Review: Retreaded nostalgia is not enough to save 'Clerks III' from redundancy

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Clerks III
2.5 out of 5 Stars
Director: Kevin Smith
Writer: Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, Austin Zajur, Jason Mewes, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Smith
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R for pervasive language, crude sexual material, and drug content.

Studio Synopsis: Following a massive heart attack, Randal enlists his friends and fellow clerks Dante, Elias, Jay, and Silent Bob to make a movie immortalizing his life at the convenience store that started it all.

Review: Growing up in the shadow of the Sundance Film Festival, I knew a whole lot more about the state of independent cinema than you might expect for a teen living in the wasteland of suburbia. So, I knew about films like “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” “Reservoir Dogs,” and “Clerks” long before I saw them.

My studies at university were a mix of English and performing arts. Initially, my focus was theater, but I inevitably was pulled towards a variety of film courses that ultimately paved my way to becoming a film journalist a decade later.

Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith were buzzwords among the students in my screenwriting class. I preferred the oddness of Richard Linklater’s “Slacker” and Hong Kong action films. The more I heard about “Clerks” and subsequently “Mallrats,” the less interested I became. It was 1997’s “Chasing Amy” that ultimately pushed me towards Smith’s debut film.

I was working at a music and video store at the time. I knew exactly the culture that Smith was riffing on. It just didn’t interest me. The Askewniverse films weren’t my thing.

From this outsider's position, “Clerks III” feels like a tired version of “Clerks” as it recycles jokes with little or no positive effect. Any emotional depth is undercut by the unfunny comedic bits. It’s a series of bad skits that only the most dedicated fans might find some nostalgic magic in. For me, it was like watching “Cars 2,” a sequel that exists to flog its fanbase for whatever they’re still worth. I didn’t hate it. I didn't care enough to. I found it to be annoying. There's potential for character growth and an opportunity for Smith to do something new with the franchise. Sadly, no.

You know when people get together and recreate family photos from their childhood? They’re just trying to have a laugh with those who were there, maybe go viral in the process, but the joke is rarely funny to anyone not in the room. It was novel the first time. Now, it’s all been done before.

The awkward Jay and Silent Bob selling marijuana scene is emblematic of the entire film. I get the joke. The world has moved on. Maybe Smith should too. In this golden age of geekdom, there must be something original that he could do.