 | I have seen a few of the films in the "View Askewniverse." This "universe" and franchise all started with Clerks, made for $27,575 and released in 1994. Clerks Two was made with a still modest budget of $3,000,000.
While I have found all of Smith's films somewhat intriguing, and that's probably why I keep watching them. I also wonder what the big deal is. Smith's characters are hardly inspirational or heroic. However, they do give an interesting glimpse of life and the world we live in.
I sometimes wonder if there is an ongoing battle between Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino to see who can use more swear words in their movies. The discussion of sex (and other things) is quite graphic in Smith's films, but that probably just reflects the world that Smith has been in for most of his life. But is this the world that everybody else lives in?
Brian O'Halloran returns as Dante Hicks, and Jeff Anderson returns as his obnoxious but loyal friend Randal Graves. In the first film, Dante worked at the Quick Stop convenience store; while Randal worked at the nearby video-rental price. After a fire, Dante and Randal have now went to work in fast food at Mooby's. The movie takes place twelve years after the first film.
Jay and Silent Bob (played by Jason Mewes and Smith) are also back in this film. They are still dealing marijuana outside of the establishments where Dante and Randal work. They seem pretty satisfied with their lives, but also appear to be going nowhere. This is also the case with Dante and Randal.
It seems that Jay and Silent Bob are at least somewhat inspired by a Mewes's real-life battle against drug addiction. Mewes and Smith have been friends since their teen years. And while Mewes has done well as Jay, he has had few roles outside of Smith's universe.
The movie begins by telling us why Dante is no longer at the Quick Stop. It has closed due to a fire.
Discussions of sex are sprinkled throughout. Randal apparently used the Quick Stop as a place to have sex and now wonders where he will bring girls for sex when his mother is home. He then says that he likes his job at Mooby's because he can get "barely legal" girls there.
Of course, I don't have any problems with a guy of any age going after "barely legal" women. But one gets the impression that Dante and Randal still don't have much ambition other than living day to day, paycheck to paycheck. But Dante has apparently found a rich girl friend who may lead him out of all of this and take him to Florida.
But Becky complicates everything. Played by Rosario Dawson, she is the manager of Mooby's. She and Randal are obviously in love, although she is obviously jaded by love and marriage. This sets up something interesting twists and plots with Randal and Jay complicating his life even more.
The ending is surprising but actually quite uplifting. While Smith still appears to be guilty of the most crass artistic naturalism, the movie shows us in the end that perhaps there is no such thing as a "slacker."
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