Clerks begins the Kevin Smith Jersey Chronicles that has since gone on to spawn numerous hilarious moments with only a few minor box office flops (cough… cough… Jersey Girl). But in the light of what came after, Clerks (with a very Film School Final Project look and sound to it) lives up to its title (“What the hell does the title Clerks have to live up to?” you ask). It follows the life of Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran) through one day as an unfortunate employee of the Quick Stop convenient store in Leonardo, New Jersey. With him every step of the way through his misadventures is Randal Graves, his rebellious socially stubborn co-worker of the RST Video store.
Right up front I’ll warn you that the dialogue is rather stilted due to poor writing, concentrating less on delivery and more on isolated moments of social commentary.
Dante is called early in the morning with the harbinger of work on his day off; amidst daylong protests of “I’m not even supposed to be here!” he trudges through the relatively eventful day that unfolds. Throughout the film, he and Randal entertain themselves in-between assaults from Chewley’s gum salesmen, graduates from their high school class who have gone on to lead more prosperous lives than them, and of course, the stupid customers that frequent its polished tile floors.
Impromptu hockey games, disastrous funerals, and the occasional bout of necrophilia interrupt the otherwise “normal” day at work. On top of all this, Dante is a nervous wreck when he learns his ex-girlfriend whom he dated for 5 years is wrongfully engaged to an Asian design major. This particular piece of wording “Asian design major” signifies the kind of wordplay that Kevin Smith works to exhaustion in this commentary piece of a film. I personally love having to guess whether they meant an Asian man who has majored in design, or any kind of man that has majored in the designs found in Asian cultures.
Kevin Smith embraces the geek in all of us by having his characters have in-depth discussions around topics like construction workers of the second Death Star from Return of the Jedi. Social commentary of Clerks also strays to the ridiculous nature of video rental stores, which feature family friendly titles next to the more explicit pornography. Kevin Smith’s eye for satire becomes apparent in Clerks and opens the doorway for those who appreciate such things to follow their own creative interests.
As far as acting goes, Clerks features two unknowns (O’Halloran and Anderson) who are in fact, friends of Kevin Smith, that the writer felt would do well in the parts. Once you know that piece of information, you begin to see exactly how low-budget the film was. Brian O’Halloran often overdoes the delivery of his lines, making him sound like a whiny and impotent child caught up in a string of events, over which he thinks he has no control. Whether or not this was the way the writer wanted Dante to appear, Brian’s performance suffers even so. Oddly enough, the other half of the duo, Jeff Anderson, excels in his position; giving his dialogue just the right amount of disdain and sarcasm that you’d expect from someone who prides themselves on watching movies and hanging around for a living. Perhaps my favorable attitude towards Anderson over O’Halloran comes from the fact that Anderson has every line in the movie that’s funny. Randal is the comedic relief for an otherwise humorless social satire.
Kevin Smith chose to present Clerks in a grainy black and white format that gives it a security camera recording kind of feel. Beyond that, the choice of black and white really doesn’t add anything else to the film besides making the audience wonder why he did it. Did he want to underscore the fact that he didn’t have very much money?
I don’t know.
On top of all this, the most important disclaimer I can make is that this film features some of the more adult-themed conversations that your average child shouldn’t hear. “My girlfriend sucked 37 dicks” is one of the most quoted lines from this film. What does that say? I’m not sure. It’s an enjoyable film, but you just need to get past that point where you cringe with every description and count of fellatio. Once you’ve achieved that feat of self-desensitization, you’ll be fine and will probably even enjoy the film for what it is.
So if you enjoy relatively gross or “grown-up” humor, or you want to know where Jay and Silent Bob got their start, then Clerks is a valuable addition to your “I’ve seen that” list. Otherwise… don’t watch it, especially if you’re faint of heart or severely conservative.
"Clerks" opens October 19, 1994 and is rated R. Comedy. Written and directed by Kevin Smith. Starring Brian OHalloran, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson, Kevin Smith.
