I'm Sold on Clerks II (the pun tribute to Joel Siegel)
By the fuss Joel Siegel made about Clerks II, it's clear that grandparents just don't understand.
I grew up a Kevin Smith fan and I knew he had returned to old form when I heard Joel Siegel couldn't even sit through the entire film – a stark contrast from the Cannes Film Festival audience who gave the film an 8 minute standing ovation.
I saw the movie, opening night of course, and I walked away thinking it was one of Smith's more complete films. It had all the dirt, grime, and shock one would expect from a Clerks movie (and maybe a little extra thrown in for good measure), but in contrast to the original, it even pulled a heart string or two. The film put the spotlight on the common sentiment that grows in each of us as we pack on the years – the fear that we have wasted our lives.
Now it's possible that the whole Siegel/Smith controversy is a well orchestrated publicity stunt (hear them discuss Siegel's behavior here), but it's more likely the generation difference between Siegel, Smith, and myself is more significant than we realize.
A film that explores the intricacies of a Donkey show and whether or not it is acceptable to go "ass to mouth" qualifies for classic status with one age group, but falls down at the starting line with another. It's not that the vulgar content causes it to be a classic, but it is part of the entire fabric of the film. It embraces our natural curiousity and our natural desire to laugh at, or explore, that which is deemed unacceptable by society.
It is surprising to me that a professional critic, who has no doubt seen incredibly violent and dirty films, was unable to see how something like a donkey show contributes to the overall plot and thematic content of this film.
But that's the nature of a conservative outlook: Why try to understand something when you can judge (and not the judging Siegel should have been doing).
I grew up a Kevin Smith fan and I knew he had returned to old form when I heard Joel Siegel couldn't even sit through the entire film – a stark contrast from the Cannes Film Festival audience who gave the film an 8 minute standing ovation.
I saw the movie, opening night of course, and I walked away thinking it was one of Smith's more complete films. It had all the dirt, grime, and shock one would expect from a Clerks movie (and maybe a little extra thrown in for good measure), but in contrast to the original, it even pulled a heart string or two. The film put the spotlight on the common sentiment that grows in each of us as we pack on the years – the fear that we have wasted our lives.
Now it's possible that the whole Siegel/Smith controversy is a well orchestrated publicity stunt (hear them discuss Siegel's behavior here), but it's more likely the generation difference between Siegel, Smith, and myself is more significant than we realize.
A film that explores the intricacies of a Donkey show and whether or not it is acceptable to go "ass to mouth" qualifies for classic status with one age group, but falls down at the starting line with another. It's not that the vulgar content causes it to be a classic, but it is part of the entire fabric of the film. It embraces our natural curiousity and our natural desire to laugh at, or explore, that which is deemed unacceptable by society.
It is surprising to me that a professional critic, who has no doubt seen incredibly violent and dirty films, was unable to see how something like a donkey show contributes to the overall plot and thematic content of this film.
But that's the nature of a conservative outlook: Why try to understand something when you can judge (and not the judging Siegel should have been doing).
