And that makes six...

In case any of you folks out there weren't aware of the fact, I'm a pretty big fan of Kevin Smith's works. Someday I'll throw you folks a decently long entry rating each of his films so far, but that's not today. Today, rather, it's a simple review of his newest flick, Clerks II, - which I got to see thanks to a former student. Thanks, Gus.

In reviewing Clerks II - no longer subtitled "Passion of the Clerks" - I am reminded of a quote from Abraham Lincoln.

For those who like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing they like.

It's a pretty simple thing here. Kevin Smith has been making vaguely the same movie for a while now. Well, not exactly the same movie, but he's been telling the stories of the same group of NJ folks for a while now, and if you've enjoyed their stories so far, you'll probably enjoy them a little while longer.

This movie does absolutely nothing to undercut what has gone before. It isn't going to tarnish the memory of the original Clerks. And it probably does add some to the mythos of the Askewneverse. It's also thoroughly entertaining for those in the know, and I think even those of you who haven't been along for the whole ride will probably enjoy the film.

That being said, it's amazingly crude and has missteps in direction that keep it from being any sort of great film.

The plot is pretty basic. Dante & Randal now work at Mooby's - a fast foot joint that has some history in Smith's Jersey films - flipping burgers and being no less positive toward those that they've been hired to serve. We enter the story on Dante's last day at work and in New Jersey, even, as he's headed off to Florida with his fiance the next morning. The departure, of course, doesn't happen nearly as smoothly as Dante might expect as there are love complications to work out, a police matter to take care of, and a best friend who has to clear the departure.

It's that best friend who - in the end - provides the greatest challenge. Jeff Anderson, as Randal, carries the bulk of the story, throwing down the wittiest bon mots and being the final emotional center of the flick. Dante seems content - remaining true to form from the original film - to allow his life to happen to him, simply taking whatever he happens to be handed, complaining about it, but never doing anything to change his situation. Anderson doesn't do much more than Dante, but he has at least gained a knowing acceptance of both his station in life and what he hopes to gain from that life, and his near-final scene in which he opens up to Dante is probably the best dramatic scene that Smith has filmed since Chasing Amy.

The two new additions to the cast - Rosario Dawson and Trevor Fehrman - are both quality additions to the usual cask of inmates that Smith gathers for every film. Dawson's character breathes life into the Mooby's, trying to keep the titular clerks focused on customer service while not always taking the hard line that she puts forth. She comes across as the perfect girlfriend that every geek has ever wanted, contrasted nicely with the girlfriend that every geek thinks he wants as played by Smith's wife, Jennifer Schwalbach (I spelled it without looking it up, fingers are crossed).

Fehrman, more simply, is nothing short of hilarious in his role as the more innocent Mooby's clerk who takes the vulgarity and crudity of Dante and Randal in stride, trying to both match them in claimed life experiences while trying to stay true to his faith. It's a wonderful balance, and he's a great find. Here's to hoping that we get to catch him in more films.

So, we've got the pretty standard elements of a good Kevin Smith movie: crude but funny dialogue, a plot that's not too deep as to get in the way of the chatter, Jay and Silent Bob's non-essential but thoroughly entertaining presence, and winking references to other Smith films - though, honestly, there aren't even as many of those in this film as had been in many of Smith's others - maybe Smith was trying to make this flick accessable to the un-initiated out in the crowd.

Heck, Smith even throws in a real, honest-to-god coreographed dance number (not just the outtake of him lip synching to "Fat Albert" from Dogma, but a real scene with professional dancers hoofing it. What's not to like?

Four specific scenes bothered me, and I've got one larger worry about Smith's future as filmmaker.

First, the two montages were, I thought, poorly done and somewhat surprising from Smith. He's long been self-criticized for being a director who films people talking, often using semi-static two shots without much camera movement. The montages seemed to be nods to that criticism as Smith tried something more mainstream. In that realm, as in that of my next complaint, Smith is a rookie. His best looking film in his run was Dogma, and I think he used a different director of photography on that one. For his future films, I do hope that Smith tries new things but that he also gets some assistance and/or tutoring in those things. It's one thing to be loyal to the folks who've helped you out and to keep working with them, but you run the risk of becoming insular and not growing.

Second, there's a scene with Dante and Randal in which the camera spins around the characters, showing us something about drama and conflict, I guess. Once around might've been okay. The camera continues to spin 'round the characters for what seems like two minutes, however, leaving me a little motion sick. Again, nice try by Smith, but it doesn't work.

Third, halfway through the movie, the two leads ditch work and head to race some go-carts. The go-cart scene does pretty much nothing to further the plot, allowing only for some introspection from Randal that could very easily have been folded more naturally into the Mooby-centered plot. The momentum of the film is broken by three a couple of minutes of Randal and Dante zipping around the track with no dialogue. For a director who is so dialogue-heavy, this may seem like a welcome diversion, but instead it seems like a randomly-added break for the crew.

"Hey guys, let's go ride go-carts and film it!"

"But, Herr Direktor, why do we need to ride the go-karts?"

"Shut up, I'm the director, and if I say we ride go-carts, we're riding' go-carts!"

My final complaint is more of a curiosity. Where does Kevin Smith go from here? He's now made seven films. Six of them centered around the New Jersey world of Leonardo and it's surrounding towns, telling the entertainingly vulgar stories of the people that Smith created/remembered there. His career path seemed to be headed in the right direction:

• Hilarious, low-budget debut showing talent
• Sophomore effort that got panned in comparison but has become a cult favorite
• Third film that showed real growth, some maturity, and a personal voice (his best, in my opinion)
• Fourth film with big actors, a bigger budget, but still keeping true to himself, telling another personal tale but in a more veiled way - even courting controversy

And then things seem to have taken a step backward


• Fifth film more juvenile than the first, claiming to be a fun way to wrap up the storylines and to use fame and fortune to give a fun shout-out to all the folks who'd worked with him before (understandable - guy gets famous and does a fun flick because he wants to, even makes a joke about it during the film)
• Sidestep out of the continuum to make a non-Askewneverse flick that gets savaged by the press and only minimally appreciated by his fans (me included)
• Back into the Askewneverse for the film that comes after his alleged last film in the storyline

Where does Smith go from here? He's got projects lined up that he's talked about on his various websites (QSEntertainment, ViewAskew.com, and NewsAskew.com) - Ranger Danger, a Clerks cartoon movie, Fletch Won, Green Hornet - but he's pulled out of at least two of those and hasn't shown much of an inclination to step beyond his comfort zone of the Askewneverse.

I dig Kevin Smith's movies, and from everything that I know about the man, he's one of the few artists whose person I think I dig as much as I dig his work. He seems a genuinely funny guy who seems to care about the people that he's met and befriended along the way. He's willing to give shoutouts to those who have helped him and to not forget the folks he knew before he became the Kevin Smith.

And I hope he can grow as a filmmaker, because I don't want him to become the next Woody Allen - hopelessly trapped in making the same film over and over (nebbish main character has chance at doing something but doesn't because he's too afraid - and spends whole movie talking about that neurotic fear).

I'll be looking forward to Smith's next effort.