Variety – “Clerks II Review”

“…The use of color may strike some auds as a concession to the mainstream (the first “Clerks” wore its grungy monochrome like a badge of honor), as might the prominently played and occasionally gooey scenes of romantic flirtation between Dante and Becky, some of which involve toenail-painting. Yet if “Clerks II” doesn’t have quite the scabrous kick of its predecessor, the chance to revisit a classic premise must have renewed the writer in Smith, whose banter here often achieves a sharpness and quality that haven’t been in evidence since 1999’s “Dogma.””

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**SPOILERS AHEAD** Ecran Large (French Review) Translated

12 years after the premiere of Clerks and its model employees, Kevin Smith brings back his anti-heroes Dante Hicks and Randal Graves to where he left them, not far from Quick Stop, between the used K7 videos and the out-of-date bricks of milk. And nothing’s really changed, just the black and white of the era, at least before their minimarket dies in flames. Head towards Mooby’s, the local fast food store and cave of idolisation of Dogma, to have long conversations no longer of the Star Wars trilogy, but about Peter Jackson or the future live adaptation of Transformers!! You have to see it to believe it.

Seeing it is already a good thing, but seeing the film at a midnight screening at Cannes with the film’s team in a room of fans is a whole other experience. If it’s of course necessary to have seen Clerks, in 1994 or in a catch-up session just before the festival, it is also advised to know the multiple works of Kevin Smith, from Mallrats to Chasing Amy, passing by Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back.

A true life of cinemas, which gives this new Clerks all its value, all its savour. Indeed, if the adventures of Bluntman and Chronic can amuse or the loving disputes of Ben Affleck and Jason Lee can move you, the every day life that is so commonplace and nevertheless so removed in Quick Stop is a summary of life, friendship, love (why not!) and especially of humor. It’s hard to count the number of scathing retorts (homophobic, racist, sexist, vulgar etc) of Randal, or to stop laughing at the hilarious send-up of the Lord of the Rings (”men who march”).

If purists will regret a maybe less bitter tone compared to the first Clerks, they should not forget that Kevin Smith is, like his pals Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) and Joss Whedon (Buffy), the spokesman (involuntary, unconscious) of time and of a popular culture. The fan boys today have the power, and the film is more accessible but not compromised. It shows with the ease that he manages to introduce two new and quickly inescapable characters, the cracking Rosario Dawson and the hilarious Trevor Fehrman. Or how he meets the challenge of the emotion of the scene between both of these more model employees. So, at the end, the most commonplace sentence of the world – “today is the first day of the rest of our lives” – returns to the heart. The standing ovation of more than a quarter of an hour was deserved… I was there.

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JoBlo.com – “Clerks II Review”

“…As for the film itself, well, on the whole it succeeds on the same sort of level that the first film worked on, as a guy living in this day and age, in his 20s. This film is geared more toward those people who still haven’t found happiness or direction in their lives, despite being in their 30s, and all of the pressures/expectations that come with that. But before I make it all sound like a bore, trust me when I say that this film’s primary motivation is jokes, laughs, gags and vulgarity galore, so don’t be thinking that K. Smith has pussied out.

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When I first heard about this sequel being made, I was scared like many of you, but I’m happy to report that this is a solid movie with laughs galore, pop-culture reference galore, vulgarity and sexual connotations galore, and even a cute romance for the ladies in the audience. If you’re a fan of Kevin Smith and his previous films, I see no reason why this movie wouldn’t rock your balls off. Note: If you stay to the end of the credits you can see more “Thank yous” from Smith, as well as his tease that “Jay and Silent Bob might be back” in the future, and I for one, am suddenly aroused by that thought all over again. Snoochie bootchies, beeyatch!”

An 8 Minute Standing Ovation!

Last night, we debuted “Clerks II” at the Cannes Film Festival.

WireImage.com’s pics of the cast/crew arrival at the Palais, as well as pics from pre-and-post show.

With all the vitriol surrounding some of the press screenings of flicks there this year, I was pretty terrified “Clerks II”, also, might be greeted by a chorus of French Boos (and I ain’t talking about champagne).

However, after last night, I say “VIVA LA FRANCE!”

