Clerks Review

        We’re in the 90s now. It was a special time in cinema for new up and coming filmmakers. Directors like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith to name a few, brought with them new films that were nothing like what the established studio were pumping out. This period is referred to as the Indie Film movement. And I think it’s appropriate to look into Smith’s debut film Clerks as the representation of an indie comedy. 

1. Couple of Slackers

        My first exposure to Kevin Smith’s Clerks was in two separate occasions. One was when MTV was airing the sequel Clerks 2 that I watched with my cousin, and I was so lost with what was happening. The other was when Cartoon Network's late night block Adult Swim was airing reruns of the short-lived Clerks: The Animated Series. Long story short, that series lasted just six episodes. 

        The film is straightforward if you can get pass the production company logo. Dante Hicks is a clerk for the convenient store Quick Stop Groceries. Next door is a second-rate Video Store that his friend Randal Graves manages. Throughout the film, Dante puts up with his friend’s antics, customers, and constantly complaining that he wasn’t supposed to work.

        Describing both Dante and Randal is easy since they are total opposites. Hicks tries to be professional when running the store and is easily annoyed when one specific customer interrupts to sway a smoker to chew a gum. He doesn’t have the authority or the gumption to really speak out on any unruly customer, but lets the chaos happen. Randal could care less about his job. Like I feel that Dante gets into a lot of drama with his girlfriend and past fling. Due in part that he feels insecure with where he's at. 

        I think what makes the pairing work is that we get to see and through the dialogue, just how they handle their jobs and put up with the customers. How I interpret it is that Dante would want to be like Randal and just be not as carefree but to have the gumption to stand up for himself. For instance, we see that Dante is looking at the video store for his friend. All the while, Randal is lost in a maze of VHS tapes in a superior video store. 

        What I find interesting is that the supporting cast is on par, albeit for having a small screen presence. Most of them are friends of the two or a significant other. I think the angle that Smith was going for was just how well off the friends and rejects are in comparison to Dante and Randal. Some are attending college, while the comedic duo Jay and Silent Bob are loitering in front of the store messing with the duo and just goofing off. 

        One could interpret the film as a Dante’s Inferno allegory, with its use of title cards and just how the day seems to be more of an inconvenience to Dante. While I’m not making a stretch since the main character is named after the Italian poet, I feel that the film is interpreted to be that way. Like how they both interact to the various customers and try to get closure on various people of their past. 

2. Kevin Smith

        I feel that for a debut film, Smith did a good job of showing just how much working at a convenience store must’ve suck. The film is partially based on his personal life, like how Dante is the stand in for him. While Randal is the stand in for his friend Bryan Johnson, we can assume that the director and his friend really must’ve seen a motley crew of customers and Smith just putting up with his friend’s crap all day.

        Doing some research, his film I think is a tribute to one of his favorite film to get him to direct. Richard Linklater’s Slacker is one of those films where the dialogue and just loose storytelling is one of Clerks’ inspiration to be made. And I think that when he watched the film, Smith made the dialogue between Dante and Randal interesting, since it would be boring to watch the two of them just work in a convenient store. Like their conversations is what makes their day faster and how close their bond is. Just talking about something redundant like Death Star contractors is hilarious and so thought provoking. 

3. Legacy

        To say that the influx of independent films had an influence in Hollywood is never really brought up when looking at the history of American movies. Miramax was the only distributor for Smith and Tarantino movies. And it helped that Miramax had partnered with Disney since they had a blank check in marketing and Harvey Weinstein, stay with me here, knew how to market a movie. 

        It prompted other studios like 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and Warner Bros. to start their own independent studios under their respective umbrella. The only real successful one I can think of is Fox Searchlight, due in part of just how much their films are occasional award winners. Anyways, back to what I was originally talking about. 

        The success of Clerks propelled Smith to be the new director with a voice at that time. He immediately made films and a sequel that was interconnected. Dubbed the View-Askew Universe, since the side characters like Jay and Silent Bob would pop up in other Smith films like Chasing Amy and Dogma to name a few. Later on, he would move into owning a comic bookstore, and creating the reality show Comic Book Men, which is more or less a Clerks-esque show but in his comic book store. 

4. Overall

        I enjoyed Clerks for what it is. It may be a turn off since it’s shot in black and white, but the dialogue makes the film a classic. And it’s relatable since any day at work is a day that you’re not supposed to be working.