Clerks II

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Clerks II
Clerks II Poster
Directed by	Kevin Smith
Produced by	Scott Mosier
Written by	Kevin Smith
Starring	Brian O'Halloran Jeff Anderson Rosario Dawson Trevor Fehrman Jennifer Schwalbach Smith and Jason Mewes
Cinematography	Dave Klein
Editing by	Kevin Smith
Studio	View Askew Productions
Distributed by	United States: The Weinstein Company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer United Kingdom: Paramount Pictures Canada: Alliance Atlantis
Release date(s)	July 21, 2006
Running time	97 min[1]
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$5,000,000[1]
Gross revenue	$26,983,776[1]
Preceded by	Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Clerks II is the sequel to Kevin Smith's 1994 film Clerks, and his sixth feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse. The film was released on July 21, 2006; it screened out of competition at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and won the Audience Award at the 2006 Edinburgh International Film Festival.^[2]

The film opened in 2,150 theaters and grossed $10,061,132 domestically in its first weekend.^[1] The film's theatrical gross was $24,148,068 domestically, plus an additional $2,833,903 foreign,^[1] turning a profit on its reported budget of $5,000,000. It received generally positive reviews from critics.^[3][4]

Contents 1 Plot 2 Production 2.1 Casting 2.2 Rating 3 Critical response 4 Cast 5 Soundtrack 5.1 Track listing 6 DVD 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Plot

At the Quick Stop convenience store, where he and Dante Hicks have worked for over a decade, Randal Graves accidentally leaves the coffee pot warmer on overnight, burning down the establishment. Approximately one year later, both are working at a Mooby's fast food restaurant. Dante is planning to leave his minimum wage lifestyle in favor of a family life in Florida with his domineering fiancée Emma Bunting (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith), whose father will provide with a home of their own and even a business to run. Jay and Silent Bob are now drug-free (to reflect Jason Mewes' new-found sobriety^[5]) after having been busted and put on probation, but are still up to their usual antics, including dealing marijuana and loitering outside Dante and Randal's workplace but now talk about Jesus and The Holy Bible.

The manager of Mooby's is a young woman named Becky Scott (Rosario Dawson), with whom Dante has become quite close; so close that they shared a one night stand several weeks before. The one other employee at Mooby's, aside from Dante and Randal, is 19-year-old Elias (Trevor Fehrman), a The Lord of the Rings/Transformers fanboy and lonely Christian virgin. Gullible and naïve to the point of absurdity, Elias is frequently subjected to Randal's verbal abuse.

After enduring some snide remarks from Lance Dowds (Jason Lee), an old high school nemesis who has since become an Internet millionaire, Randal realizes he is not as happy with his position in life as he had thought. Randal's unhappiness manifests itself in his disrespect towards the customers and his fellow employees.

Dante confesses to Becky that he is worried about dancing at his wedding, so she takes him up onto the roof of the restaurant to teach him some moves. To the tune of "ABC", supplied by Jay and Silent Bob, Dante quickly lets go of his inhibitions and dances jauntily with Becky. When the song ends, Dante, caught up in the moment, tells Becky he loves her, to which she blurts out that she is pregnant. Becky intends to keep the baby, but resolves not to disrupt Dante and Emma's future.

Randal surprises Dante with a going away party at Mooby's, including "Kinky Kelly and the Sexy Stud," a donkey show with a fog machine, creatively billed as "interspecies erotica." Dante mistakes the fog for a fire and calls the fire department. When Dante discovers that it is not a fire, he settles in to watch the show with Randal, Jay, Bob, and an increasingly intoxicated and aroused Elias. It turns out that Kinky Kelly is not a woman, but the featured donkey, and the "Sexy Stud" is the overweight, leather-clad man who was originally believed to merely be the donkey's wrangler. Everyone watches the train wreck in morbid fascination, except for Elias, who is now masturbating openly as he tearfully apologizes to Jesus.

Becky arrives soon after, and amidst the spectacle taking place, Dante tells her that he believes that she feels the same way about him as he does about her. They kiss, right as Emma shows up for the party. Jay mistakenly congratulates Emma for being pregnant. Emma hits Dante with the cake that she had brought, throws her engagement ring at Becky, and runs off.

