"Clerks II" *** (out of four): Kevin Smith has grown up, and he brings his original characters along for the ride.

I know I’m opening a proverbial Pandora’s Inbox by admitting this, but here goes: I was never a huge fan of the original “Clerks”. While I fit squarely into its geek/slacker demographic when the 1994 film was released - and I completely understood and appreciated its love for all things obsessively nerdy - I found it talky, stilted and dull. There. Let the flame war begin. That said – and for what its worth – writer-director Kevin Smith has definitely grown on me over the years. “Mallrats” and “Chasing Amy” were throwaways, but with 1999’s daringly frank “Dogma”, Mr. Smith showed that he could actually tell a story that had a purpose and, better still, a point.

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