I like to finish things. I might not finish them immediately, but there is some weird, screwed up part of my head that likes things to be orderly - in the right place - tidy. Perhaps it’s the same character fault that makes me put things away, wash up, and become insanely wound up by clutter.
In the spirit of finishing things, I picked up “Clerks 2” this evening, and started watching it. I didn’t have high hopes. Anybody who read my thoughts about the first Clerks movie will be shaking their head at this point.
If one thing is consistent, it’s going to be my polarised opinion from that of the professional movie critics. The glitterati of couch potatos who get mentioned on movie review websites regarded Clerks 2 as a poor immitation of the original movie. What the hell do they think they know about entertaining anybody except their own pious little columns in their precious newspapers and magazines?
Clerks 2 succeeds in every way the first movie fails. It has a story. The characters are finally likeable. Even the bestiality scene is funny (yes, you read right - we’re talking donkeys, S&M, and firemen). If one scene redeemed the entire movie for me, and encouraged me to write this apology, it was the moment when Randal tells Dante why he doesn’t want him to leave. The posturing, expletives, and idiocy are dropped for a few fleeting moments of movie magic - and Jeff Anderson wins the entire audience at a stroke.
I have conflicting thoughts now about the first Clerks movie. Without knowledge of the back story, the second movie would not work - but it’s an incredible chore to put yourself through. It’s difficult to judge if the second movie does enough to pay everything back to you.
Perhaps it takes time to realise the skill of Kevin Smith’s writing - in the same way that some music takes time to grow on you, perhaps these movies need to bring about change in you before you can really appreciate them.