SCORE: 100/100. PERFECT ALBUM & FILM COMBINATION.
Kevin Smith’s films have taken a very big role in my life and who I am lately. My best friend/sister slowly but surely got me into his films one by one before I found myself completely consumed by the View Askewniverse. I love every single character (almost) in this wonderful film universe, and these movies are such a special thing for me.
I have made so many incredible memories watching these films with her, and they will always have those memories tied to them for me. I have also watched the films with my gammy which was another great set of experiences - and now again, on my birthday, I will watch more View Askewniverse films (‘Dogma’ is my pick for those curious).
It’s always important for me to pick out a personal favorite movie to watch on my birthday. It changes every year, one year it was ‘Kill Bill’, one it was ‘Child’s Play’. I went through a big horror phase, but the comedy genre is something I have found so much joy in, and it’s become my number one favorite film and show genre.
And I thought I would be watching ‘Hot Rod’ on my birthday - still a personal favorite, but these movies have been my core focus lately (one of many reasons new album listens have been on the backburner for me). I feel as if Kevin Smith’s films mark a new chapter in my life that I have entered, and I wonder what will come next. I always go through these sort of phases, and this is one of the big ones that I see myself carrying with me for a long time.
The View Askewniverse and the characters within it are very important and special to me. These films have a big part of my mind and my heart and I am so happy to be sharing this passion with all of you today on my birthday. I started writing this on the 24th, and my birthday (when this is being uploaded) is the 29th.
It’s been an interesting ride growing up. Last year was full of ups and downs, and same with chunks of this year - but that’s life. I have incredibly high hopes and expectations for what life has in store for me a little bit further down the road, and I hope that this review is something interesting for all who read it.
I wanted to do something I am passionate about for this review, and I thought this would be more than appropriate. I’m sure some of you have noticed this album and the ‘Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back’ soundtrack have both been in my favorites section for a while, but no proper reviews for them - odd for me, I know.
And this did technically have a review under it, but no rating (because I hadn’t sat and listened to this from front to back until… I still haven’t, but I’m working on it as I type this). I decided that this is what I wanted to do for a little bit of a birthday special. AOTY is such a big part of my life and it has honestly changed who I am and who I want to be. I would’ve never discovered how much I love writing and how much of a skill I have for doing so. I would’ve never discovered that I want to become a journalist, and I would never be sharing my thoughts online quite like this.
I’m almost at one thousand followers, which is honestly surreal to me. I picked a bit of a niche little thing to do this special on - but for the group that get me (and enjoy these movies like I do, if there’s any of you on this site), a warm hello. And same for those that don’t. I love how different all of us can be, and how welcoming this community is. I hope to grow my account even more and build on my writing skillset more and more with each review. I think my reviews get better and better all the time, and I hope that can be seen in each piece.
On September 24th, I hit 2000 ratings/reviews. It says I have less reviews than ratings (which is not true, AOTY does this to me all the time, and I’m waiting for it to correct itself), but it’s an equal number in reality. I cannot believe the sheer amount of music I have listened to over time, and I’m nowhere near complete with all of the albums in my library. There is a constant stream of music being released and it’s honestly crazy to keep up with sometimes - so I don’t keep up, but I do get to things eventually! For all of you who have recommended albums to me, don’t worry - I will get to them!
It’s so interesting how my taste has changed over time - but I think I would’ve liked this album even before I knew who Kevin Smith was or what any of his films were. It’s crazy to think I didn’t even know who he was just a few months ago, and now he’s my favorite filmmaker/director/writer. I have discovered so many wonderful actors (and music artists!) through him, and I have found interest in things I never thought I would before (Alanis Morrissette) through his work.
An unpopular opinion that I have is that I like ‘Clerks II’ better than the first one. And don’t get me wrong, I absolutely ADORE the first movie - but there’s just something about this one that REALLY hooks me, even more so than the first. It’s so hard to rank the View Askewniverse films, but this is probably second for me out of all of them. This is one of the films that has made me laugh more than anything else. The scenes are outrageously funny, and there isn’t a single dull moment. The writing is just as strong as what is seen in the first movie, and it’s almost more shocking (and funny) a lot of the time. I laughed at this movie more than the first, and it’s one of my all-time favorite movies. The atmosphere and every element of the film just hooks me and keeps me for the entire runtime.
This is a music reviewing site, so this is kind of a dual review of sorts. My soundtrack review will start after this, and the film review will be just underneath that. I hope you enjoy <3.
And special thanks to those most important to me (who have AOTY accounts):
@MandaPanda, my mom
&
@FunkySpirals, my forever best friend and my sister from another mother.
