Much as he did with Jay & Silent Bob Reboot a few years ago, Clerks III has Kevin Smith returning to the good ol’ days with a threequel to the film that started it all. And somehow, we’ve gone even more meta than Reboot, as this sequel to Clerks is… well, about making the movie Clerks.
Along with being a certified cinematic classic, and one of my personal favourite films, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? has become quite influential in how modern tentpole cinema is marketed nowadays. From Ready Player One to Ralph Breaks The Internet, right down to Avengers: Endgame, the big studios have been banking on productions that exist primarily for crossover potential between the different properties that they own. Except, while its position as an intercompany crossover is certainly part of the appeal (seeing Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse on-screen together still carries a certain childish thrill to it even today), Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was about much more than just the crossovers. Up to this point, it seemed like it would be one of many Hollywood successes where all the wrong lessons were taken as to why it was successful, just so modern studios can try (and repeatedly fail) to recapture that magic. Well, until this film, that is.
