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Clerks II

Got a hot date this weekend? Why not woo your special gal or guy by taking them to the latest Kevin Smith flick? But don’t depend on getting great conversation fodder out of lines like, “How can we book our own donkey show?” Maybe it’s been a while since you saw Smith’s first movie, the black-and-while convenience store indie flick, Clerks. Or maybe this is the first film in the director’s ouvre that you’re seeing. Either way, here are a few bits of trivia you can use to impress your date.

Dante Hicks: In the first Clerks we meet Dante Hicks, college dropout and employee of the Quick Stop convenience store. Hicks can’t seem to catch a break: In the span of a day, he’s ticketed by cops for selling cigarettes to an underage girl, terrorized by a Chewlie’s gum rep, and horrified to find out that his ex-girlfriend just had sex with a dead old guy in the store’s bathroom. Memorable quote: “I’m not even supposed to be here today!”

Randal Graves: In Clerks, Randal Graves works at the video store in the same shopping center as the Quick Stop. Unlike Hicks, Graves delights in torturing customers by ordering porn in front of a mother cradling her young daughter, ignoring a woman looking for advice on her movie choice, and showing porn to a prude bespectacled Quick Stop customer. Oh, and he knocks over a casket at a former schoolmate’s funeral. Memorable quote: “This job would be great if it wasn’t for the fucking customers.”

Jay and Silent Bob: Jay and Silent Bob, played by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith himself, appear in Smith’s flicks in large part to terrorize the main characters. In Clerks, Jay makes drug deals in front of the Quick Stop, makes a Russian friend sing metal lyrics, and makes fun of customers while Bob mostly stands around in general apathy.

In case you missed it: This week, Kevin Smith and Good Morning America film critic Joel Siegel had a bit of a face-off. Siegel stormed out of a Clerks II screening, making a spectacle of himself and Smith took issue with his unprofessional attitude on the Opie and Anthony radio show (read more).

The cameos: In Clerks II, you’ll see a few cameos from some major celebs including Jason Lee and Ben Affleck. Did you know they were in Smith’s other films as well? In Mallrats (1995), Lee played Brodie Bruce while Affleck played Shannon Hamilton. In Chasing Amy (1997), Lee was Banky Edwards while Affleck was Holden McNeil. In Dogma (1999), Lee is Azrael while Affleck is Bartleby. And in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Lee reprises his roles as Brodie and Banky while Affleck plays McNeil and himself. Affleck is also in the less-than-successful Jersey Girl (2004) as Ollie Trincke. ALYSSA RASHBAUM

Talk: What did you talk about with your date after seeing Clerks II? COMMENT

On the Web: clerks2.com