Clerks II (2006)***

One of the common interests the directors/writers Kevin Smith and Richard Linklater (1) share is: they both love to look at the same duet of characters at two different time points.

How much do people change in 10 years?



It seems that all the reasons to rebel dissipate as we grow older. No same old joke can be as half as funny as when they were first told. Growing older simply means that we all suffer from anxiety to step onto the track to comfort zones: good marriage, decent career, and a big house and shit.

I didn't have high expectations on "Clerks II (2006)" after seeing "Clerks (1994)". I am so afraid that Kevin Smith and his crew simply wanted to extend the original fun and irony to another comedy hit with no souls. To my surprise, "Clerks II" is not like a sequel to its predecessor. Sentimentality sneaks around behind all the jokes and ridiculous scenes. Sometimes I don't really admire such attempts since sentimentality may ruin the originality of a funny story. But, maybe this is an inescapable fate for movies like "Clerks II". Fooling around will sooner or later become damned boring at any melancholic or manic level.

Thank God, Jay’s Buffalo-Bill dance is still a timeless delight.



(1) Richard Linklater: Before Sunrise (1994); Before Sunrise (2004)