Clerks (1994)

Written and Directed by Kevin Smith

Rated R for extensive use of extremely explicit sex-related dialogue.

A couple of months ago I found a copy of "Clerks" on DVD sitting on top of a recycle bin behind Albertson's. I joked that I had finally found a Kevin Smith movie at the right price. Joking aside, "Clerks" is probably Smith's most significant contribution to the art of cinema.

I feel like there's something about "Clerks" that was uniquely suited to American culture in the mid-90's. The film just wouldn't work today. The choice to shoot the whole movie in black and white was considered edgy and defiant of convention in the 90's. Today, the same choice would be considered trite. It is probably no surprise that the recent sequel, "Clerks II", made the transition from black and white to color in the first minute of the film.

 

Randall and Dante (right to left)

The main characters are Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randall (Jeff Anderson), the clerks of a Quick-Stop mini-mart and a video rental place, respectively. The film begins with Dante being called in to work at the mini-mart on his day off. He's furious because it threatens his plans to play street hockey with his friends at two o'clock, but his boss assures Dante he'll be in at noon to relieve him.

Dante's time at the mini-mart plays out as a series of short episodes highlighting the different aspects of working in a mini-mart. Different customers come with different issues. One customer begins preaching against tobacco use, riling up an anti-tobacco crowd who see Dante (as a cigarette vendor) as the root of all evil. The crowd becomes incensed and begins pelting Dante with cigarettes until Randall jumps in and saves him, revealing the rabble-rousing customer as an undercover chewing gum salesman who was using his anti-tobacco platform to push gum on smokers. Another problem customer pulls carton after carton of eggs out of the refrigerators, performing endurance tests to find the "perfect dozen". Yet another crazy customer asks if the mini-mart carries hubcaps. The comedy of these situations will be lost to no one who has frequented a mini-mart and seen the strange things that happen there.

Around the time Dante's supposed to be relieved by his boss, he gets a call from another employee telling him that his boss has left town indefinitely. Angry but unwilling to stray far from the store, Dante decides that he and his friends can play hockey on the roof of the Quick-Stop. Randall even talks him into giving the players free Gatorade. But an angry would-be customer ends the game after only a few points by hitting the only street-hockey ball into a sewage drain.

Most of the film deals with Dante's irritably restricted existence and Randall's casual disrespect for restrictions colliding in an explosion of witty dialogue. Randall openly disrespect customers, much to the horror of rule-abiding Dante. He even negligently sells a four-year-old girl a pack of cigarettes, for which Dante is blamed. For all of Randall's faults, he knows who he is and that the rules of a Quick Stop mini-mart don't amount to a lot in the grand scheme of things. Dante is plagued by indecision and uncertainty. He never takes a stand for himself and ends up being a doormat.

Dante's dating Veronica, a nice girl who brings him lasagna at work, but he's still infatuated with his ex Caitlin. When he learns that Caitlin is getting married, he risks his relationship with Veronica to try to win Caitlin's heart again, and through a dark but hilarious twist of fate, ends up losing them both. Dante's biggest problem is wanting to have his cake and eat it too. He wants to have a stable job that provides him financial security while still having the freedom to play hockey at 2 PM on a weekday. He wants a loving, stable girlfriend, but still lusts after the girl who cheated on him seven times. Randall has a much firmer "fuck the world" attitude. He skates through life with as little effort as possible, but in the end he's a happier and more self-aware character than Dante.

The conflicting personalities of Randall and Dante finally clash in a fight that tears the Quick-Stop apart, literally. Then, when they're exhausted and down-trodden, they help each other clean up the mess and close up the store so they can repeat the whole debacle tomorrow.

I give "Clerks" an 8.5/10. It's not a perfect movie, but is surprisingly well done for a film that was funded mostly on credit cards and donations. The two leading actors have enough on-screen chemistry to sell their "Odd Couple" relationship. The film also introduces Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith himself), who will become regular Kevin Smith movie fixtures in the decade to come. Overall, this film captures the essence of 90's youth apathy and wraps it up in a smart, edgy  package.













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