Gathering up all the movie references in "Clerks II" is like finding out you've won the golden ticket, but if you don't make all the connections, then you still have the chocolate.
Just some advice on the film references, take it or leave it, you might want to revisit the first film. And maybe you should catch up with the "The Silence of the Lambs" flick. And if you've got some down time, then slide into a cozy butt groove on the couch and watch both "Star Wars" and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogies to aid you in your quest for cinematic snobbery.
At least with some healthy motion picture research, you can impress a date when he or she asks you, "Hey, is this from another movie?" And you can lean over and say, "I'll tell you after the movie's over, babe."
Fans of the original will still enjoy the sequel because of the freshness of unprofessional actors, realistic sordid humor and witty pop culture commentary bursting out of almost every scene — save the corny ones.
Yes, there is a fair share of sentimental moments, but if you know anything about lead-character Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran), he's a good-hearted, undeceiving sap.
Without Dante's somewhat soft skin and attempts at a productive and righteous future, the over-the-top and not very politically correct quips by the other characters wouldn't be as effective and laughable.
Surprisingly, there are some dance scenes that would make Fred Astaire blush. We're talking about sidewalk-to-sidewalk, street-full dance numbers with hipsters of all nationalities. Between the dancing and Jay's one-liners, the price of admission is well worth it.
The soundtrack isn't as good in the bigger-budget sequel because Kevin Smith, director/writer/Silent Bob, for some unknown reason, strays away from the low-budget metal of the first movie, which was so awesome. But what can you do about the corny tunes? The characters have grown.
The fact that the characters show growth is another strong point of the film. Instead of Smith merely recreating the same personas, he's able to keep the same shocking and creative dialogue while creating a world for 30-somethings, rather than college-age complainers.
With all the crude humor, the film still conveys a warm fuzzy feeling that you get after you've been taken in by a roller coaster of on-point, exaggerated comedy.
