To say that “Clerks 2” exceeded my expectations is not exactly a compliment since those expectations were rather low. Nevertheless, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I can’t think of a movie that begged less for a sequel.
Kevin Smith long ago lost the off-the-cuff naiveté of the first “Clerks,” the movie that put him on the map. However, his silliness remains unmatched and that’s a good thing here. This flick is loaded with jokes of the “I can’t believe he just said that” variety, and plenty of them are funny, even though one might be embarrassed to admit as much.
For the many rabid fans of Kevin Smith, and when I worked in a high school I knew quite a few of those fellows, this movie was no doubt thrilling. To revisit the convenience store, to see Jay and Silent Bob dancing in front of a wall, to see what the beloved, quotable characters of the first movie are doing 10 years later – this is a long-held dream for many. Their fates are not a topic that has exactly kept me up nights.
But “Clerks 2” satisfied my modest curiosity sufficiently and was good for a few laughs. The heartfelt moments ring a little false, and it is impossible to believe Rosario Dawson would care for the hideous oaf who plays Dante, a man to whom the years have not been kind.
Still, it’s a fun lark and for those of you that feel the need to cleanse your excessively wholesome holiday palate with a generous dose of profanity, “Clerks 2” fits the bill.
“Clerks 2” is currently available to rent.
Woody Allen is a director with faithful fans of an entirely different sort than Kevin Smith; like the above, “Scoop” is an effort to recapture some magic with mixed results.
“Match Point” was set in London and starred Scarlett Johansson and so is “Scoop.” The former was a startlingly severe thriller that found the director at the top of his form, clearly invigorated by the departure from his beloved Manhattan. “Scoop,” while pleasant enough, showed some of the sloppiness that hurt his forgettable films like “The Curse of the Jade Scorpion” and “Small Time Crooks.”
I get the feeling with some of these light films he is just coasting by; it almost seems like he didn’t spend very much time on them. It’s not just that he plays the exact same character; it’s that a lot of the ideas and even dialogue seems recycled.
Scarlett Johansson is lovely as a journalism student who gets a hot tip on a scoop from the ghost of a famous journalist, and Hugh Jackman is charming and amusing as a wealthy bachelor who may be a killer. And, as always, the apartments and houses where the film is shot are worth the price of a rental. To be Woody Allen’s location scout!
Nevertheless, I feel about Woody Allen’s films the way some people feel about sex or fishing – that even a bad experience is still pretty darn good. “Scoop” was by no means his worst film (that would be “Anything Else” with Jason Biggs and Christina Ricci) nor is it his best (“Annie Hall” of course.)
Still, it’s better than lots of films (“Clerks 2.”) You could certainly do worse.
Contact Asia Frey at afrey@lagniappemobile.com.
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