Clerks II (2006)

A calamity at Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal's (Jeff Anderson) shops sends them looking for new horizons - but they ultimately settle at Mooby's, a fictional fast-food restaurant. Free from his dead-end job (and lodged in a new one), Dante begins to break free of his rut, planning to move away with his clingy fiance. Dante is ready to leave the horrors of minimum-wage New Jersey behind, but Randal - always the more hostile of the two - starts to become overwhelmed by his own rancor as hilarity ensues.

Trivia: The letters in the Clerks II logo all come from various fast food logos/products. The C from Carl Jr.'s, L from McDonald's Large fries, E from Burger King's Whopper, R from Burger King, K from KFC, and S from Popeye's. Originally Matt Damon was supposed to play the role of Lance Dowds. However, Damon was also filming The Good Shepherd at the same time and couldn't make it. So Jason Lee took over the role during a day off from his show "My Name Is Earl". Kevin Smith auctioned off a walk on role on the film for funds to go to the Red Cross for aid to Hurricane Katrina victims. The final bid was $16,000 which Smith matched to give to the Red Cross. Although the other films Kevin Smith has made have all (with the exception of Jersey Girl) been interlocked with recurring characters, locations, and themes as well as many references to each other, this is the first real "sequel" made to any of the films. One of the things that most prompted Kevin Smith to make the film was a promise he made to friend Jason Mewes. If Mewes managed to stay off drugs he would be able to play the character of "Jay" one more time. Smith kept his promise. Prior to the release of the film, Kevin Smith had mentioned releasing an MP3 file commentary to be downloaded and listened to in movie theaters via iPod. Ultimately, theater owners and exhibitors objected, and the plan was scrapped. The commentary was released on the DVD, unchanged, and containing references to the listener being in a theater, including the best time to take a bathroom break. The idea to have Jason Mewes do his The Silence of the Lambs dance to "Goodbye Horses" came straight from Mewes who apparently does this on a regular basis to the director.

Holy cow, has it been that long since I have posted a review? Man, things sure tend to snowball. Well, I'm back and I am here it talk about Clerks II. For me this was just a good movie. It suffered from the anticipation curse. I have been wanting to see it for a while now and finally got around to it. Don't get me wrong, it was hilarious and several times I laughed out loud, but I had been anticipating it for so long that it didn't live up to my imagination. If I had seen it by itself without seeing the other View Askew movies, it would have rated higher. But on the other hand, without seeing the other movies you would be deprived of some of the inside jokes and references to the others. At first I was sceptical about Rosario Dawson being in it. The other main actors were so established in their roles that I thought it would be hard to get her comfortable but she was able to play it out. O'Halloran and Anderson were good. And then there is Jay and Silent Bob. They are the glue that holds everything together. And by the way, the absolute funniest scene is when Dawson is trying to teach O'Halloran to dance and the whole store breaks out into song. And I loved the circular ending. It's a great movie, but I was just expecting a little more.