Customer Reviews

Clerks II: The Screenplay

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2 star:		(1)
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I really dig Kevin Smith's movies -- people can turn on him if they want, but the man has a flair for dialogue few filmmakers can match. This movie seemed to many like just another dip at the well, going back after 12 years and making a sequel to his first film. Remarkably, though, Smith managed to not only turn in a satisfying movie, but perhaps the best work of his career.

While the first Clerks was simply a day in the life of Dante and Randal, Clerks II is perhaps the most important day in their lives -- Dante is engaged and about to move to Florida, and as was the case in the original film, he still hasn't taken control of his life. Randal, on the other hand, is bouncing from place to place, content just to follow his best friend. The first movie was what it's like to be aimless in your 20s. This movie is about being in your 30s and only beginning to realize what your life is supposed to be. For all the lewd jokes and blue comedy, there's a depth and heart to this story that perhaps makes it Smith's finest, most honest work.

This book, simply, is the screenplay of the movie. I enjoy reading screenplays as a sort of writing tutorial -- I like seeing how the words translate to the film. If you erad screenplays for any reason, and you're a fan of Smith's work, this is a book worth reading.

From what I have skimmed over anyway. I love movies, I want to be a writer and I am considering making an indie film. I find the best way for me to learn to tell stories is from the pro's. I learned to write comic scripts from the comics pro's and I have learned to write screen-plays from the pro's as well.

So this movie is essentially reading the Clerks 2 movie. I loved Clerks 2. So when I read this not only to I get the joy of watching the movie in my head, but I also get to learn how to write a type of screen-play. I say "a type" because this is the shooting script I believe it said. Where as the shooting script and first version are two different things.

Kevin Smith does it again.
Book design A+
Nice softback, full color, with spot varnish.
Easy to read font inside.
Middle section movie stills is full color 8 pages 2 sided.
This will be a great companion piece when the dvd comes out.

It's a nice book, but it doesn't have the whole movie. It is as if they wrote it after the movie was edited. If you check the dvd, there are deleted scenes that didn't make the movie and were taken out of the screenplay such as the whole conversation while they were in the car coming back from go-karting (which had the best line in the movie..."oh dude, keep it tasteful!"). If you buy the Dogma screenplay, it has all the extras scenes that were left on the cutting room floor, including the great one of Jason Lee explaining that evil is an abstract.

I am a huge Kevin Smith fan so i had to give it an extra star, but i wanted more than just the movie verbatim. More time was spent on the pictures and design of the cover. They left out the orginal screenplay.