A calamity at Dante and Randall's shops sends them looking for new horizons - but they ultimately settle at Mooby's, a fictional Disney-McDonald's-style fast-food empire.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.1/10
IMDb: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 63%
Metacritic: 65
TMDB: 6.9/10
Director
Kevin Smith
Production
The Weinstein Company, View Askew Productions
Cast
Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, Ben Affleck, Trevor Fehrman, Scott Mosier, Jason Lee, Jake Richardson, Ethan Suplee, Harley Quinn Smith, Kevin Weisman, Wanda Sykes, Zak Knutson, Kevin Michael Richardson, Walt Flanagan, Earthquake, Grace Smith
Curator Review
Verdict
A crude, talky, and often very funny hangout sequel that trades the scrappy indie awkwardness of the original for broader jokes, bigger emotions, and a more polished crowd-pleaser shape. It works best when it leans into the chemistry between the leads and the unexpectedly sincere streak under all the filth; it stumbles when the shock humor feels forced or dated.
Best for
fans of raunchy buddy comedies with a sentimental core
viewers who like long conversations and pop-culture riffing
people open to politically incorrect humor
audiences curious about Kevin Smith’s more commercial, self-aware phase
Skip if
you want the raw, low-budget spontaneity of the first film
you’re sensitive to offensive jokes and juvenile sex humor
you prefer tightly plotted comedies over rambling dialogue
you dislike movies that mix sweetness with gross-out material
Overview
Clerks II is a sequel that knows exactly what it is: louder, broader, and more eager to please than the original, but still built around the same dead-end-workplace banter and friendship-first worldview. The move from the convenience store to fast food gives the movie a new kind of absurdity, and the cast clicks whenever it settles into routine, resentment, and dumb jokes among people who are clearly stuck together.
Worth noting
What’s most surprising is how often the film reaches for sincerity. Beneath the filthy punchlines and endless pop-culture chatter, there’s a real melancholy about getting older, losing your first job, and realizing that your life has not become what you imagined. That emotional layer gives the movie more shape than its reputation suggests, even if the comedy can be uneven and occasionally exhausting.
Bottom line
It’s not as sharp or as fresh as the original, and some of the humor feels aggressively of its moment. But as a hangout comedy with a streak of sweetness, it has enough charm, chemistry, and messy energy to justify the trip for the right audience.
Top Letterboxd reviews
SilentDawn (1★) · 588 likes
12
It's almost comical how terrible Clerks II is compared to the original film. Clerks at least had the decency to productively convey working-class malaise and the stagnation of pop-culture. The Quick Stop employees were bored out of their minds, and they always had the energy to complain, but it was sympathetic to the ceaseless, hellish industry of retail and service work. Kevin Smith maxed out credit cards and took out loans and shot the film from store close-to-open for… more
Bryan Espitia (4.5★) · 480 likes
And then right after the Sam-Frodo suckfest, right before the credits roll, Sam fucking flat-out BRICKS in Frodo’s mouth
Oliver (0.5★) · 287 likes
kevin smith movies are like those paintings dementia patients do where you can see their condition slowly worsening
MovieBoy (4★) · 271 likes
“The Weinstein Company presents” is a terrifying jumpscare at the beginning of this
ava adore (5★) · 261 likes
honestly, clerks II isn't even a real movie it's just a big joke that kevin smith cleverly concocted somehow. from the ABC scene that makes absolutely no sense and has little to no context to kinky kelly and the sexy stud to the jail scene with heart? to porch monkey to the 1979 smashing pumpkins montage i don't know how this was even made how did kevin smith do this this also proves that he's not even a real person… more honestly, clerks II isn't even a real movie it's just a big joke that kevin smith cleverly concocted somehow. from the ABC scene that makes absolutely no sense and has little to no context to kinky kelly and the sexy stud to the jail scene with heart? to porch monkey to the 1979 smashing pumpkins montage i don't know how this was even made how did kevin smith do this this also proves that he's not even a real person… more