<3
Special thanks also to these AOTY users who make the community as amazing as it is, thanks for all the chats and here’s to many more!:
@sexoo, who is now a good friend of mine.
@Missing_Lyriks, one of the people on the site I have talked to the most. We haven’t talked for as long lately, but you are one of the best people on the site with such a kind soul.
@Beatlesfan, one of the coolest people on the site who also makes comedy music and is great to interact with.
&
@NeedlefluuJr, another super sweet user who is one of the kindest on the site without a doubt. So incredibly down to earth and beyond words sweet in every interaction.
This is a passion project, so excuse my rambles, but I’ll talk about the soundtrack - for real now.
CLERKS II: SOUNDTRACK
Movie soundtrack albums can be a real treat for fans of a film, and even those who aren’t familiar with said film. I love picking up soundtrack albums from my local bookstore (where I buy almost all of my CDs), and I own quite a few for movies I haven’t seen. They can be the perfect blend of genres and feelings all at once.
The ‘Clerks II’ soundtrack is one of those special soundtracks.
One element of the film itself that really sticks out and made some scenes as incredible as they are was the music. Kevin Smith’s films are always packed full of thoughtfully chosen music - the second installment of the ‘Clerks’ trilogy was no exception.
I think this album would work with or without the context of the film - but seeing the film would absolutely make listening to it even more fun. The snippets of dialogue were wonderfully picked out and they highlight some of the best lines of the film (while still keeping the cream of the crop film exclusive), and the song choices were delightful for both the context of an album and for the film itself.
This soundtrack has put some new artists onto my radar too, the main one being King Diamond. I have found myself really enjoying his work lately - and I think it’s really cool that something like this could help me to find someone new to listen to. There’s a very interesting mix in this tracklist which makes it so that there’s truly something for everyone on it. It’s a perfect sense of variety that fits the themes and tones in the movie delightfully.
I can probably never hear any of these songs without picturing the scene(s) they are from ever again. Is it a blessing or a curse? I say blessing. I hadn’t heard a lot of these songs before this film - some I had heard before of course, but there were some completely new songs (and artists!) for me to discover through this album and the accompanying film.
The snippets of dialogue are picked out really well and help to break up the album excellently too. They’re like a little refresher in between songs, and they help to make the album REALLY feel like it belongs to the film. It’s clear that a lot of thought and care went into the creation of this soundtrack, each song has a place and it just wouldn’t be the same if any of them had been changed.
One interesting thing about this album is the exclusion of The Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘1979’, which is included pretty prominently in the film. It was instead replaced with ‘Think Fast’ by All Too Much, a song which is not included anywhere in the film. I suspect this could be something to do with The Smashing Pumpkins not wanting to give the rights to the song for the album, but we’ll never know.
This album mixes funny, heartfelt, meaningful, and just about every genre you could want and more. It’s just like the atmosphere of the movie, which was partially made the way it is because of the music included.
CLERKS II: MOVIE
THERE WILL BE SPOILERS SPRINKLED IN THROUGHOUT THIS REVIEW - SO FAIR WARNING FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE THE FILM IF THEY HAVEN’T.
I would argue that ‘Clerks II’ is one of the most quotable movies of all time, especially in the comedy genre. But the same could be said for almost all of the View Askewniverse films. One thing that will always stick out about Kevin Smith’s films is his writing. He really manages to make the dialogue stick with you.
‘Clerks II’ was released on July 21, 2006 after previously being screened out of competition at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival earlier that year (it received an 8-minute standing ovation from the midnight crowd attending). The film was also awarded with the Audience Award at the 2006 Edinburgh International Film Festival before it was released theatrical for a wider audience. This allowed smaller groups of people to get a feel for the movie - and it allowed for the people involved in the creation of the film to get a grasp on how audiences would react.
This installment is very different from Kevin Smith’s directorial debut ‘Clerks’, and it needed to be. One of the things that made the 1994 film work so incredibly well was the originality of it. If it was reusing the same location, it would be the same movie over again. The film needed the new stories and location for it to really pop. There’s a huge contrast in the stylistic elements of this movie due to a bigger budget and more available materials to create it. Smith had more artistic freedom and was not limited to such a tight budget during the creation of the film.
The film had a budget of 5 million dollars (USD) and was shot in both California and New Jersey, with one of the locations being Kevin Smith’s childhood home. The central location of the fast food restaurant Mooby’s was a shut-down Burger King in Buena Park, California. The location was later demolished after the shooting of the film was completed.
