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Clerks II (2006)
Starring Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jason Mewes, and Kevin Smith. Cinematography by James L. Venable. Edited by Kevin Smith. Produced by Scott Mosier. Written and Directed by Kevin Smith.
It's been over a decade and Dante (played by Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (played by Jeff Anderson), now well into their thirties, are still working their dead end jobs at the Quick Stop. Randal's carelessness with the coffee machine finally catches up to him and one morning, upon his arrival, Dante finds the convenience story engulfed in flames. We fast-forward one year to find the pair now working behind the counter at the fast food franchise Mooby's.
Dante's life has taken an additional unexpected twist as he is now engaged and planning a move to Florida. He seems satisfied on the surface, but further insight shows that he is actually in love with his manager Becky (played by Rosario Dawson). As Dante struggles to make one of the most challenging decisions of his life, Jay and Silent Bob (played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) sell dope outside the restaurant, co-worker Elias (played by Trevor Fehrman) vehemently defends his precious Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Randal plans the mother of all bachelor parties.
Jersey Girl was apparently not the departure from the View Askewniverse that Kevin Smith was hoping for. It was too big. Too commercial. There were too many egos. He and his long time producer Scott Mosier courageously tried to work outside of their comfort zone in effort to broaden their boarders, but ultimately the movie "got away" from them.
They were also operating in the wake of Ben Affleck/Jennifer Lopez media tsunami (affectionately referred to as "Bennifer") that had already demolished Gigli (well, the horrible, pointless script didn't help). Jersey Girl ended up struggling in the box office and leaving Smith and Mosier with a bad taste in their mouths. They were so soured by the experience, in fact, that they passed on the opportunity to bring the legendary crime fighter The Green Hornet to the screen. While on the surface this adaptation may have seemed like a no-brainer for Smith, he had other projects in mind.
After production had wrapped on Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Smith had vowed to retire the characters from his View Askewniverse. But even as he said it he was brewing up the genesis of a follow-up to his break-out film, Clerks. When the headache of Jersey Girl began to wear off, Smith approached Mosier with the idea. He felt like he had another New Jersey story to tell and these were the landmarks he would construct his script around…
The opening sequence would be the Quick Stop burning. The film would open with the Talking Heads song "Nothing but Flowers". There would be a big dance sequence. In the end Randal and Dante would own the Quick Stop. The last shot would be a pull-back that would go from color to black and white.
Smith also wanted to do the picture for a half million dollars. He was hoping that this micro-scale project would give him the opportunity to explore his filmmaking roots while avoiding the politics of a studio picture. Mosier quickly got on board and was able to talk Smith up to a budget of five million dollars, which would allow them a little bit more breathing room in production.
By and large Clerks II was fairly well received by both critics and fans alike (perhaps a touch better with the fans). It also did remarkably well at an out-of-competition screening at the Cannes Film Festival. And for five million bucks it would be hard not to turn a profit in the box office. Now that the dust has settled, and Smith's appetite seems to be satiated, he has once again vowed to leave his View Askewniverse behind him, but, as he has already proven, old habits die hard.
Budget: $5,000,000
Total US Gross: $24,148,068
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 97 Minutes
US Release Date: 7/21/06
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Awards: none
Tagline: With No Power Comes No Responsibility.
Quote: "I'm disgusted and repulsed and... I can't look away."
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