Movie Log: Clerks II

Once upon a time, this guy made a movie called Clerks, and it, in turn, made his career. Ten years later, after the failure of a certain big-budget romantic comedy, Kevin Smith retrenched with a sequel. I haven't caught up on all of the Smith films in between yet (he's a geeky New Jersey filmmaker; I feel compelled to see all of his movies -- and, honestly, I have enjoyed all the ones I've seen so far), but I watched Clerks II last night.

It's very nearly an unreviewable movie, and hard to describe, too. The two slackers from the first movie are ten years older, and still haven't done much of anything. (They're also weirdly unconnected to any other friends or family, which the movie keep from being important by taking place all in one day.) Stuff happens, and there is something like a plot, but that's all there as an excuse for the movie -- it's not the movie itself. The movie itself is a series of bizarre conversations about unlikely things, and it's pretty funny, if you can laugh at ATM, porch monkeys, Pillow Pants the troll, and donkey shows. If you can't, you shouldn't be in a Kevin Smith movie to begin with.