Kevin Smith announces "Clerks 2" (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

I think it's the best Kevin Smith movie to date. It balanced the humor and drama perfectly, without either weakening the other. I think this might also be the best use of Jay and Bob today. I didn't realize how increasingly riddiculous they'd become in the other Askew-niverse flicks until I saw them reined into to a more reasonable level of ignorance.
Chasing Amy is more emotional, Dogma is more heady, and the original Clerks is more raw. But this was by far the smoothest ride, the one where Kevin Smith felt the most sure as a director. Having Klein's stripped down D.P. work back really helped imbue it with the feel of the first three flicks, too.

 

[TravisR]

I absolutely loved this movie. Best movie I've seen all summer and funniest movie I've seen in years. I knew it would be funny but I was surprised how mature of a movie it was. It really had heart and emotion in it. While I'd say that Chasing Amy is a hair better, Clerks II comes close to beating it out.

One hilarious bit was the
(Spoiler tags since it isn't a review thread)punchline of The Silence Of The Lambs gag with Jay standing there 'tucked' wearing Silent Bob's jacket.

My favorite moment had to be when Randal summarized the Lord Of The Rings movies.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I may change my mind when I see it again - that happened when I initially disliked J&SB Strike Back - but after one screening, I REALLY didn't care much for II. Too few inspired bits, too much Jersey Girl sentimentality. It felt like an attempt to return to roots that Smith doesn't really remember anymore - kinda what it'd be like if Spielberg tried to direct a second ET movie. Smith isn't the same person he was in 1994, and he can't go home again. The film felt like someone's impersonation of Smith - but with contrived "shock" humor instead of organic material. The first Clerks was born out of reality and truth. This one's just a long lead-in to a scene with donkey-sucking.

How is it possible all the actors were WORSE now than 12 years ago? Jeff Anderson was a particular disappointment. He was such cynical fun in the first flick, but here he felt like he had to be Mr. Actor and he tried too hard to play the part. He came across as more natural in the original - here he felt like a performer, not a person.

I'd give it a "D" right now - I do reserve the right to change my mind, though I have a bad feeling I won't.

 

[Brian Dobbs]

loved this movie.

m/

 

[todd stone]

loved the movie

 

[TonyD]

so apparently nearly anyone who added the clerks 2 myspace to their space as a friend by july 21st would get their name in the credits.

anyone see this in the credits?

 

[Adam_S]

Loved it. Incredibly fun flick, good to see Kevin back in top form, Wonderful to see just a straight up talking heads movie (with some flair) again from him. Jersey Girl missed the energy of his first five films and Jay and Silent Bob Strike back tried too hard. This was more relaxed and confident and enjoyable. Especially great for Smith fans, and I got an Evening with Kevin Smith coming from netflix, cause I saw some of it on youtube and decided it'd definitely be worth the time.

 

[TravisR]

Unless it only on some of the prints (and that's unlikely), the names weren't in there. They re-opened that My Space deal a while back so more people can sign up and the names will be on the DVD. It beats nothing.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Hey, it's a film for fandom geeks by fandom geeks, so I enjoyed most of it, laughed hard in many spots, and laughed through most of the comedic bits, and got a good story revisiting the clerks from the first film. If you liked the first Clerks, there's no reason not to go see this film, it'll be a fun time.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

 

[Cory S.]

Chasing Amy and this film will have to share the spot of "Number One Kevin Smith film." I love this film to death. The heart of the story is what got to me. I wasn't expecting that. This is also one of the funniest films I've seen in years.

It will need a second viewing immediately.

 

[Jeremy Little]

After the full credits and the 3-D View Askew logo, the Myspace names roll. Don't leave until they stop the projector, or you'll miss it.

 

[Chris Harvey]

Really enjoyed it... more than I was expecting. I thought the "sappier" stuff actually worked pretty well, and the whole film was a nice mix of revisiting profane geek rants with an actual plot(!). It felt very true -- CLERKS was where Kevin Smith was back in the early '90s, CLERKS II is closer to where he is now.

