CLERKS II

"Yeah, we're Open"

After turning up to work and discovering the Quick Stop on fire, Dante (O'Halloran) and Randal (Anderson) are forced to find new jobs for the first time in ten years. They find them at Mooby's, a fast food restaurant and after a year they are settling into their old routines of getting into trouble and hating the customers, well Randal is anyway. Dante is trying to turn his life around and this is his last day at the job and his last day in New Jersey but as he counts down the hours until he starts his move down to Florida with his fiancé Emma, he starts having second thoughts about leaving everything he knows behind.

After exploring the mall, lesbian relationships, religion, Hollywood and parenthood, writer/director Kevin Smith returns to the place were it all started, the Quick Stop.

Back in 1994, a young filmmaker called Kevin Smith made a movie with his friends at the local store were he worked that went on to become a cult classic. That movie was 'Clerks' and it made Hollywood and especially the Weinstein's and Miramax take notice. From then on he went on to write and director 'Mallrats', 'Chasing Amy', 'Dogma', 'Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back' and 'Jersey Girl' and his legion of fans and admirers grew and grew. Launching the careers of Jason Lee, Ben Affleck and then getting to work with all of his friends, Kevin Smith made the movies he wanted make and he never bowed to the Hollywood mainstream.

Now in 2006 he returns to the place were he started it all and the characters that brought him to the attention of the cinematic world. After creating numerous characters, there were two that remained firm favourites for the director and his fans, Dante Hicks and Randal Graves. These two original slackers were the heroes of Generation X. Working in a convenience store and a video shop, the Quick Stop and RTS video, the pair wasted away their lives watching videos and insulting costumers with Dante wanting to get away and Randal just wanting to have fun at other people's expenses. Twelve years later they are still doing exactly the same thing but after the Quick Stop burns down, the pair get even worse jobs at a fast food restaurant called Mooby's.

While actors like Jason Lee and Ben Affleck went on to become superstars, Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson never quite made it. After getting the chance to play Dante and Randal in cartoon form in the failed 'Clerks: The Animated Series', they return to the silver screen again as we catch up with Dante and Randal twelve years later. While some may wonder why they never became stars, Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson get the chance to shine again and are just as good as they were in 1994.

As well as Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson, two more regulars make the move from the Quick Stop to Mooby's and they are Jay and Silent Bob, of course. After all his personal problems Jason Mewes returns to the silver screen as Jay, the dope dealings waster that you cannot help put like. Telling everything like it is, he and his best friend Silent Bob (played by director Kevin Smith again) are the C3-P0 and R2-D2 of the director's movie. Joining the returning regulars are Trevor Fehrman as the religious employee of the month Elias, the always-excellent Rosario Dawson as Mooby's manager Becky and Kevin Smith's own wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith as Dante's fiancée Emma. There are also some cameos that fans will love

The humour in Kevin Smith movies is not to everyone's taste. There are Kevin Smith fans and Kevin Smith haters, no in-betweens. He isn't afraid to make jokes at the expense of religion, minorities, women and even animals, with most these jokes been very close to the mark and in some cases going right past that. Some have real shock value in some cases and could be interpreted as offensive but if you know that this is what the humour is going to be like and it will offend you, don't watch the movie.

'Clerks II' brings Kevin Smith full circle. Fans will rejoice at getting the chance to spend some time with Dante and Randal again. With the same type of humour but this time in colour, the continuation of 'Clerks II' is a real pleasure to watch but only if you are a fan. Everyone else might not like his type of humour and it does help if you have seen the first film but as a homage to the fans, this is a movie that sees Kevin Smith back on track.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 with Dolby Digital 5.1, the movie is presented well.

BONUS FEATURES

Disc 1

Introduction to the movie by director Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier (4.29 mins)
The directing and producing partners introduce the film that takes them full circle and regale us with tales from the production and what features on this DVD.

Feature Commentary with director Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier and director of photography Dave Klein
In this more technical commentary, the trio talk about how the film was made and how it came about. As with every track from a Kevin Smith movie, this is as fun as it is informative. Here we here about the cinematography of the piece, the advances in the technology they have used since the first movie and what it was like filming in Los Angeles and New Jersey.

Feature Commentary with director Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier and actors Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran and Jennifer Schwalbach
Thirteen years after the original film, the cast provide a very funny commentary for the sequel. With plenty of mickey taking throughout and plenty of laughs at other performers expenses, this is another joyous commentary to listen to. From Jason Mewes talking about making his first film with Kevin sober and with many other stories from the set, this is a brilliant multi-person commentary from a cast who simply love the film.

Unused Podcast commentary with director Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier and actor Jeff Anderson
A track that was originally going to be released so fans could listen to it while watching the film but for reasons that are not explained, it wasn't, this is another brilliant commentary for the film. Jeff Anderson is on top form, cracking wise throughout and making fun of Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier. The trio talk passionately about the then just released movie and this would have been a great way to watch the movie at the cinema a second time around.

Deleted Scenes prepared by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier (38.24 mins)
Entitled 'Driving to work', 'Jay and Silent Bob (the dumped intro)', 'The sound and the fury', 'In the biblical sense parts 1 & 2', 'A longer clit', 'Some swing set trim(s)', 'Florida forever, Jersey never', 'Long live the King', 'A brief comparison of holes', 'The extended truck dance', 'Two for flinching', 'Lance Downs attacks', 'Sex nuts and retard strong', 'Caged heat (deleted bits from the jail scene) and 'Wanda and Earthquake', these deleted scenes are accompanied by an introduction by director Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier.

A Closer Look at Interspecies Erotica (8.59 mins)
Director Kevin Smith and stars Rosario Dawson and Jason Mewes join Zak Knutson, the Sexy Stud himself to talk about the Donkey show.

Disc 2

Back to the Well: Clerks II (90.14 mins)
Director Kevin Smith, producer Scott Mosier, former co-head of production at Miramax John Gordon, director of photography Dave Klein, co-editor Elliot Greenberg and stars Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Trevor Fehrman and Wanda Sykes take you through the entire production of 'Clerks II'. This comprehensive documentary takes you from the initial announcement of the project, through production and onto the premier at Cannes. This is a brilliant documentary that gives you a fascinating insight into how the movie was made. Of course it is also hilarious and it also gives you an insight into Kevin Smith and the View Askew Universe.

Blooper Real (29.55 mins)
Introduced by director Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier introduce the cast and crew making a real mess of their lines and having fun on set.

Train Wrecks: Video Production Diaries (50.51 mins)
Introduced by director Kevin Smith and producer Scott Mosier introduce their ten favourite Train Wreck production diaries out of the seventy-five that charted the films release. Entitled 'Revenge of the Mullet', 'Day One', 'Meet the Crew with Jason Mewes', 'The Tongue Song', 'Lights…Camera…Tongue', 'The Good, the Bad and the Man', 'The 8-Minute standing O', 'Elements and Layers', 'Love the cameras' and 'Call 911', these diaries are extremely funny and a joy to watch for fans.

OVERALL

As with all of Kevin Smith current DVD releases and re-releases, this is an example of how to produce a two-disc DVD set. With a 90-minute documentary, three commentaries and an abundance of other features, this is quite simply a joy for all fans of the movie. Other film companies should take not because this sets the standard for how a DVD should be released.

DVD

Clerks.

Mallrats

Chasing Amy

Dogma

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

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2006