Clerks II (2006)

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer (WGA):

Kevin Smith (written by)

Release Date:

21 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

No Experience Necessary

Plot:

A calamity at Dante and Randall's shops sends them looking for new horizons - but they ultimately settle at Mooby's, a fictional Disney-McDonald's-style fast-food empire.

Plot Keywords:

Fast Food | Restaurant | New Jersey | Quick Stop | Fire

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Brian O'Halloran	...	Dante
Jeff Anderson	...	Randal
Jason Mewes	...	Jay
Kevin Smith	...	Silent Bob
Jake Richardson	...	Teen #1
Ethan Suplee	...	Teen #2
Rachel Larratt	...	Counter Girl with Ear Guy
Shannon Larratt	...	Ear Guy
Jennifer Schwalbach Smith	...	Emma (as Jennifer Schwalbach)
Ben Affleck	...	Gawking Guy
Sarah Ault	...	Catholic Schoolgirl
Lalida Sujjavasin	...	Catholic Schoolgirl
Trevor Fehrman	...	Elias
Gail Stanley	...	Elias' Mom
Bruce Macintosh	...	Elias' Dad

Also Known As:

Clerks 2 (USA) (alternative spelling)
Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin' (USA) (working title)
The Passion of the Clerks (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for pervasive sexual and crude content including aberrant sexuality, strong language and some drug material.

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (some sequences) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | USA:R | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (British Columbia) | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:R21 (cut) | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/16 | New Zealand:R16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Brazil:16 | Germany:16 | Ireland:16 | Ireland:18 (video rating) | South Africa:16 (theatrical rating) | South Africa:18LNPS (DVD rating) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Buena Park, California, USA

Company:

Weinstein Company, The

Trivia:

The song "1979" by Smashing Pumpkins is featured in the movie. The music video for "1979" was filmed in the same convenience store used in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the fire department shows up during the donkey show, the LBFD seen on the fire truck stands for "Leonardo Borough," the location the film is set in. However, the fire department of Leonardo is part of the Middletown Fire Department and therefore the trucks in the movie should have MTFD written on them.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dante Hicks: [on his cellphone] Yeah, I got a fire at the Quick Stop. Yeah.

Movie Connections:

References My Name Is Bill W. (1989) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

A Poignant Tribute For Fans, Unfortunately, No Giant Spiders

Clerks II:**** Clerks II is a strong and poignant retelling of the story of when two slackers grow into adulthood. In many ways this is writer/director Kevin Smith's most adult film in that we see four characters that we've grown up with over the past 12 years finally grow themselves. It opens on the final day of work for Dante who is finally getting up and out of Jersey with his fiancé, leaving Randal figuratively alone at Mooby's. Randal hasn't changed much over the past years, and in many cases neither has Dante. Randal still wrestles with the customers in pitiful pop culture debates, among them whether the LOTR trilogy is better than the Star Wars trilogy, but this time around he has a new foil in a 19 year old gamer-geek named Elias. The banter between these two is really funny especially when Randal tells him what he has planned for Dante's departure gift (but you'll have to see the flick to find out what that is because it is too gross for me even to write). After a short stint in re-hab Jay and Silent Bob have found solace in the Lord but this doesn't stop them from the dispensing with the drugs. Its odd to find that in the past decade it is Jay and Silent Bob that have changed the most, true they still are up to their perverse antics such as ass rubbing on the window and the disturbing recreation of "The Silence of the Lambs" dance but they have grown more sensitive to other people's emotions and needs, especially Jay. I haven't mentioned Rosario Dawson, who gives a very charming performance as the clerks' boss. She brings a lot of presence to a slightly underdeveloped character. But it is Jeff Anderson, Randal, that deserves the full attention this time around. He gives an award worthy performance and delivers it with an astonishing amount of sympathy. He's loosing his best friend which, though he'd never show it, absolutely devastates him. The last 20 minutes are really tear jerking, I know I was in tears and couldn't stop the flow. This film sort of keeps to the feel Smith created with Chasing Amy and Jersey Girl in that they lay the drama on thick and it almost works better than the comedy, an oddity for Smith proving he too has grown as a writer. It isn't all drama though you do get great comedic scenes such as, my favorite, the "porch monkey" scene. I nearly had laughing tears during it. This is probably Smith's best looking film elevating it to the quality one would get whilst watching a really good episode of television. The camera even moves! And a neat little digital effect is shown at the beginning where the clerks' world seamlessly transforms from black and white to color, I was shocked because I didn't even realize it was happening. This is one of Smith's best films and one of the year's best. I give it a high recommendation but I ask that you stick with it a little while because it moves at a slower pace then any of the other Jersey Chronicles, it may take a bit of getting used to for some, but this is a film that can not be missed.