Clerks II (2006)

Location: Southside Works
Seen Before: No
Rating: 3.5

I have no problem admitting that I was once, in my juvenile years, a Kevin Smith apostle. Naturally (and thankfully) I shed that skin and now mostly look back on those films simply a part of me growing up. So, as an attempt to relive my "best" years, I headed out to the theater and threw down my Lincoln and grabbed a seat. Did it live up to both the original Clerks and the sensation (all sarcasm there) of my high school days?

Well, not exactly. I laughed a lot and loved seeing my old pals onscreen, but it certainly doesn't hold a candle to the original. And here's the problem: Smith can be vulgar, gross, and cinematically-inept, but he earned that in the original Clerks. They weren't getting paid; the budget rested on their credit cards and sales from comic-book collections; shoots lasted all night after the close of the Quick Mart. This follow-up, however, was handed to Smith on a silver platter by the Weinsteins: Rosario Dawson; a Jackson Five song; CGI effects; digital video over film. He didn't have to work as hard and, in the end, it shows.