Eye Candy #461 - "Clerks 2"

Clerks 2: I watched the original “Clerks” film many, many moons ago as a young man in college. It was entertaining for what it was and how it was made. It isn’t my favorite Kevin Smith movie (that’s “Chasing Amy”), but I remembered bits from it fondly. Didn’t see the sequel when it came out in the theaters, but did rent it this past week. And while this probably comes as a surprise to no one, the sequel surpassed the original, striking a nice balance between the rauncy toilet humor in the first film with more poignant “grown up” stuff. This is obviously the product of an older, wiser Kevin Smith (of course, having done five movies between then and now, you would assume he would have learned something from both his successes and his failures).  We find everyone’s favorite slackers, Dante and Randall, switching careers (by necessity, since the Quik-E Mart burns down in the first 5 minutes of the film). They now flip burgers for a living at Moobyland, a McDonalds-like restaurant chain with a cow theme (something that’s carried over from several Smith movies). Dante is engaged to be married and is moving to Florida with his new bride, and it’s his last day on the job. But being as it’s Dante and Randall, things just can’t go as planned. So throw in a donkey show, a little bestiality, Pillow Pants, pregnancy, true love and happiness, and you get a busy 24 hours.  Back again are Brian O’Halloran and Jeff Anderson reprising their roles from the first film, as well as Jay and Silent Bob as the world’s most lovable drug dealers this side of Cheech and Chong. And we’ve got other Smith alums like Ben Affleck in a small cameo and Jason Lee in a bit part. We’ve also Rosario Dawson as Becky, Dante and Randall’s manager and Dante’s love interest (but not his fiancée).  There were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, particularly Randall’s dissertation on racist epithets and how he’s going to reclaim “Porch monkey” for all to use (up to and including putting “Porch Monkey 4 Life” on the back of his Moobyland work shirt). Also, Jay does his "Silence of the Lambs" dance (you know, the one where Jame Gum dances around in front of the camera and put his junk between his legs...this is what Jay does...outside Moobyland...and it's HYSTERICAL).  A sequel that is a huge improvement over the original. I liked this movie a lot.  Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”