Movie Review: Clerks 2

I'm partial to Kevin Smith's work, for various reasons discussed on my blog. So I walked into "Clerks 2" expecting to like it, but slightly hesitant because of the brand of humor Smith is known for. When every preview is for movies worse than "Beer Fest", I get a little alarmed.

If you are looking for a crude I-can't-believe-they're-saying-that film, you'll get what you came for in "Clerks 2". However, that's not what sticks with me. What sticks with me in this movie is the last 15 minutes, which are all about friendship, love, and finding your place in this world. Smith may have set out to make a funny movie, and he succeeded, but he also made a true coming of age story.

The film picks up ten years after the original "Clerks" ended. Dante and Randall are still working at the Quick Stop, and come to work one day only to discover that the place is on fire. Fast forward a few years, and they are ensconced at Mooby's, the fictional fast food chain in several other of Smith's movies. Dante is engaged and preparing to leave NJ for a better life in Florida.

There are complications, as there always are. True love takes many forms in the movie, be it man and woman, strictly platonic hetero friend and friend, or man and beast. Riddled with the usual monologues on sex and Star Wars, and featuring Jay and Silent Bob, with cameos from some familiar faces, "Clerks 2" is everything you expect from a Kevin Smith movie. It's the perfect, fitting ending to the NJ stories he's told in almost all of his previous movies. Profane and profound, with a snappy dance sequence thrown in for fun, this is a movie you should go see with your best friend.