49. Clerks 2 (2006)

Director: Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith

Back in 1994, Kevin Smith's lo-fi directorial debut Clerks shook up the independent film market with its seemingly no-budget production values, naturalistic conversations, and lifelike pace. Nothing about the black-and-white comedy seemed familiar, and especially not typical of Hollywood's usual funny-movie clichés. You know, the kinds of genre rehashes that Smith littered throughout the utterly conventional Clerks 2.

While it adheres to Smith's popular formula of potty-mouth jokes and nerdy pop culture references, this mediocre sequel feels like a dirtier-than-usual romantic comedy starring amateurish actors and an out-of-place Rosario Dawson. Clerks 2 falls somewhere between Smith's older crassness and later sensitivity, ultimately showcasing his underlying insecurities as a filmmaker at the time. To indulge in poop jokes or to favor mushiness? Unable to center upon one or the other, Clerks 2 merely shits the bed.