Clerks 2
Clerks 2 is destined to join it’s predecessor among the ranks of wildly popular cult classics. Kevin Smith took his sweet time continuing the adventures of Dante and Randall but it was well worth it. The zany life observations, hysterical Jay and Silent Bob routines and general slacker motife are well polished and seem new all over again.
In Clerks 2 Dante find the Quick Stop burning to the ground one morning, forcing him to abandon the dead end job that has held him back for years and wore away what little self esteem he had. Of course, he immediately migrates to another dead end job as a fry cook at a McDonaldsesque franchise called MOOBYS where he is joined by fellow slacker Randall. Hysterically, Jay and Silent Bob take up counsel on the wall outside just as they had perched for years outside the Quick Stop.
In short order we find that Dante is engaged and moving away, all the while having second thoughts about an affair he had with Becky, played by Rosario Dawson. His love life is a microcosm of his life in general as Dante never knows what he wants or what he should do. He lasted 15 years as a clerk at a convenience store because he didn’t know what he wanted to do and here he’s torn between two women, one of whom wants a commitment, and he just can’t make up his mind.
Dante is an interesting character. He’s not lazy in the traditional sense; he’s a hard worker, comes in on his days off, cares about the company and is generally absurdly dedicated to a pithy, meaningless job (like a certain ex-restaurant manager I know). Dante’s problem is he’s intellectually lazy. He wanders through life with no direction and makes no meaningful attempt to orient himself. He doesn’t know what he wants to do and he doesn’t want to think about it. He’s depressed about where he is in life and reluctant to even think about it. It’s a vicious circle.
Perhaps the most interesting thing is that most of us, if we really think about it, have feared at one time or another that we would wind up just like him. Each of us has faced the same life choices Dante does, some of us got caught in a rut for a while trying to make them. When you see Dante you might find him familiar. Chances are you know or knew someone just like him. Chances are even better that you wipe your brow, sigh and think “Phew, I’m glad I pulled myself out of that rut/dead end job. That could’ve been me up there.”
Now Randall, on the other hand, is really just a loser. As amusing as he is he can also irritate. Not nearly as smart as he thinks he is Randall is not only directionless but lazy to boot. He follows Dante around waiting for him to become inspired and succeed, hopefully bringing Randall along for the ride. He sits perched in one dead end place after another hoping to ride Dante’s coat tails. Why he would choose to hitch his cart to the most indecisive lost soul he could is unknowable.
As Dante struggles with his woman troubles, Jay and Silent Bob peddle dope outside and Randall struggles with the thought that his friend/leader is moving out of state, a lot of hilarious stuff happens. Clerks 2 is nothing short of hysterical.
For some reason the fact that Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson can’t really act only adds to the film. It seems a little more real somehow. These characters could easily have become pretentious losers if they felt at all put on but O’Halloran and Anderson seem to bring them to life. Dante and Randall are more than likely the only two characters in the history of film that these two could play convincingly. The convergence of Kevin Smith’s razor sharp wit and these actors is truly lightning in a bottle.
At the end of the day Clerk 2 is funny, satirical and absolutely a winner. You’ll get up and thank God your not Dante but you’ll sure be glad someone is.
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