It's with some shame that I admit that Clerks easily makes my top five comedies of all time list. It's grimy, the acting is terrible and the writing is sub-sophomoric. Despite it all, I'd rather watch Jason Mewes mutter "Olaf, metal" than the latest flash-in-the-pan, interchangeable Will Ferrell/Ben Stiller/Owen Wilson/Vince Vaughn comedy. How many movies have they starred in alone this year? Twenty with another dozen slated for release by October? Stop confusing the "l" with the "n," boys.

Anyway, the rest of director Kevin Smith's catalog earns a "meh" at best. Mallrats is neat riff on '80s suburban comedies and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is the guiltiest of guilty pleasures. The rest? To put it delicately, it's all crappy-crap crap.

After the disappointing box offices returns of his last film, Jersey Girl, Smith's camp revealed this morning that he's going back to the well. Clerks 2: The Passion of the Clerks will be produced with a budget between $250,000 and $5 million (?). It's slated for a 2005 release and I couldn't be happier. The premise:

"'It's about what happens when that lazy, 20-something malaise lasts into your 30s. Those dudes are kind of still mired, not in that same exact situation, but in a place where it's time to actually grow up and do something more than just sit around and dissect pop culture and talk about sex,' Smith said during an interview at his Hollywood office. 'It's: What happened to these dudes?'"

Will it be terrible? Probably. Will it be better Old School*? Yes, yes it will.

* OK, so I've slapped another universally beloved movie. Old School has a few funny moments but it's completely toothless. If you're convinced the film is great, watch Animal House again and compare the two.