BASIC rules of film reviewing - don't give away the ending, never offend the filmgoing public and always appear to know more about movies than is strictly accurate.

First off I'm fine - to reveal the denouement of Kevin Smith's Clerks II would breach several obscenity laws.

Some of the best gags are also out of bounds, for fear of offending racial and sexual sensibilities.

At least I've seen all of Smith's previous efforts - from the original Clerks through Mallrats, Chasing Amy and Dogma to Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Bingo!

The original Clerks, shot entirely in black and white, was Smith's breakthrough effort, revolving around a day in the life of a deeply dysfunctional convenience store.

Zippily-scripted and a classic slice of the 90s, it also introduced the world to slacker anti-heroes Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and a mute Smith).

Since then, each effort has ripped off this formula - featuring a broadly similar cast - Clerks' Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson appear in most, as do Jay and Silent Bob, while Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are regulars.

Disappointingly, (for me anyway), this sequel fails to find room for the very lovely Joey Lauren Adams. But there are compensations along the way ...

Fast forward a few years from the convenience store drudgery of Clerks and we find Dante (O'Halloran) and Randall (Anderson) manacled to another pair of McJobs.

Burger flippers at downmarket fast food emporium Mooby's, little appears to have changed for our heroes.

But wait, Dante has done the impossible and snared his high school crush (Jennifer Swalbach).

Where will this leave Randall? And will Dante's heavy flirting with boss Becky (Rosario Dawson) ever go anywhere?

Another day in the life kind of movie, like the original, Clerks II is never going to knock you over with fiendish plotting.

And a good portion of the gags will probably sicken right-thinking people everywhere.

But for anyone who's followed the adventures of Smith's misfit slackers it nicely ties up loose ends.

And if you've ever wondered how offensive certain phrases might be to a black man, this is your kind of film.

Peter Magill.