Clerks II

Kevin Smith's sequel to his no-budget 1994 indie hit finds buds Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) older but not appreciably wiser, having moved on from their dead-end job at a rundown convenience store to an equally dismal gig at a grubby fast-food restaurant. But their slacker camaraderie may soon end, since Dante plans to get married and head for Florida. Of course, there's a hitch: Dante is attracted to his beautiful boss, but beyond that thin premise there's not much to Clerks II aside from lots of stream-of-consciousness conversation, which is far more scabrous than the banter of a decade ago (but not nearly as amusing). What saves the film from being a complete washout isn't the guys, or a big finale involving bestiality, or a heart-to-heart the duo share in a jail cell, or the parade of guest stars (even the reappearance of Jay and Silent Bob is curiously flat), but rather a new member of the ensemble named Elias (Trevor Fehrman), a geeky momma's boy/Jesus freak who is low man on the totem pole at the restaurant and is continually put upon by the fast-talking Randal (who delivers his best pop-culture harangue—a blistering assault on The Lord of the Rings). Apart from the character of Elias, however, this is a depressingly coarse and surprisingly unfunny movie. Not recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras on this two-disc set include three audio commentaries (the first by director Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier, and cinematographer David Klein; the second by Smith, Mosier, and costars Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran, and Jennifer Schwalbach; the third a previously-unheard podcast commentary by Smith, Mosier, and Anderson), a five-minute introduction by Smith and Mosier, the 90-minute “making-of” documentary “Back to the Well” with optional intro, 51 minutes of “Train Wrecks: Video Production Diaries” with optional intro, 39 minutes of deleted scenes with optional intro, a 30-minute blooper reel with optional intro, “A Closer Look at Interspecies Erotica” featurette (8 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: an impressive extras package for a rather slight sequel.] (F. Swietek)[Blu-ray Review—Feb. 19, 2009—Weinstein, 97 min., R, $34.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2006's Clerks II boasts a great transfer and a 5.1 TrueHD soundtrack. Blu-ray extras on this double-disc set are almost identical to the previous DVD release, including three audio commentaries (the first by director Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier, and cinematographer David Klein; the second by Smith, Mosier, and costars Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran, and Jennifer Schwalbach; the third, a podcast commentary by Smith, Mosier, and Anderson), a five-minute introduction by Smith and Mosier, the 90-minute “making-of” documentary “Back to the Well” with optional intro, 51 minutes of “Train Wrecks: Video Production Diaries” with optional intro, 39 minutes of deleted scenes with optional intro, a half-hour blooper reel with optional intro, “A Closer Look at Interspecies Erotica” featurette (8 min.), and trailers. New to the Blu-ray release are a 20-minute VH1 “movie special” profile of the film, and the BD Live function. Bottom line: better looking, yes—better movie, no.]