneaking up on them all along.

The focus on picking apart pop culture minutiae (a phrase that Smith has used and that inspired this blog's name) has survived the transfer to the sequel, and there's twelve years of new culture for Randal to pander to whomever will listen. The recipient of most of his rants, though, isn't Dante in all cases, it's young Elias (Trevor Fehrman), representative of today's brand of geeks, raised on "Transformers" and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Though Elias is basically a 19-year-old Randal, Mr. Graves can't help but pick on him; that's just his nature. Also held over these twelve years is the risque vulgarity, a fact that frankly might turn off some new viewers but delight Clerks fans. Peppered in with the vulgarity is Smith's acute sense for dialogue, which has only ripened with age.

At the heart of the movie is that story of growing up, and a worthy addition to the View Askewniverse is Rosario Dawson, whose Becky serves as a romantic foil for Dante. Her sweet, energetic acting make her more irresistible than any girl who has been in Smith's movies, save for maybe Liv Tyler in Jersey Girl. O'Halloran and Anderson do a remarkable job reprising their roles, adding some real dramatic flair to the silly fights that sprinkled both films.

Here's something people wouldn't think to say about Smith's work: it looks great. The man who started with fewer cameras that an episode of I Love Lucy actually makes Clerks II look like a Hollywood movie, all while holding onto the rough edges that made his career. I'm convinced that one scene when the camera spins around Dante and Randall is a jab at those who bashed the style of his films before.

Too often, sequels are made when they shouldn't be. While there wasn't an aching need for Clerks II to be made, it is a worthy follow up to the original. Dante and Randall are great characters, even in their failed cartoon forms, and it's great to see them on screen again. If we never see the duo again, something that I'm not entirely convinced of (Clerks: Sell Out, anyone?), this will serve as a great wrap-up of the Clerks story, one that should please old fans and new viewers alike.

Rating: * * * * of 5