The fire and police departments arrive, responding to the emergency phone call that Dante had made earlier but never cancelled. Dante, Randal, Elias, Jay, Silent Bob, and the Sexy Stud are taken to jail to await charges. The Sexy Stud calmly tells the others that he is the only one who will face any punishment, which will be minimal, but Dante is still very upset, and renounces his friendship with Randal. Thoroughly devastated, Randal confesses his greatest fear: losing his best friend, Dante. Randal then suggests that they buy the Quick Stop and RST Video store sites. Jay and Silent Bob agree to lend them the money (a deleted scene reveals that the pair received thousands of dollars in royalties after the events of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), on the condition that they be allowed to loiter in front of the Quick Stop as they had before. Dante agrees, and after his release, he proposes to Becky, who accepts.

Dante and Randal, with Becky's help, renovate the Quick Stop. Elias applies for Randal's old job at RST Video, and is eventually hired. The Quick Stop and RST Video are re-opened, complete with "I assure you, we're re-open!" sign (a reference to the original Clerks) on the front of the Quick Stop. Jay and Silent Bob take their places outside of the store.

Behind the counter at the Quick Stop, Randal says to Dante, "You're not even supposed to be here today," in a nod to the first film, to which Dante replies, "Can you feel it? Today is the first day of the rest of our lives."

[edit] Production

In 1999, the original title was slated to be Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin', as seen in the credits of Dogma^{[citation needed]} Smith later modified the title to The Passion Of The Clerks, lampooning the title of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. According to the DVD documentary, the title was changed to simply Clerks II, due to negative reaction to the "Passion" title. The film was originally scheduled for a 2005 release, and then a January 2006 release, but the production was pushed back due to other projects and Kevin Smith's involvement in the romantic comedy Catch and Release.

The film was shot on a single set at 8572 Stanton Ave in Buena Park, California,^[6] (right across the street from Knott's Berry Farm) and at the Quick Stop and R.S.T. Video stores in Leonardo, New Jersey, with some exceptions, the most notable being the go-kart scene, which was shot at Speedzone in City of Industry, California.^{[citation needed]}

Smith released production diaries on the Clerks II website (see links below). They chronicle the entire making of the film from the first rehearsals all the way through to the final release. Some of these web diaries are also available on the two-disc DVD of the film. Smith released a Web-only teaser trailer on the Clerks II website on January 9, 2006,^[7] and a web-only trailer on April 2, 2006.^[7] Smith also released several shorts featuring action figures from his previous films to promote the film.

Before the release of the film, Kevin Smith had mentioned releasing an MP3 file commentary to be downloaded and listened to in movie theaters via iPod. Ultimately, theater owners and exhibitors objected^{[citation needed]}, and the plan was scrapped. The abandoned commentary, featuring Smith, Scott Mosier and Jeff Anderson, is included on the DVD.

The bookend Quick Stop scenes are in black and white (to simulate the original visual style of Clerks), while the rest of the film is in color. Smith has said that much of the film's color was desaturated almost to the point where the film had a similar texture to the first film.^[8] The contrast in color saturation used can be seen in the 'ABC sequence' in which a more vibrant and saturated color temperature is used to give a warm and sunny look that adds to the playful nature of the piece.

[edit] Casting

Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jason Mewes, and Kevin Smith all reprised their roles from the original Clerks movie.

According to the DVD commentary^[specify], Kevin Smith originally wanted to cast his wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith as Becky. Executive Producer Harvey Weinstein objected, however, as he wanted a known actress to play the role, for marketing reasons. Other actresses that Smith had met with were Sarah Silverman and Bryce Dallas Howard, who both declined. Smith recalls having lunch with Howard, who said she was interested in the film but ultimately passed in order to do Lady in the Water. Silverman said she didn't want to play the character Becky as she had been cast as girlfriends in numerous other productions and feared type-casting, but loved the script and would have been more than willing to play the part of Randal. Rachel Weisz was another name the studio considered, but Smith figured she would turn the role down and never offered her the part. Ellen Pompeo expressed an interest but could not commit due to scheduling difficulties with Grey's Anatomy.^{[citation needed]} Finally, the role was offered to Rosario Dawson, who loved the script. She later said that reading the "donkey show" scene sealed the deal for her. Jennifer Schwalbach Smith was given the secondary female role of Emma.

