REEL CRITIC:Juvenile, puerile, stupidly funny

The original 1994 “Clerks” was shot in black and white on a shoestring budget. It focused on the insignificant lives of two losers at a shabby convenience store in a low-rent New Jersey town. It was full of raucous humor and gross sexual references. It was juvenile, stupidly funny and lacked any redeeming social value. Of course, it became a cult hit with the Gen. X crowd.

The “Clerks II” sequel arrives in living color with only slightly improved production values. Jeff Anderson and Brian O’Halloran play the same lovable losers. They are now in their 30s but still living the minimum-wage lifestyle. They work in a fast-food joint where they humiliate customers and mock every human sensibility. Be warned that they pontificate about all aspects of life and sex in extremely R-rated language.

The raunchy commentary produced a lot of boisterous laughter in the packed house at my screening. I laughed a lot in spite of my better judgment. There is also an attempt to have the aging drug abusers deal with some actual adult issues in this sequel. But in the end, it mainly delivers another hefty load of irreverent juvenile baloney. Many members of Gen. X left this nonsense behind long ago for real grown-up jobs and relationships.