When the flick ended and the credits started rolling, a standing ovation began that lasted a full eight minutes. It was surreal and wonderful, and it just kept going and going. I looked to Harvey (Weinstein, our boss), that old Cannes war-horse, to see if the cast and I should start heading out of the theater: as it was two in the morning and the applause wasn’t showing any signs of stopping. But from two aisles back, he responded with a waving “No” finger at me, mouthing the words “Don’t move.” So we all stayed put.

By the time the credits ended, I figured the audience was done applauding as well.

But they weren’t.

They just kept on clapping. And thankfully, not only did Zack and Joey get the whole thing on tape to prove it all happened (watch for it in a new “Train Wreck” video blog, up this weekend), but Roger Friedman over at Fox411 was there was well, documenting what I have to say was one of the twenty most amazing moments of my life.

Read Roger’s Piece, “Clerks II Delights Cannes”, right here. But be warned: it also contains a very positive review of the flick that gives away some major plot points. SPOILERS ABOUND!

The applause finally stopped after eight minutes. Harvey was over the moon about it. “In my thirty years of coming here, I’ve never seen a standing ovation last that long at a midnight show in Cannes,” he said. “Ever.”

En route to the theater, I prayed that the notoriously fickle Cannes’ audience wouldn’t boo the flick. During the screening, I prayed that the film would keep playing as gang-busters as it had been playing up ’til that point, and that the audience stayed with us, rather than succumb to mid-flick naps. After the screening, I started praying that I never forget that insanely special moment that I shared with Jeff, Brian, Rosario, Mos and Jen – when time seemed to stand still, and at the world’s most famous film festival, we all stared wide-eyed (and wider-smiled) at a room-full of cats staring back at us (with equally wide smiles and palms cooked red from non-stop applause) who really, really “got” what we were trying to communicate with “Clerks II”.

Life comes down to a few major moments. Last night was definitely one of them.

“Clerks II” – July 21, in theaters everywhere.

The rumors are true…

“Clerks II” is coming out EVEN EARLIER THIS SUMMER!

In a ballsy move that says “Fuck you: we’re a five million dollar flick and we’re coming out in the fucking middle of the summer, bitches!”, Weinstein Co. has upped the “Clerks II” release date from August 18th to JULY 21st! The wait is now almost a month shorter, folks!

Why the move? Getting into Cannes changed everything. Since the film will have its world debut on May 26th, the Weinstein folks thought it’d make more sense to get the film out there sooner, rather than later. They found a weekend in which there wasn’t any flick that directly compete with the movie for an audience, and staked their claim.

Now, we’re opening against some pretty big flicks (”Lady in the Water”, “Monster House”), but nothing that’s appealing directly to our core audience. So while we’ll never open at number one (those two flicks alone are pretty mass-appeal movies), we stand to make a decent chunk of change and wind up somewhere in the top ten.

Good news for me, great news for anyone who’s been patiently waiting for “Clerks II” to open.

Peep the release schedule changes here… and also here.

(Note: those links list the film’s title as “Clerks II: The Passion of the Clerks”. That’s incorrect. It’s still simply good ol’ “Clerks II”.)

Potential big announcement coming either tomorrow or early next week. It’ll make a lot of impatient folks (me included) quite happy.

Sound mix was finished up at Skywalker on Sunday. Flick sounds great.

Also, in case you missed it, here’s the official “Clerks II” theatrical trailer.

As well as the YouTube “Train Wreck” exclusive .

SILICONE BRACELETS – These sweet Clerks II silicone wristbands feature the official Clerks II logo in white and debossed on a black silicone wristband. Very Durable and great looking, these bands will fit up to an 8″ inch wrist. $3/each or buy 10 for $25!

BOTTLE & CAN HOLDER – The Clerks II can and bottle cooler is guaranteed to keep your beverage cool on a hot day. Constructed of a high quality insulating material, these can coolers are black and feature the official Clerks II logo on one side and the Mooby Restaurant logo on the other along with the words, “Back in Business, August 18, 2006″. A bargain at only 3 bucks!

WRISTBANDS – These beautiful Clerks II wristbands measure 3″ inches in length and feature the official Clerks II logo embroidered on a black wristband. Made of a soft, durable terry material, these wristbands are the same style as you will find in sporting goods stores around the world. $5 each or get two for $9.

“This is the trailer that’s running in front of “Scary Movie 4″ (out tomorrow, in theaters). It’s got some spoiler-stuff in it, and I’m not a fan of all the music, but it’s the studio’s “commercial” sell on the flick. Let me know what you think.”