Kevin Smith's irreverent 2006 comedy Clerks 2 features a heap of cameos by movie stars, comedians and eccentric veterans of Smith's fictional universe, the View Askewniverse. Reuniting main cast members from the 1994 indie hit Clerks, the sequel's cheeky cameos and wickedly clever script transform the tedium of customer service into outrageous encounters of hilarity.
The low-budget, black-and-white independent film Clerks launched a relatively unknown Kevin Smith into rising stardom and spawned a trove of cult-classic movies, comics and a television series produced by Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. Nearly all of these mediums feature the offensive, but lovable duo - Jay and Silent Bob, played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively. Clerks centers on a day in the life of 20-something Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran), a dissatisfied convenience store clerk, and his slacker friend Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson) as they exchange profane banter, play hockey and endure dead-end jobs in the sleepy town of Leonardo, New Jersey. In true townie fashion, Jay and Silent Bob hang outside the Quick Stop where Dante works, dealing cannabis and wise-cracking obscenities to the amusement and irritation of passersby.
Clerks 2 picks back up a decade later with Dante and Randal still resisting the responsibilities of adulthood. Jay and Silent Bob have also returned with nominal change, still loitering in front of local businesses. When a fire burns down the Quick Stop, Dante and Randal find new, jobs at the local burger chain, Mooby's where Dante finds himself in a love triangle between his girlfriend (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith) and his Mooby's manager, Becky (Rosario Dawson). Meanwhile, Randal continues to shirk job duties as he offends customers and fends off the growing admiration of his fellow coworker, Elias (Trevor Fehrman). In addition to the main cast, Clerks 2 is packed with celebrity cameos and a number of View Askewniverse regulars.
Ben Affleck as Gawking Customer
Long before A-list actor Ben Affleck was an Academy Award-winning director or suiting up as Batman, the View Askewniverse veteran was lining up at the Mooby's counter for a quick cameo. Characterized as "Gawking Guy," a nod to other roles played by Affleck in Smith's other movies, Affleck's customer is disgusted by the hot and heavy PDA between Dante and his girlfriend Emma Bunting, played by Kevin Smith's real-life wife, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith. Before departing with his greasy bag of fast food, Affleck's character is heard muttering under his breath, "That's not very hygienic." His only speaking part in the film, the line was ad-libbed by Affleck.
Walt Flanagan as Pack-o-Smokes Guy
Comic book artist and manager of Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash comic book store, Walt Flanagan is a longtime friend of Smith who has most famously appeared in the recurring role as Walt "Fanboy" Grover in the Askewniverse. Having played 4 different roles in the original Clerks movie, Flanagan reprises his role as a cigarette shopper at the end of Clerks 2.
Zak Knutson as Sexy Stud
Here to teach us all about Interspecies Erotica is Sexy Stud in a kinky cameo by Zak Knutson. Wearing revealing leather chaps and proudly displaying a Playboy Bunny tattoo on his right upper thigh, Knutson performs an unabashed striptease to Samantha Fox's "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)." It's an outrageous scene that subverts the characters' expectations of kinky debauchery and makes the taboo topic matter uproariously funny.
Shannon Larratt and Rachel Larratt as Ear Guy and Counter Girl With Ear Guy
Shannon Larratt, the former editor, creator and owner of BMEzine - an online magazine that focuses on extreme body modifications - along with ex-wife Rachel Larratt, make a quick cameo as an alternative couple casting ironic judgment at the Mooby's counter.
Jason Lee as Lance Dowd
Another veteran of the View Askewniverse, Jason Lee (My Name is Earl) oozes slimy arrogance as Lance Dowd, a former high-school nerd and peer of Dante and Randal's who created and sold the fictitious search engine "Madducats.com" to Amazon.com for $20 million. Dowd arrives at the Mooby's counter under the pretense of buying fast food, but before he places an order, he begins to disparage Dante and Randal's choice of careers and dead-end job complacency. Randal fires back at Dowd with an embarrassing high-school story, reminding him of an infamous hazing incident when Dowd was forced to do some unmentionable things to a pickle.
Scott Mosier as Concerned Father
Scott Mosier, one of the film's editors and producers, has made a long list of cameos in Smith's movies. He makes a small cameo in Clerks 2 as a protective father shielding his daughter's eyes from the sight of Dante using the toilet.
Jake Richardson and Ethan Suplee as Weed Customers
Jake Richardson reprises his role as a character trying to buy a nickel bag of marijuana from Jay and Silent Bob outside of Mooby's. A younger version of this same character tried to score cannabis from the pair years earlier and was treated to Jay's profanity-laced rap rendition of The Time's "Jungle Love" in Smith's 2011 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. "He likes to sing," Richardson's character tells his teenage friend, played by Ethan Suplee - another pro of Smith's Askewniverse.
Harley Quinn Smith as Kid in Window and Grace Smith as Milk Maid
Smith's own daughter makes a swift cameo as a young girl who waves to Dante from outside the Mooby's window, while Smith's mother, Grace Smith, resumes her role of Milk Maid from the original Clerks movie. She can be seen at the end of Clerks 2 purchasing milk, an ode to the ending of the original film.
Wanda Sykes and Earthquake as Wife and Husband
Wanda Sykes brings her usual comedic acumen to the role of an irate customer who doesn't appreciate a side of racism with her Mooby's meal. With his usual ineptitude, Randal uses a racial slur during a lunch rush, triggering outrage from Sykes's "Wife" character, who gets fed up and storms out of Mooby's much to the hungry disappointment of her "Husband" (Earthquake). The encounter leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouths and Randal learns a thing or two about racial insensitivity and discovers his grandma may have been a racist.
Kevin Weisman as Hobbit Lover
"One ring to rule them all..." Elias says to no one in particular. But his The Lord of the Rings cries are answered with a cameo by Kevin Weisman, who supplies the next line of the One Ring's inscription. Weisman plays a customer caught in an epic battle of fandom arguing with Randal over the greatest movie trilogy of all time: The Lord of the Rings vs. Star Wars. Weisman's character passionately defends the world of Middle Earth, while Randal slathers his unique blend of profanity onto Peter Jackson's fantasy films in favor of George Lucas's Star Wars. "There's only one return, and it ain't of the King. It's of the Jedi," Randal declares. It's a hilarious scene in Clerks 2 that works for fans of both trilogies.