Clerks is a film is a film i find hard to hold much affection for anymore. Sure i still find myself imitating the Randall walk, or maybe even Olav's immortal rendition of 'Beserker,' but Mallrats always felt a slightly more honest film to me in that it was more open about its presentation of Smith's eighties teen movie brand of romance. I think i have grown out of Kevin Smith. On the evidence of his latest outing Kevin Smith has not grown out of Kevin Smith though.
Clerks 2 is shamelessly nostalgic and reverent toward its predecessor, from the opening credits first reading 'Clerks' before the belated addition of '2' to the final shot's homage to the first film's milk lady. This for me is why it fails as a sequel, above any qualms about the whether or not the original 'needed' one or whether the motivation was purely economic. Most sequels aren't needed, but at the very least they expand on the ideas, narrative or aesthetics of their forebears Clerks 2 fails because it doesn't change the way you think about the first one, a sequel should throw some sort of new light on its predecessor. Smith is too reverent of his first film to challenge it in any way, its as though he wanted to make a sequel without risking any damage to his museum peice calling card. On a story level Smith steers clear of any real reference to the events of ten years prior and no explanation is given as to what happened to the film's two female leads. This kind of narrative amnesia jars with the fact that Randall seems to have a clear recollection of that one fateful day a decade ago though, (perhaps he watched Clerks in preparation for his appearance or at least has been using the internet machine at Mooby's to post on the View Askew boards) going as far as to quote Dante's catch phrase from the movie 'I'm not even supposed to be here today!' If this is Smith's attempt at capitalising on the irony of revisiting his earliest work its a missed opportunity. Which is perhaps the best way of looking at Clerks 2, not only is it a sequel that shouldn't exist its also one that doesn't work as a sequel.
Its no Wrath of Khan thats for sure. There is no character development to speak of, Dante's character arc is the same as the first movie, Randall is revealed as... Dante's best friend! Jay and Silent Bob get little to do, Jay even does the same comedy dance routine twice. And the female characters are so underwritten as seem more like props than dramatic participants in events. Becky merely acts as foil to Randall's bad mouthing, whilst Dante's fiance is so one dimensionally vapid that its no surprise the only actress willing to play her was Smith's own wife.
For me Smith hasn't so much raped the memory of the first film but stroked it in a detached, yet admiring way. A new kind of bad sequel perhaps? One that tries only to remind the viewer of the original, rather than mimic it wholeheartedly?