It goes without saying that ‘Clerks II’ is the sequel/counterpart to the 1994 film ‘Clerks’. It contains all of the same central characters while introducing two new main characters, Rebecca “Becky” Scott and Elias Grover - who would go on to play crucial roles in the third installment of the franchise as well. These characters made perfect additions to the series - they do not feel forced, and the writing for them is brilliant. The storylines that follow both of them were incredibly weaved in with other characters and their development alongside the new View Askewniverse characters.
I feel as if it isn’t completely necessary to watch the first ‘Clerks’ to get into this movie, but it makes it a whole lot better. I was more interested in this one than the first one in the beginning but I am so glad that I was convinced to watch the first one before this one - it made it that much better. Having a feel for the characters and the cinematic universe they are from before watching this movie made it so that the stories and jokes hit that much harder.
‘Clerks II’ was released theatrically in the United States on July 21, 2006 - originally planned to be released as an unrated film, ‘Clerks II’ received an R-rating from the MPAA without any edits, a huge change from Smith’s other films. A good chunk of the View Askewniverse films had to be edited and cut heavily from their original cuts because of the rating board not agreeing with the content present in the films.
The film made 10.1 million dollars in the first weekend, and it grossed a total of 24.1 dollars domestically, as well as making 2.8 million dollars from non-domestic locations. This made over 3x the original budget of 5 million dollars.
Kevin Smith, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, and Jason Mewes all reprised their roles from the previous View Askewniverse films. Ben Affleck, a frequent cast member in Smith’s films also had a cameo appearance. Jason Lee, another frequent collaborator, was also featured in a short part of the film. Trevor Fehrman was a new choice and was casted as Elias, one of the central characters of the film. Kevin Smith was impressed with his performance in Jeff Anderson’s directorial debut film ‘Now You Know’, which Smith had a brief appearance in, which eventually led to his involvement and casting in ‘Clerks II’.
Other casting choices included Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Kevin Smith’s wife, and his daughter Harley Quinn Smith - who was 6-7 years old at the time. Jennifer Schwalbach was originally meant for the role of Becky - one of the leads of the film. Harvey Weinstein, who was the executive producer for the film, opted against this. He wanted a bigger actress to fill the role to help with marketing. Choices that were in mind for the role before Rosario Dawson was cast were Sara Silverman and Bryce Dallas Howard - both of which declined.
Bryce Dallas Howard declined to pursue another role in a different film - ‘Lady in the Water’, and Sara Silverman wasn’t interested in the type of character she would be playing, stating she had been cast as the “girlfriend” in other films prior to being asked about a possible role for ‘Clerks II’. She did not want to be type-cast and stated that she would have been happy to play the role of Randal Graves (...not gonna happen).
‘Clerks II’ is the sixth film set in the View Askewniverse. It contains brief references to elements featured in the 2001 film ‘Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back’ and is directly tied to ‘Clerks’ - unlike some of the other View Askewniverse films, it does not reference a lot of the other films (‘Strike Back’ being the biggest example in the non-modern Askewniverse films when it comes to referencing previous films). It contains the fictional fast food chain restaurant Mooby’s - which was featured in ‘Dogma’ and ‘Strike Back’ before becoming the central location for this film. It also contains previous characters Dante Hicks, Randal Graves, and Jay and Silent Bob. ‘Clerks II’ takes place roughly 10 years after the events in ‘Clerks’.
The plot for this movie was partially inspired by a script Smith had written titled ‘Busing’, which was described as ‘Clerks’, but in a restaurant. ‘Clerks II’ was also originally intended to be shot and to take place at the New Jersey Seaside Heights Boardwalk. It was going to follow Dante and Randal working at the boardwalk, but Smith learned that filming at said boardwalk would be far too expensive. The original boardwalk idea was conceived in 1999, but the film did not start production until the mid-2000s.
‘Clerks II’ could’ve had a drastically different plot. Instead of it following Dante’s relationships, the ups and downs, and the falling in love - it was meant to follow Randal going through those things. Alanis Morissette was the original plan for the love interest of Randal - she was the original Becky of the movie before the plot was eventually changed to follow the events of Dante’s love life more heavily - showing similarities to the first film.
There’s a lot of difference in style and pace in this film when compared to the first, but it feels so natural. The most drastic style shift is the usage of color in the film rather than shooting it in black and white. One of the most iconic and recognizable features of the first installment is the black and white aesthetics of the film. ‘Clerks II’ stars in black and white before shifting into the color that is used in most of the rest of the runtime. This makes for an incredibly drastic change in aesthetics when compared to the first. This is due to the film having a bigger budget - Smith had more to work with and he used it incredibly wisely. The film has a low saturation when it comes to the colors which gives some scenes a very nice contrast, and the film is overall very visually pleasing.
