... At least for now. Smith posted that filming on the next Jay and Silent
Bob film is to begin this November:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Blv4stHAQUC/?hl=en&tak...
Additionally, Smith apparently has a "Clerks III" script done and ready to go, only some of the actors do not wish to return. But hopefully, that will change one day. But until the next Jay and Silent Bob movie and "Clerks III," View Askew, after six movies, an animated series, and various comic books have found itself back to where it began, with Dante and Randal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8zCwVOT1U4
"Clerks II" begins with Dante opening the Quick Stop, as he does every day, only to find it on fire. The fire escalates and burns down both the convenient store and RST VIdeo, Randal's place of business. In need of work, the duo finds occupation at a Mooby's fast food joint, a fictional location that has appeared throughout the View Askew film series. And just as it's predecessor took place entirely at the strip in Leonardo, New Jersey, "Clerks II" almost never leaves Mooby's making it the new beacon of a slackers paradise.
The big difference, the sequel to "Clerks," is entirely in color, save for the introduction and closing of the film. But all in all, Dante is still not where he wants to be in life, and Randal is content as long as he has his best friend.
While "Clerks" clearly shines a light on Dante's insecurities and desires, "Clerks II" becomes that of Randal's story. Dante is still arguably the lead, with much of the focus looking at the changes in his life; he's getting married, moving to Florida by the weekend with his bride to be, and will be working for her dad, leaving Randal alone at Mooby's. Randals' side of the story, however, gains more attention than in the first outing.
In this movie, the tone shifts. We watched as Dante did nothing to steer his life move in a better direction in the first venture. Here, we watch as he forces it to move in the way he thinks it makes sense. He's not in love with the girl he's to marry, is tangled in an affair with his manager, Becky, and he isn't excited about going to Florida. But he believes that's what he needs to do to mature and be an adult, in order to leave the life he's been living for the past 12 years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8zCwVOT1U4
Randal again acts as a voice of reason. He brings up the point that moving forward isn't something that needs to be by the book for everyone. Becky is what makes Dante happy. Being in Jersey makes Dante happy. Why throw it away?
Just as "Clerks" follows Dante complaining about the entire movie, only for Randal to have a closing monologue that puts it all in perspective, "Clerks II" does the same. Only, in the sequel, we get more insight into Randal. The speech shows more about him than it does offer wisdom, as in the predecessor. It's probably the best scene in "Clerks II," and it brings to the forefront that thing I always go on about... heart. (Skip to the 1:48 mark for the start of the speech).
There are a million laughs to be had in this movie, with new characters returning, a sing-along/dance scene and a new, sober and weirder version of Jay. But the most subtle message in the movie, a sadder, more realistic note, is the return to black and white, and what that means for Dante and Randal.
After the clip shown above, the duo re-opens the quick stop. As their first day "open" begins, the camera slowly pans away and the colors fade back to black and white. All the positivity is gone. Randal and Dante, almost look regretful, as the "milkmaid" from "Clerks" has a brief cameo shuffling through the milk searching for the longest expiration dates once more.
I think the point here, is that life doesn't always work out the way you want it to. Life is full of sadness, and struggle and that part never goes away, regardless of who you're with or what you're doing. Sadly, things will never really make sense, and that perpetual state of searching can never really be fulfilled.
That is a hard pill to swallow. It isn't sad, it's part of the mystery of life, it's the balance to all the good we are fortunate enough to experience. But it's hard to accept nevertheless. The problems Dante had just out of college stayed with him to the day the Quick Stop burnt down. Those problems didn't disappear when he was working at Mooby's, ready to move to Florida. After Randal exclaims that buying back the Quick Stop will solve all their problems, guess what's still ever present? Those same problems.
Dante tries to run away from his shortcomings and insecurities, rather than face them and overcome them. That's why he's failed to live. Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson (Dante Hicks and Randal Graves respectively) play various characters throughout the View Askew series, with O'Halloran mostly playing Dante's cousins (each film seems to have a different Hicks relative). The only other time they play Dante and Randal outside of a "Clerks" film, however, is in "Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back," where they're still stuck at the Quick Stop and RST Video. Their lives never changed, because they never faced them.
It's a pretty heavy pill, as stated, especially after the majority of the film's tone is that of blissful, with Randal's speech seemingly serving as the answer to his and Dante's concerns. But it's a necessary pill, to have as the closing.
With that. the View Askew articles are over! That is until the next Jay and Silent Bob movie comes out, and fingers crossed "Clerks III" follows soon after that!
