A Thought On Clerks II.

A funny thought occurred to me while thinking about Clerks II today. Having it fresh in my mind, I came to the realization that many of the themes championed by Kevin Smith in the movie are really wrong-headed (slacker pride?) and part of his problem is that he subscribes to them.

Think about it. Kevin Smith IS Dante.

That guy who is always on the precipice of change but the more the expectations heap up due to age or ability the more frozen he gets. He makes a movie like Clerks and it feels right. Just like Dante and Randal, Kevin Smith is stuck in the past, relying on what is comfortable for him rather than challenging or expanding himself. That is why he is 33 years old and is still playing a character that acts like a junior in high school. He can't let go. And while their was a certain nobility to that in the first movie eleven or so years ago--the resistance to give up youth for the cynicism of rat race adulthood--it has become unseemly at this point.

Please make movies that aren't about the person you were ten or fifteen years ago. After awhile it has all been said and done. Pop culture wars and taboo sex conversations have been done in four previous movies. Time for something else.