Review: Clerks 2

Bechdel test: Fail
Feminist points: 
Movie: 

Writer, Director, Editor, Podcaster, TV presenter, Shop owner, Busiest man in Hollywood, Kevin Smith gives us his sequel to Clerks (1994). This is for me a re-watch after I heard that he secured finance for upcoming Clerks 3.

 

Smith isn’t known for his complex female characters, but at least here’s a director who gives his actors substantial dialogue and creates characters that you love and hate and want to see again, we’ve so far seen Jay and Silent Bob in 6 of his movies and in at least 2 guest appearances in Scream 3 (2000) and Fanboys (2009).

Even though I’m a huge fan, Clerks 2 has got some minor problems with its gender roles. Dante’s (Brian O’Halloran) wife for example has a t-shirt saying ‘mrs Hicks’, she is therefore ‘branded’. Is she his property now? Is she an object?

On the other hand, they do refer to her as ‘his golden ticket’, since her parents are going to give him a better job and help them to buy a house. Is he a gold digger?

 

I’m sorry about the lack of deep thought and insight into this films gender politics, but I guess I’m just watching it through rose tinted glasses.

 

Don’t miss 1:

One of the best scenes of all time!!!

Don’t miss 2:
Kevin Smiths wife Jennifer Schwalbach playing Emma.

Don’t miss 3:
Jay’s Dogma T-shirt.

Don’t miss 4:
Producer Scott Mosier in a cameo.

 

 

-D

Review: Walk of Shame

Bechdel test: Yes
Feminist points: 
Movie: 

Meghan (Elizabeth Banks) is a local news anchor who’s on her way to the top with a job lined up at the national TV channel CNB. After a drunken night, she’s stranded in downtown L.A. without a way to get home, and she’s only got 8 hours to get to work and impress CNB.

As you can imagine, Walk of Shame is not the most nuanced movie. Apparently there are two types of women: good girls and bad girls. Good girls are upper middle class TV news anchors and bad girls are prostitutes.

On her walk of shame, she manages to get a ride from a cab driver who wants 4 lap dances as payment for the ride, and when she refuses, threatens her with a gun. It’s always fun when someone threatens with violence to get sexual enjoyment. After that she runs into the stereotypical black drug dealer, and his two friends. They are the typical bad guys who are actually quite friendly and helpful. I guess that’s how you can get away with such a terrible stereotype (hey, they’re actually nice and friendly).

I’m not going to go through all the terrible things that are wrong with this film, but just leave you with the sad truth that, THE JOKE of the movie is that our heroine Meghan is a good girl until she puts on a “slutty” dress, after that she gets mistaken for a stripper, a prostitute (several times) and a temptress. Unfortunately, this is the only joke, and it ain’t funny.

-D