I'm sorry to hear about your ass, but I may check out the movie anyway . . .
Okay Heathy, after actually seeing this, as much as I appreciate your sense of humor, and I realize you sacrificed your ass for the sake of this movie, I got some comments.
First off, let me just preface this by saying that I actually loved every Kevin Smith "ViewAskewverse" movie up to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, which I still thought was funny, but didn't quite have the depth of his other movies.
Clerks was great because it really did speak to a certain percentage of people (ahem . . . myself included) that felt a bit lost in their mid twenties, trying to figure out what was really important and what wasn't, and on top of that it was just funny as all get out.
Mall Rats, even though it was maligned a bit compared to his other movies, was still pretty funny, and it set up the whole idea of tying everything together in one "universe," and make a pretty good statement about realizing at some point in time that you move forward from what your parents expect for you, and what you are going to do about your relationships and the like.
Chasing Amy was one of my favorite movies, because after my divorce and a really bad relationship that I got into after it, it reminded me that two people can be in love, and be good people, and still not have a happy ending.
I'm a Catholic, and as such many people would have you believe that I would have to not like Dogma, but even though I didn't agree with every assertion that Kevin Smith made in Dogma, I appreciated it as a funny movie that really was about some making a fantasy to ask all of those questions that he was still wrestling with in his life, while still pointing out how important it was to believe in something greater than yourself.
Now, after that long winded meander, I get to Clerks II. Parts of it were really funny, but in the end, two things nagged at me in this movie. One was that while every movie had its outrageous moments, I felt like they happened "naturally" from the plot of the movie. I could even relate to having similarly strange conversations with my friends from time to time. But the situations in Clerks II seems to go over the top almost as if to have to top things that happened in the other movies. It felt kind of forced.
The second problem I had, and I know this sounds bad or perhaps overly analytical, but the overall moral of the story kind of bothered me. I knew Dante's screwed up relationship history in Clerks, and I chalked it up to the overall Clerks theme of being twenty something and not knowing what you want. Clerks II seemed to be saying that you can treat women like crap, do some spectacularly stupid things in a relationship, but if you remember to keep close to your guy friends, its all okay, because they are the ones that really matter.
In other words, it felt like the ultimate "Bros before Hoes" movie, and that rubbed me the wrong way. It felt like a let down, even moreso than the "funny but pointless" Jay and Silent Bob movie.
I know, I probably over thought this whole thing, but I'd be interested to see if any of what I said made sense to anyone.
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Na, it makes sense.
I just laughed my ass off and enjoyed it on that level.
And the dorky kid--the guy doing that part, with the onion ring, he should get a friggin' Oscar.
It's like these guys are 30 now, and the kids are rebelling against THEIR status quo, even though their status quo is one of a total state of being lost. Even the few sacred things in life--Star Wars, The Transformers, are challenged by GoBots and the LOTR trilogy.
I didn't think about the relationship stuff.
I own Clerks on laser disc and was looking forward to Clerks 2. Went to see it in theaters based on Heath's recommendation but it mostly missed for me until a bachelor party scene near the end that slayed me.
Did you like the nerd kid? He killed me.
The nerd kid was actually the only thing I really liked, but his ability to self direct was unique in the film. All the other actors weren't getting what they needed from Smith and it shows... but the kid was spot on. Phenomenally well done, I agree.
Yeah, the nerd youth was pretty funny, but I just felt like the whole thing was a textbook example of trying too hard. Plus I think Smith has just kind of bought into his own hype about how over the top he is. The funniest parts, and even the most profound aspects of the other movies, weren't the parts that were over the top . . . that's just kind of the icing on the cake.
Just my take. I did laugh at a lot of things in this, but it didn't feel like his best work to me. I don't think that the relationship message that I picked up on was what he was intending to forward either, I just think by trying to keep Dante dealing with a similar situation, he may have kind of mixed his signals a little.
I don't know to me the moral was to do what makes you happy in life and not the status quo or what other expect of you. In the end it took Dante to totally screw everything up, hit rock bottom and only his true friends could show him the way.
Overall though a funny movie, but probably not in my top two Kevin Smith movies.
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Did you like the nerd kid? He killed me.The nerd kid was actually the only thing I really liked, but his ability to self direct was unique in the film. All the other actors weren't getting what they needed from Smith and it shows... but the kid was spot on. Phenomenally well done, I agree.
I get what you're sayin'.
I guess Jay and Silent Bob's life of total freedom is this pipe dream that sucks me in long enough to overlook some flaws for two hours.Maybe that kid should've played Anakin Skywalker if he's got the self-directing thing down so tight. ;)
I guess Jay and Silent Bob's life of total freedom is this pipe dream that sucks me in long enough to overlook some flaws for two hours.
Maybe that kid should've played Anakin Skywalker if he's got the self-directing thing down so tight. ;)
Ug, Anakin. how does that even happen?!
Certainly not the best Kevin Smith movie, but the "interspecies erotica" scene was just hilarious and the end really settled the life of Randall and Dante...
who are, in my opinion, the second best two characters of the ViewAskew Universe...
I've seen all the Kevin Smith movies. This one was pretty good, but a little uneven. There seem to be a few scenes or pieces of dialogue in many of his films that just go a liiiittle too far for me. Like the a** to mouth talk. Was that really necessary?
It was good to peek in on Dante & Randall again, though I don't find Dante to be a very convincing actor. What I always enjoy are Jay & Silent Bob; especially Jay. That guy makes me laugh like no one else!
I, too, loved the LOTR nerd at the burger joint. He was brilliant. And the cameos from older movies were fun too. And I never get tired of Rosario Dawson :)
All in all, I'm glad I watched it.