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NEW THIS WEEK
CLERKS II. In Kevin Smith's follow-up to his breakout 1994 cult hit, Clerks, we catch up with that film's hapless pair, Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randall (Jeff Anderson). Now in their 30s, they're grinding away at a burger joint. Smith's genially vulgar film snapshots one day, as the two harass customers, squabble, riff on pop culture and ponder the future. Parts of Clerks II are as frustratingly amateurish as ever (Smith reprises his deeply unfunny Silent Bob routine). However, the film is buoyed by Rosario Dawson (as the duo's boss); a few choice cameos (that's you, Wanda Sykes!); and an actual plot. It seems Dante's in danger of maturing, and he might bring the whole gang along - after the donkey sex show, naturally. Hardcore fans of Clerks might scream "sell out" but Smith's older, too: As much the earlier film represented his own youthful retail hijinks, today, he's a family man and wage-earner, and we've solid hope that there won't be a Clerks III. Starts Fri., July 21. (AH) **
THE GREAT NEW WONDERFUL. New York City, September 2002: In Danny Leiner's dramedy, the previous autumn's events are a fog through which his characters must fumble while awaiting some cathartic moment that will free their grief and rage, and propel them forward. Among the protagonists of five intercut narratives are an ambitious cake-designer (Maggie Gyllenhaal); the parents of a troubled boy; a pair of bodyguards for an Indian general; an office drone (Jim Gaffigan); and a lonely housewife (Olympia Dukakis). The film is well acted, and Leiner occasionally nails pitch-perfect moments of human nature. The problem is that his intent - literalizing the psychic aftermath of 9/11 - is often so obvious as to appear amateurish: Must a man say "everything has changed" while posed against the backdrop of lower Manhattan? Other narrative twists ring more convenient than realistic, and while perfectly watchable, Great New feels more like an exercise than a truly organic story. Starts Fri., July 21. Oaks (AH) ***
LADY IN THE WATER. After discovering a mysterious girl-like creature in the pool, a building manager (Paul Giamatti) begins to suspect he's in an alternate reality. M. Night Shyamalan directs this off-kilter fairy tale. Starts Fri., July 21.
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