The character of Elias was played by Trevor Fehrman, who had previously acted in Jeff Anderson's movie, Now You Know. Smith saw him in that and was impressed enough to give him a part. In keeping with Smith's tradition of casting actors that he has previously worked with, both Jason Lee and Ben Affleck had parts in the movie. Lee played Randal Graves' old enemy, Lance Dowds, and Affleck played a random Mooby's customer. After finding no one else who could pull off being the Sexy Stud, Smith turned to crew member Zak Charles Knutson to fill the role.

At the Clerks II's MySpace account, a contest was held in which the first 10,000 MySpace users who added Clerks II as a friend would have their name in the theatrical and DVD end credits; The list follows the View Askew and Weinstein Company logos. The names are not present in the credits on the Region 2 DVD.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Rating

The film was originally planned to be released without an MPAA film rating, in order to avoid receiving an NC-17. Smith stated "If we put it in front of the ratings board they'd be like, 'You're insane. We have to create a new rating for that.'"^[9] He later submitted it, and it received an R rating without any edits.

[edit] Critical response

The film received generally positive to mixed reviews from critics. At review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, reviews for Clerks II were split, with the film rated "fresh" overall (63% positive) but rated "rotten" by the website's top critics (55% positive). as of January 2009^[update], the critical consensus was that the film "dishes up much of the graphic humor and some of the insight that made the 1994 original a cult hit".^[3] The Metacritic.com characterised the film's reception as "generally favourable", with metascore of 65 out of 100 from 29 reviews.^[4]

In a review for The New York Times, A.O. Scott notes the following:

“

What makes “Clerks II” both winning and (somewhat unexpectedly) moving is its fidelity to the original “Clerks” ethic of hanging out, talking trash and refusing all worldly ambition. If anything, the sequel is more defiant in its disdain for the rat race, elevating the white-guy-doing-nothing prerogative from a lifestyle choice to a moral principle.[10]

”

Justin Chang's review at Variety called it a "softer, flabbier and considerably higher-budgeted follow-up to Kevin Smith's 1994 indie sensation that nevertheless packs enough riotous exchanges and pungent sexual obscenities to make its 97 minutes pass by with ease."^[11]

At an advanced screening for critics, Joel Siegel walked out of the movie approximately 40 minutes in, during a scene in which the characters attempt to procure a donkey for sexual purposes. Smith claimed on his website that Siegel "bellowed" the phrase "Time to go. This is the first movie I've walked out on in thirty fucking years."^[12] TV Guide film critic Maitland McDonagh, who said she was sitting next to Siegel, largely confirms Smith's account but insists that Siegel did not curse or "bellow." However, she reports that he left from the farthest possible exit, thereby making sure everyone noticed his departure.^[13] On his blog, Smith criticized Siegel for unprofessional conduct,^[14] in a profanity-laced tirade in which he referred to the critic performing sexual acts on director M. Night Shyamalan in regard to his praise for The Village before having seen it.^[15] Smith later confronted Siegel in a live interview on Opie and Anthony; Siegel apologized for cursing and causing a scene, and told Smith that he thinks he is a "fine filmmaker," while still defending his decision to walk out.^[16]

British entertainer and film-critic Jonathan Ross has been largely critical of the movie, saying he disliked it even more than the first film. He expressed distaste that the movie was voted by viewers of his Film 2006 show into the top ten movies of the year, in which it ranked sixth.^[17] It made other Best of 2006 lists,^[18] including being named movie of the year by MTV India, being voted the 3rd funniest movie of 2006 by IMDB users.^[19] and the 9th best reviewed comedy by Rotten Tomatoes.^[20]

The film received an eight-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.^[21][22]

[edit] Cast

The main characters from the original film are Dante, Randal, and Jay and Silent Bob. Walt Flanagan and Kevin Smith's mother, Grace Smith, both make cameos at the end of the film reprising their respective roles as Pack O' Smokes Guy and the Milk Maid.

• Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks
• Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves
• Rosario Dawson as Becky Scott
• Trevor Fehrman as Elias Grover
• Jason Mewes as Jay
• Kevin Smith as Silent Bob
• Jennifer Schwalbach Smith as Emma Bunting
• Jason Lee as Lance Dowds
• Zak Knutson as Sexy Stud

[edit] Soundtrack

Music from the Motion Picture Clerks II
Soundtrack to the film Clerks II
Released	August 22, 2006
Recorded	Various
Genre	Various
Length	56:41
Label	Bulletproof Records
Clerks soundtrack chronology
Clerks (1994) Clerks II (2006)

Music from the Motion Picture Clerks II, the soundtrack to the film, was released on August 22, 2006 by Bulletproof Records. It includes songs from the film, which are of various artists and genres, as well as many soundclips of dialog from the film. One notable exception is that The Smashing Pumpkins' "1979", which was featured in the film, is not included. It has been replaced by All Too Much's "Think Fast", which was not featured in the film.

