Clerks [R]

It’s a bad day for Dante Hicks, a 22 year-old clerk working in a convenience store. Before the day is out, he’ll be fined for selling cigarettes to a minor, suffer from horrible revelations about his girlfriend, discover that his ex is getting married, and have a customer die on him. But worst of all, he wasn’t even meant to be at work today. 

From writer/director/actor, Kevin Smith, comes this wickedly funny and devilishly clever grunge comedy that’s a really clever look at over-the-counter culture. 

It’s a bad day for Dante Hicks, a 22 year-old clerk working in a convenience store. Before the day is out, he’ll be fined for selling cigarettes to a minor, suffer from horrible revelations about his girlfriend, become prey to various oddballs and difficult customers, learn that his ex is getting married, get into even more customer trouble thanks to his rough and opinionated friend Randall who works next door, and have a customer die on him. But worst of all, he wasn’t even mean to be at work today. 

There are two things that make this movie a work of satirical brilliance. Firstly, the story: it’s a classic story of having one day where everything that can go wrong will go wrong. The story is also great because it’s something that everyone can relate to. Everyone has done a bit of customer service at some point in their lives and, although they probably have never had the day that poor Dante had, they can relate to the annoyance of being called in on their day off, and dealing with troublesome customers. 

The second thing that made this film so brilliant is the sheer simplicity of it. The entire film was made in 21 days at the actual convenience store where Kevin Smith used to work, with Smith editing it night by night. It’s all in black and white and cut up into little segments, a little bit like Pulp Fiction or Salo. It was a nice and simple low-budget movie that was built on a great and relatable story and featured brilliant comedic and satirical performances from its actors. 

Starring Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonhauer, Jason Mewes, and Kevin Smith himself, Clerks was a really clever piece of satire that was filled with everyday experiences, troublesome customers, death, deep and meaningful conversations, romance, and frustration. It’s a really clever film, Smith’s first I believe, and has rightly earned its place in The Book. 

I’M NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE HERE TODAY!