Clerks ---- ***1/2 (out of 5) (1994)
Cast: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonauer, Jason Mewes
Director(s): Kevin Smith
Screenwriter(s): Kevin Smith
Released on: November 4, 1994
Reviewed on: March 14, 2004
Rated: R - for graphic language and mature themes
The first film in director Kevin Smith's line of comedies is a humble amateur's endeavor. It was filmed by Smith himself with a black-and-white camera and with footage that wasn't given much heavy change when it went through editing. This does add effect to the end result that makes it feel more comfortable as a film, and I can't picture the "black-and-white" working with any other comedy if it wasn't about the simple lives of convenience store clerks.
In my quest to see and write reviews on all of the films in Kevin Smith's "New Jersey Trilogy" (which actually came out to five films) as a personal project, CLERKS started out with a bit of a surprise for me. It was in black-and-white, which I thought was suitable for the introduction but when it ceased to miraculously transform into color, I was forced to sit back and accept this awkward development. At what first seemed like a disappointment to someone assuming like me somehow molded itself to the film's modest type of feel and fit it almost perfectly alongside Kevin Smith's award-winning script.
A 22-year-old college dropout named Dante Hicks is succumbed to working the dull life of a clerk at a Quick Stop convenience store in New Jersey. His friend and painfully honest advisor, Randall, works a video store that neighbors Quick Stop and tends to drop in to check up on Dante during the day. On a Saturday, Dante is forced to come into work on his day off and finds himself immediately swept up into problems that involve his girlfriend Veronica, the engagement of his ex-girlfriend Caitlin, and the endless barrage of dilemmas and setbacks that make up what turns out to be a rather eventful day on the job.
If you get a room full of ten people and sit them down for a viewing of CLERKS, about six or seven out of the ten will be laughing wildly for the duration of the film, while the remainder of the viewers will be shocked and offended by the ceaseless profanity and crude sexual dialogue. Indeed, much of the dialogue in the script is littered with four-letter obscenities coupled with anatomical and scatological terms. That is one blatant fact about CLERKS that can't be denied. Kevin Smith as a New Jersey native probably thought this perfectly summed up the talk and slang that floated around his neighborhood as a child. Although, he probably didn't consider the widespread reaction he'd receive upon actually converting this kind of content to celluloid. Let's put it this way. If you're not a frequent movie-goer and aren't familiar with some of the language in movies, then don't see CLERKS. But if you're desperate to see it (and I highly recommend it), then get used to and familiarize yourself with at least some of the profanity in R-rated movies. That's all I can help you with. Your enjoyment of the film depends on who you are.
I can't come this far into the review without complementing Kevin Smith's brilliant writing skills. In CLERKS, the moment that two people are involved in a discussion signifies the moment where the hilarious observations and sharp-witted remarks make themselves apparent. In the world of lowbrow, offensive, and offbeat comedies, CLERKS is an exception. This is about the only film that comes to mind where grotesque sexual descriptions will be delivered in such a way that you can't help but be in stitches.
It helps that Kevin Smith grew up in New Jersey because that's where most of his ideas and inspirations originate. This gives the film a kind of documentary feel as if Smith just took a camera and followed around two clerks for a day, filming their lives. Around the ending point, the film does delve into a nearly tasteless area of lowbrow that might cross the line with some or leave others totally hysterical. It all depends on what you yourself consider humorous. That's the beauty of comedy. It can appeal to anyone that you intend for it to appeal to. If you want 13-year-olds to laugh at it, then you'd probably leave the dialogue simple and rather juvenile. If you want 25-year-olds to laugh at it, then you might make the dialogue more sophisticated and clever. CLERKS can touch a nerve with just about anyone. It has its low points, but they don't last long. One of the characters usually spruces things up sooner or later. All negative mentionings aside, CLERKS has much to offer comedically, so I'd definitely give it a whirl.
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