CLERKS (1994)

Country: U.S.A.

Genre(s): Comedy

Director: Kevin Smith

Cast: Brian O’Halloran / Jeff Anderson / Marilyn Ghigliotti

Plot

Slackers Dante and Randal spend a day in their dead-end retail jobs insulting customers, playing hockey, watching porn, and discussing the health risks of fellating one’s self.

What I Liked

There are shoe-string budgets and then there are tooth floss budgets.  “Clerks” was made for somewhere around $27,000.  Considering that, this should have been a movie that barely made the straight-to-video market and then disappeared.  Instead, it became a cult classic and sparked the successful career of writer-director Kevin Smith.  One of those movies that was praised as speaking for (or to) suburban Gen-X youth in the nineties (“Singles,” “Reality Bites,” “Slacker,” etc. etc.), “Clerks” might be the most authentic, and certainly the funniest, of them all.  The reason for that authenticity is because, unlike some of the others, the filmmakers for this one probably didn’t set out to speak for anyone at all, but just to make a funny, low-budget movie they themselves would enjoy.  Its partly autobiographical inspiration and being shot on the very location where Smith himself worked didn’t hurt.  Neither does having a soundtrack featuring some of the best rock bands of the era, including Alice in Chains, Bad Religion, and C.O.C.

Taking place inside basically two locations, filled with shouting matches about pointless subjects, producing a number of quotable lines, and focusing on the insecurities and neuroticisms of its main characters, the movie’s appeal generates from its being something of a “Seinfeld” for Generation X.  The script is much dirtier (debating the subtle nuances of hermaphrodite porn, for example) but similar in comedic approach.  As with that classic sitcom, it is the snarky dialogue delivered at a rapid-fire tempo, quirky characters, and humiliating situations that make it unique and memorable.

What I Didn’t Like

I personally think Smith is a far better screenwriter than he is a director.  There’s little directorial flair here, basically straight-forward shots, minimal camera movement, and the positioning and movement of the actors seems too rigid and restricted.  A lot of this can be blamed on the limitations put on Smith by budget, technology, and location.  However, considering these limitations to his style improved only slightly in his later, bigger budget films, they’re more indicative of Smith himself than of his opportunities.

I don’t know if Smith used mostly friends to play the various customers who wander in and out of the convenience store throughout the movie.  It would make sense if he did, considering he certainly couldn’t have afforded to pay too many professionals.  It would also make sense because a lot of the people in the movie couldn’t act their way through a middle school play.  With a few exceptions, they’re stiff and awkward and deliver their dialogue in a rehearsed manner.  Ultimately though, the amateurish acting is part of the movie’s low-budget charm.

Most Memorable Scene

“Try not to suck any dick on your way through the parking lot!”  Ha!

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5