Clerks II (2006)

This week has turned out to be quite a Kevin Smith week, with the writer/director's Clerks 2 being released on HD-DVD day-and-date with the UK Region 2 release of An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder on standard DVD. As you'll read over on my standard DVD blog later today An Evening... suffers from the classic cash-in sequel problems of the law of diminishing returns (and my, how they've diminished!), but what about Clerks 2? Is it the Godfather 2 of sequels - the exception that proves the diminishing returns rule - or is it a stinker follow-up to a film that has a rather over-rated reputation as being a classic, seemingly because of its endless 'jokes' about transvestites, anal sex and blow jobs with obligatory 'dude' outbursts punctuating every sentence?

I'd argue the latter. Not only has the second outing been upgraded in terms of colour and a budget that is very evident on screen, but the characters have been filled out nicely too, adding a poignancy and moral tale that was missing from the first film. As a result Clerks 2 feels more like a 'proper film' than its predecessor, which came across as far too much like a one-man stand-up routine, albeit one delivered by different characters. You don't need to be familiar with the first Clerks film to enjoy this one, but given that it's currently available in special edition Clerks X 3-disk form on standard DVD for about £6 online you'd be crazy not to check that one out too if you get the chance.

Not that this second film doesn't have its 'every character sounds like he's delivering a Kevin Smith monologue' moments too - it's just that this time round there's more of a story, and the characters have been allowed to develop so that you actually start to care a little bit about them.

The film picks up pretty much where the last one left off, opening with slacker Dante, the character based very much on Kevin Smith himself, turning up to work one day, only to find that the store that has been his workplace for several years, is burning to the ground, thanks mainly to his best friend Randal's inability to turn a coffee machine off. In a nice homage to the first film the opening sequence starts in black and white, with colour only being introduced for the fire elements which then bleed out to the rest of the film to show us we've moved forward in time. As a result of their place of employment being burnt down, Dante and Randal get new jobs in a fast food store, with things having progressed after ten years to the point where Dante is about to leave his native Jersey for California to get married to the pretty, but very controlling, Emma (played by Kevin Smith's real life wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith). Dante is in fact in love with one of his co-workers, Becky, played by Rosario Dawson - he just hasn't realised it yet. It's this central love story, coupled with subtle allusions to the need to grow up, understand what's important in life, and the value of friends and a place you can call home that lift Clerks 2 beyond the usual four-letter word, amusing-but-juvenile, comedy-based-on-outrage levels of Smith's earlier work.

Viewers of BBC1's film review programmer Film 2006 may have been as shocked as I was at host Jonathan Ross's 'review' of Clerks 2, which turned into a long personal attack (actually a full-on rant) against the film's writer/director, for reasons nobody I know can understand. One suspects Ross' review on the BBC's flagship movie review programme did the UK box office a lot of harm because one usually surmises that there's no smoke without fire. It was a particularly odd review given that the men have so much in common - they're both comic book fanatics, obsessed with pop culture, and with a reputation for comedy based primarily on being outrageous. Ross got his comeuppance a few weeks ago when viewers of his program, no doubt inflated by Kevin Smith's hardcore internet fan base, gave Clerks 2 the sixth position in the programme's Audience Top 10 Films of the Year. Unfortunately, those viewers got their verdict wrong, just as Ross had when totally dismissing the film as one of the worst ever made, but one can understand the bad feeling from Smith's fans: Clerks 2 is a good film, and one that's very unique in its own way. We should be applauding such films in the homogenised Hollywood world of film that we live in, not attacking that which dares to be different.

If there's a grain of truth in Ross' rant that Clerks 2 is a lousy film, it's probably there in the first half hour, and in particular the acting from Brian O'Hallorhan as the central figure of Dante. To say his performance is wooden is being unkind to trees, and there are times during the first act where one finds oneself wondering why on earth Smith didn't try a bit of direction to cover up the bad pauses, over-exaggerated facial expressions, and general awkwardness whenever O'Hallorhan is on screen - the guy makes porn actors, given lines to deliver to pad out the sex, look like academy winners. The net result is that it takes far longer than it should to settle into the film. Fortunately the jokes come thick and fast, and when the characters of Elias and Becky show up the film moves into second, third and even fourth gear because these people really can act, even when they're forced to appear in scenes with someone who quite clearly can't!

As is usual with Smith films, there's a spate of special guest appearances. Ben Affleck makes a 'blink and you'll miss it' appearance, while Jason Lee has a longer cameo, and Alias's 'geek guy of limited stature' Kevin Weisman as 'Hobbit Lover' gets to deliver the Lord of the Rings vs Star Wars monologue that has been part of Smith's comedy stand-up routine for the last few years. It's funny stuff for the most part, and it's good to see Smith delivering comedy lines that don't just rely on endless references to blow jobs and anal sex, as so much of his previous work has done.

The transfer is excellent, albeit deliberately drained of colour saturation to give the film a 'unique' look that makes it look a little grungy in an attempt to give it some affinity to the earlier black-and-white, grainy film that spawned this sequel. It's not exactly a must-have for High Definition, but I'd be surprised if it didn't exceed the picture quality on the standard DVD, which gets released in the UK next month.

The HD-DVD itself is superb value for money, featuring two discs packed with extra goodness, but without the usual price hike that very recent theatrical releases or double-disk releases usually incur. If there's a criticism to be made of this HD-DVD release it's perhaps that there's too much extra stuff been included. Of the three commentary tracks included, the 'unreleased podcast' is the best, albeit the oldest, having been intended for those going to see the movie in theatres, moving along at a cracking pace and featuring Smith himself, producer Scott Mosier and lead actor Jeff Anderson. There's a surprising lack of repetition across all three commentaries, but this is primarily because the Technical Commentary track is very much what it says on the tin, while the commentary track with most of the cast is of the 'lots of noise, very little signal' kind that happens when you invite a bunch of friends who haven't seen the film or each other for a few months get together. Too much of the actors commentary is spoilt by Jason Mewes feeling he has to argue with Smith a lot and dominate the proceedings, and the whole thing is way too laid back in terms of actually telling us anything, making the whole experience more like ovehearing an inane conversation in a pub rather than listening to a proper commentary track.

The second disk houses the main alternative feature - an excellent 90 minute Making of documentary that tracks the progress from the first talks of a possible sequel to the first Clerks film through to a showing at Cannes where Smith is visibly petrified of possibly negative reaction, to the first Q &A sessions when the film is commercially released. It's as entertaining as the main feature itself. The disk is rounded out with over 30 minutes of Bloopers, which gets tiresome long before its finished, simply because 'Bloopers' here just means actors forgetting their lines. There's also a half-hour VH1 Movie Special marketing piece on the film, and additional video production diaries. All-in-all great value for money and, unusually, almost all the extra's are presented in high definition widescreen format.

Clerks 2 won't be to everyone's taste - there are far too many politically incorrect 'jokes' for this to have mass appeal. But for those who can cope with the crassness and strongly American feel of the comedy Clerks 2 is a fun 100 minute romp, beautifully presented to make maximum use of the high definition format's increased capacity. With a release date that precedes the standard DVD one in the UK, and at an import price lower than, or at least equal to, that of the cheapest single disk HD-DVD releases, this is a steal and recommended for purchase rather than rental as s result. With Clerks 2, Smith has seemingly done the impossible - made a sequel that's better than the supposed 'classic' that spawned it.