 

[TravisR]

After the VA logo rolled at my theater, ads/slides popped up. Damn my theater!

 

[Patrick Sun]

If you stick around for the credits, Kevin Smith even apologizes for Jersey Girl.

Yeah, I stayed to the bitter end, and didn't see the myspace stuff. Oh well.

Jennifer Schwalbach as a blonde made her look a little on the skinny side (or does the blond hair take off 10 pounds on camera)? She's Mrs. Kevin Smith, BTW, and played Emma Bunting, Dante's fiancee.

Also, Kevin's daughter Harley Quinn played the girl in the window who waves at Dante (she smiles and shows her missing front teeth).

 

[ChrisMatson]

Just got back.
Some very funny moments and the story worked for me.


Like others have said, fans of the original should like this as well.
The vulgar humor will not appeal to others.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I'm starting to think I'm the only Clerks/Smith fan who didn't like the sequel... :frowning:

 

[BrettGallman]

I'm glad to say that I really enjoyed this one. Very true to the original, and it had heart, for sure. I ending had me wanting to stand up and applaud, but I figured I'd look pretty stupid, considering there were only like 10 other people in there.

Also, did anyone else notice that the running time was an hour and 37 minutes (at least according to movies.yahoo.com)?

 

[ThomasC]

I don't get it.

 

[BrettGallman]

The number 37 is a recurring theme in all of the View Askew movies. It originated in the original Clerks. It's the number of guys Veronica has "been with."

Other than the running time, I don't think I spotted an occurence of "37" in the actual movie itself, but I'm sure there was one.

 

[Michael Elliott]

My girlfriend and I went to the late showing and she loved it. I guess you need to give a Kevin Smith history in terms of his past films but I loved CLERKS, thought MALLRATS was very funny and underrated, CHASING AMY is my pick for the third best film of the decade, I didn't care for DOGMA, was letdown by J&SBSB but I thought JERSEY GIRL was one of the best films of the year.

As far as CLERKS 2 goes, before the movie started the girlfriend and I were talking about why I don't go to the movies very much. One answer I did give was that I'd go see a Kevin Smith movie because he's the one of the greatest things Hollywood can give to a person who doesn't like crap movies and IMO he delivered again with this film. We both really loved the film and I personally felt it worked on many levels. The vulgar talk was certain Smith at his classic best. Several scenes had our jaws hit the floor but we were also laughing our asses off as well. The (I guess now infamous) donkey scene was brilliantly done as was the race scene in the film. I don't think anyone could say Smith didn't write great dialogue when it comes to dirty talk but I guess I'm weird because I think he's even better at writing more dramatic stuff. The word raw is usually used when it comes to the sex stuff but I feel the drama stuff is just as raw and something we haven't seen out of Hollywood since the 1970s. Several touches of this was seen in CHASING AMY and even JERSEY GIRL, although it was more "cute" in that film. I think the final moments in the jail cell was brilliantly written, very raw and very honest, which is something we don't see much of today. In fact, it's the type of dramatic stuff that could stay with the viewer for a very long time and it leads to a great discussion. The girlfriend and I actually stayed up 3 1/2 hours after the movie just talking about some of the stuff that was brought up in the film.

I'm not sure why so many people hated JERSEY GIRL unless they simply didn't want a more mature film but I've read that people are pissing about the drama aspects of this film and I just find it crazy. I don't think the film was as good as AMY but I'd probably put it at #2. I've heard Smith reads message boards and hears what some people say about him, which is something else I don't really understand. These people are never going to be happy no matter what he does so why he wastes so much time on them is beyond me. He should probably make a movie about these people because I'm sure it would be pretty damn funny.

The cameo with Affleck really didn't work and a few of the gags were off the mark but other than that both the girlfriend and I found it wonderful. The rest of the crowd we saw it with seemed to love it as well. I rolled my eyes when I heard he was making a sequel but now I can't wait for a part three ten years from now.


-I didn't follow the making of the film or anything about the production but did this have to be cut to get an R rating?

--The review of the LOTR films was the greatest review ever.