Clerks II (2006)

Director: Kevin Smith

Writer: Kevin Smith

Composer: James L. Venable

Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Jennifer Scwalbach Smith, Rosario Dawson, Jake Richardson, Ethan Suplee, Ben Affleck, Scott Mosier, Kevin Weisman, Trevor Fehrman, Earthquake, Wanda Sykes, Jason Lee, Walter Flanagan, Zak Knutson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: No Experience Necessary

Plot: A fire destroys the convenience store leaving Dante and Randall finding work at a fast food burger joint.  A year later Dante is working his last day before moving to Florida to marry Emma but he's got some doubts and finds comfort with his boss, Becky.  His best friend, Randall, is having difficulty seeing his friend make a mistake and leave him alone.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe in another ten years.

I'm a HUGE fan of CLERKS (1994) but that's not why this film is disappointing.  I haven't seen this since I saw it in the theater and my concerns then still hold.  It's just not all that funny.  Sure, there are some great, hilarious bits in it but there's something missing.  The cast is great, with the exception of Trever Fehrman who plays it way too over the top as Elias.  That performance gets on my nerves for some reason.  On the flip side, Rosario Dawson (Becky) jstt oozes personality and she fits right in like she's living it.  I can't get enough of Jeff Anderson.  That guy's hilarious.  Why isn't this guy in movies that aren't directed by Kevin Smith?  Of course Jason Mewes and Smith are cinematic gold on screen together.  The THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) reference with the 'Goodbye, Horses' song is hilarious and I love that you don't get the payoff until a few minutes after the song starts.  Wanda Sykes and Earthquake...hilarious.  My favorite scene, and it's one of Smith's best, is when Randall (Anderson) is giving his speech to Dante (O'Halloran) about how he feels.  That gets me and hard, emotionally, not sexually. Anderson sells it like he's going for the gold.  It's a beautiful scene. CLERKS III has been announced and I'll go see it.  I really liked the story and idea behind this second picture and I hope he's able to keep growing with the characters and move them in a direction that's a natural progression for these lovable people.