[edit] Track listing

1. Dialogue: "Anne Frank vs. Helen Keller" – 0:27
2. "(Nothing But) Flowers" – Talking Heads – 5:33
3. Dialogue: "Regret" – 0:28
4. "Welcome Home" – King Diamond – 4:36
5. Dialogue: "Of Parts Enlarged" – 0:17
6. "Neckin' on the Swing" – James L. Venable – 3:49
7. Dialogue: "The First of the Fallen" – 0:55
8. "The Invisible Guests" – King Diamond – 5:04
9. Dialogue: "The Unholiest Act" – 0:52
10. "Goodbye Horses" – Q Lazzarus & Garvey – 6:27
11. Dialogue: "On Knowing Pickles" – 0:17
12. "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" – B. J. Thomas – 3:02
13. Dialogue: "Twelve Step" – 0:20
14. "ABC" – The Jackson 5 – 2:58
15. Dialogue: "The Perfect Gift" – 0:54
16. "Think Fast" – All Too Much – 3:24
17. Dialogue: "Party Planning" – 0:31
18. "Goin' Away Party" – James L. Venable – 1:44 - This contains segments of the "Clerks" animated series' theme song, also by Venable
19. Dialogue: "I'm Gonna Miss You, Man" – 0:39
20. "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)" – Samantha Fox – 3:21
21. Dialogue: "Abstinence" – 1:01
22. "Everything" – Alanis Morissette – 4:36
23. Dialogue: "Semantics" – 0:31
24. "Misery" – Soul Asylum – 4:24
25. Dialogue: "Battle of the Mega-Geeks" – 0:31

[edit] DVD

The Clerks II DVD was released on November 28, 2006.^[23]

On December 7 Hollywood Reporter^[24] reports on the DVD sales: "The sleeper of the week, however, is the Weinstein Co.'s "Clerks II," which came to video after earning only $24.2 million in theaters but bowed at No. 4 on both the sales and rental charts."

Clerks II was released on HD DVD on January 16, 2007. This release contained the movie in 1080p high definition on one disc and the same extras as the DVD, also presented in 1080p, on a second disc.^[25] Due to the discontinued production of HD DVD, Clerks II was released on Blu-Ray on February 3, 2009 ^[26] which is also the same DVD and Blu-Ray release date of Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Clerks II

• Official website
• Clerks II at Allmovie
• Official web site, including Teaser Trailer
• View Askewniverse:
  • Kevin's thoughts on the Project
  • Press Release
• Clerks II at the Internet Movie Database
• Clerks 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Clerks 2 at Metacritic
• Interviews on iFilm.com
• Radio Interview with Kevin Smith from FBi 94.5 Sydney Australia
• 2006 interview with Dante and Randal from ljworld.com

Preceded by Where's the Beef

The View Askewniverse Chronology

Succeeded by Incumbent

v • d • e Kevin Smith Feature films Clerks • Mallrats • Chasing Amy • Dogma • Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back • Jersey Girl • Clerks II • Zack and Miri Make a Porno • A Couple of Dicks • Red State (pre-production) Comics Bluntman and Chronic • Chasing Dogma • Clerks • Daredevil: "Guardian Devil" • Daredevil/Bullseye: The Target • Green Arrow: "Quiver" • Spider-Man/Black Cat: The Evil that Men Do • Walt Flanagan's Dog • Batman: Cacophony Q&A DVDs An Evening with Kevin Smith • An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder • Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith Cast and crew Scott Mosier • Walt Flanagan • Bryan Johnson • Dave Klein • Jason Mewes • Brian O'Halloran • Jeff Anderson • Matt Damon • Ben Affleck • Jason Lee • Joey Lauren Adams • Jennifer Schwalbach Smith Miscellaneous Filmography • View Askew Productions • View Askewniverse • Clerks: The Animated Series • Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash • Silent Bob Speaks • My Boring Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith • Sucks Less with Kevin Smith • SModcast