‘Clerks II’ contains a lot of trademarks that Smith is known for using in his films such as the usage of his favorite number, 37, and references to the Star Wars franchise. These are things that are present in almost all of his films, so much so that they are considered to be director trademarks.
“This is the funniest thing I've ever written. It's also really poignant.” - Kevin Smith (I agree with him almost fully here, it’s hard to pick what his funniest film is, but this might be it - it would 110 percent be it if ‘Strike Back’ didn’t take the cake for me personally)
I personally enjoy this installment more than the first - I rewatch it much more frequently and I find myself laughing even harder than I do at the first one. Not to say that both aren’t incredible - it’s hard to put them against each other, but if I were to choose between the two, I would pick this one in most circumstances. ‘Clerks II’ is outrageously funny - the new characters are incredibly well written and placed into the plot, and the story is wonderfully unique and provides a nice contrast to the first. Smith knew that he could not make a film identical to the first installment, and he made the best sequel he could’ve made. This is the first direct sequel to a film in the View Askewniverse, and it is one of, if not the best sequel I have ever seen.
Sequels can usually be hit or miss - this one is a hit.
One of the main factors that went into making this movie was Jason Mewes' sobriety. He had a constant and long battle with multiple different drug addictions and substance abuse problems which nearly led to a falling out between Kevin Smith and him. This was a realization moment for Mewes, and Smith promised him that he would get to play the character of Jay again if he got sober.
Kevin Smith wanted better memories working as the Jay And Silent Bob characters due to the struggles on and off set that occurred behind the scenes of ‘Strike Back’. Smith stuck with Mewes through all of the issues he was having for years, and ‘Clerks II’ is a wonderful celebration of him getting clean after years of struggle.
“I can't describe how fulfilling it is to hear the script performed and to watch Brian and Jeff bounce off one another. And Mewes? Top form. Tip-top form.”
The story featured in the film about Jay And Silent Bob going to rehab after getting pulled over and caught with a deployed airbag is based off of a true story. The length of time the characters were in rehab was the same amount of time that Mewes was in rehab. This movie serves as a reminder of his sobriety, and he has been clean since 2010.
“Oh, who am I kidding? This flick makes me so happy, I'm not even bothered by the bitching (could still be even happier without it, though). I'm in love with this flick. If other folks aren't, I can't really say I'm concerned. I've read the script; they haven't. I have the benefit of insight into the flick beyond the title and the notion of it; they don't. The reaction is pretty much what I thought it'd be: a ton of positive, and minimal amount of bitching. Even if the equation was reversed, I'd still feel as good as I do now.” - Kevin Smith speaking about the film on his blog before shooting began.
An hour and 37 minutes has never felt so quick. This film just absolutely whizzes by, each joke comes at you quickly and the next will be there in no time at all. The jokes are constant and consistently funny - there isn’t even one stale joke to be found, and they’re all wonderfully unique from the last. The film is paced incredibly well and it packs so much story into the somewhat short runtime. The story is paced well and it flows naturally and very nicely - it’s an incredible story to follow, and the pacing of it is incredible. The timing of the jokes and the actions of the characters are all perfectly placed, and there’s almost no room to get bored along the way. There are some slower, more plot heavy scenes - but these feel necessary rather than dragging the film down.
What works about ‘Clerks II’, in short, is how wonderfully sincere it is. The film mixes both funny and sweet moments, genuinely emotional scenes are interwoven into the mainly comedic film - and there’s somehow even more heart than the first film had.
There’s a bittersweet feeling in many of the scenes in ‘Clerks II’, and Kevin Smith shows his writing skills incredibly well in this film. The writing in the movie is both funny and genuine - each conversation feels incredibly real, exaggerated and outrageous, but real. The characters all get wonderfully developed and even more fleshed out by the end of the film, and the open ending led to a third installment in 2022. The opportunity was there and Smith took it in the best way he could’ve.
‘Clerks II’ is without a doubt one of Smith’s funniest films, and a wonderful addition to his iconic filmography. It is one of his best films, and it has both heart and humor all at the same time.
THANK YOU’S AND CLOSING:
Thank you for reading! I hope that this review left you with a lot of new insight and information - and maybe a new movie to watch! I hope you all enjoyed this review, and thanks for the time it took to read it!
I thought this project would be appropriate for my birthday, and it’s a bit of a passion project for me. It took a while to write, and I got it done the night before my actual birthday - and am uploading it at midnight on my birthday.
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