Clerks II

Kevin Smith's bold return to the Askewniverse is cute, quaint, and sentimental. As far as comedy goes, the crew has not lost its midas touch, but ultimately it's as if Kevin, like his titular characters, is caught between moving forward as a professional, or sticking around Monmouth County, NJ in an attempt to remain true to the people that got him where he is.

Smith's consistently wordy material somehow never becomes awkward or preachy. His actors can always pull it off. Kevin Smith's talent as a writer/director is overshadowed by the ease at which he makes it look easy. If that makes any sense. This sequel, like his first five movies, makes terms like "mouthbreather, porch monkey, ass-to-mouth, and inter-species erotica" into common dialect, five seconds later a fierce diatribe against Lord of the Rings, cut to a tender dialectic on the nature of basic human relations.

The problem with the film, though, isn't in the treatment of the material, or even the material itself, it's the time and place. Kevin, you made an important step out of your comfort zone with Chasing Amy, and I don't think you've explored it further. Woody Allen, for example, recognized his growth as an intelligent filmmaker (yes, like you, Kevin!) and made an important step beyond the farcical tropes of his early work, creating some of the best films of all time, not merely of his own career. Don't let early success ruin you! There's still hope!