Synopsis

After the Quick Stop burns down, longtime clerks Dante Hicks and Randal Graves are forced to leave behind the only workplace they have known. They take minimum-wage jobs at a Mooby's fast-food restaurant, where Dante's plans for marriage and a new life clash with Randal's refusal to grow up. Their old friends Jay and Silent Bob return, helping the pair confront adulthood, loyalty, and stalled ambitions.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film takes place roughly twelve years after the original Clerks, echoing the real-world gap between the two productions.

• Unlike the original, which was filmed in black and white, Clerks II was shot primarily in color. The change reflects the characters' movement into a larger, more commercial world while preserving the low-key View Askewniverse style.

• The project went through several working titles, including Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin and The Passion of the Clerks. The final title was simplified after the latter drew a negative response.

• Kevin Smith had promised Jason Mewes another appearance as Jay if Mewes overcame his drug addiction. Mewes' recovery became one of the personal motivations behind bringing the characters back.

• Smith documented the production through a series of online video diaries. Many of those behind-the-scenes pieces were later included with the film's home-video releases.

• The film screened out of competition at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and later won the Audience Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

• Produced for about $5 million, Clerks II earned approximately $27 million worldwide and became one of Smith's more commercially successful independent features.

• The film was initially expected to risk an NC-17 rating because of its explicit humor, but it ultimately received an R rating without cuts.