Clerks II

For a long time now, Kevin Smith's DVDs have been significantly better than his movies. In one ofhis many introductions on this disc, he even acknowledges that his incredible DVD sales are the main reason his films are still greenlit. When you're feeling let down by Smith's latest film -- whether it's Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back or Jersey Girl -- there's always some consolation in that jam-packed DVD waiting just around the corner. Of course, no matter how entertaining Smith's commentaries usually are, it's hard to get excited about a movie you don't really care for. But something's different this time around. For the first time in a while, Smith has made a movie that actually merits the deluxe special edition treatment it receives.

If I had to reduce all of Smith's successes and failures to one simple formula, I'd say this: when he's real, he's good; when he's not real, he's problematic. His best films (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Clerks II) are located in a fairly recognizable reality from beginning to end. In his lesser films (Mallrats, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back), he gets wrapped-up with wacky comicbook conceits that may have value in their own right, but simply don't mesh well with his gross-out verbal gymnastics or lazy visual style (this issue is addressed several times on the Clerks II commentaries and it seems that Smith's real visual shortcoming is, by his own admission, his laziness). Call me crazy, but I actually think Jersey Girl came close to succeeding, but ultimately stumbled because Smith sold out honesty for feel good sentimentality.

For my money, Clerks II is Smith's best film since Clerks because he narrows his focus to what he does best: crude yet literate dialogue exchanges, in which opinionated characters argue endlessly about seemingly irrelevant (or at least minor) subjects. When he focusses on this -- rather than convoluted plot mechanics -- Smith has a way of creeping up on an audience emotionally. Whereas Jersey Girl aggressively tried to touch the audience with every bone in its body, Clerks II touches you in the same way that a magic trick puzzles you: while we're busy watching a man have sex with a donkey, Smith is laying the groundwork for some genuinely dramatic scenes that deal with the complexities of male friendship and the potential for heterosexual commitment between two men.

The more blind-sided you are by an emotion, the more powerful it is and I don't think anyone was expecting to be touched after that donkey show (certainly not in this way). Still, part of me wishes Smith would dump the grade-school-fanboy-pandering-to-his-base routine and adopt a more adult perspective full time. At least try it for one film, man. There's no need to ditch the gross-out schtick -- Chasing Amy proved it could coexist harmoniously with adult drama -- but, if Smith were to make movies that are 100% accurate and truthful to his experience of the world, he might still become his generation's Woody Allen (better him than Edward Burns).

In one episode of "Train Wreck" -- a series of short featurettes that appeared on the View Askew site during the making of Clerks II -- Smith shows his latest film to Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Smith quotes Tarantino's original reaction to Clerks, including his (completely non-pejorative) claim that Clerks was not a movie, but really a series of stand-up comedy routines. Not only was the spirit of stand-up comedy at the heart of Clerks, it's always been Smith's greatest strength on film and DVD. This is one of the reasons that, as Smith said on a recent episode of Ebert & Roeper, An Evening with Kevin Smith is more popular with some of his fans than any of the films he's directed. It's also the reason that his DVDs are so entertaining: they offer pure Kevin Smith, undiluted by the demands of visual storytelling and fictional narrative.

I could devote five whole reviews to the features on these discs -- they're stacked -- but here's a quick overview. In addition to a slew of deleted scenes, bloopers, and "Train Wreck" episodes, these discs include "A Closer Look at Interspecies Erotica" (this is really just a making-of featurette that focusses on the donkey show sequence) and an incredibly good 90-minute documentary entitled Back to the Well: Clerks II. This is the kind of making-of that actually warrants some consideration as a film in its own right. While DVD has made docs of this kind more common than ever before, documentaries about movies are now a ghettoized genre. If this weren't the case, I could actually see this film playing to some mild acclaim at festivals. By the way, for a humorous look at Smith's relationship with his daughter, stay right through the end credits.

Of course, the real attraction is the trio of audio commentaries, all of which feature Smith and his male soul mate, producer Scott Mosier. In one commentary, they are joined by their old film school buddy/cinematographer David Klein, who they were forced to abandon after Chasing Amy, in order to work with more experienced cinematographers (including the great Vilmos Zsigmond, who now appears to be one of Smith's arch enemies). Smith is so pleased with Clerks II -- his favorite View Askew picture to date -- that he claims he'll never work without Klein again. This disc also includes the notorious, un-used, in-theatre, podcast commentary (featuring actor Jeff Anderson) and a hilariously gossipy cast track.

When all is said and done, the Clerks II DVD is as funny, entertaining, and heartfelt as the movie itself. Here's hoping there's more quality Kevin Smith wherever this came from. -- Jonathan Doyle