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Movies / On DVD / Clerks
Clerks

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Clerks (1994)

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Reviews Counted:46

Fresh:40

Rotten:6

Average Rating:7.4/10

Runtime: 1 hr 32 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: Made for less than the cost of an SUV, Kevin Smith's first film finds 22-year-old Quick Stop clerk Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) called into work on his precious day off. There he is besieged by... Made for less than the cost of an SUV, Kevin Smith's first film finds 22-year-old Quick Stop clerk Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) called into work on his precious day off. There he is besieged by customers ranging from the agitated to the insane, not to mention Randal (Jeff Anderson), the clerk from the video store next door whose commitment to service is made clear when he observes, "This job would be great if it wasn't for the f@&%!#* customers." Dante's love life is a shambles, and the situation at the store goes from bad to worse, but he and Randal are never so beleaguered that they can't find time to discuss why the destruction of the Death Star in RETURN OF THE JEDI may have been morally dubious (uninvolved contractors were probably aboard). In fact, it was the clerks' clever dialogue, saturated with pop-culture references, that elevated CLERKS to cult-hit status among Generation-Xers and transformed Kevin Smith from film school dropout to indie auteur. Smith himself plays Silent Bob, while Jason Mewes plays Jay, his drug-dealing other half. Together the duo provide added comic relief, continuity, and wisdom in each of the the director's films. [More]

Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes

Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes

Director: Kevin Smith

Director: Kevin Smith
Screenwriter: Kevin Smith
Producer: Scott Mosier

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Clerks

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1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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An episodic, dialogue-heavy picture shot in black and white, Clerks is nevertheless remarkably cinematic.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/10/01
Nev Pierce
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Like a grass roots Woody Allen film, Clerks is one humdinger of a stand-up routine.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/31/02
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Apollo Guide

It comes from bad stock, curses like a longshoreman and doesn't bring a gift. Nevertheless, it's the life of the party.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
01/21/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

...an utterly profane and amusing movie by first-time filmmaker Kevin Smith.

Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly | comment Comment
02/05/04
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

An impressive and irascible debut that rings true even when you're laughing too hard to hear it.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Marc Savlov
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle

Clerks is so utterly authentic that its heroes have never heard of their generation.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
12/17/02
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

It's not John Cassavetes' Shadows (1959), but what Kevin Smith's Clerks, lacks in subtlety it makes up for in laughs

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/13/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

So vulgar that it may prompt as many walkouts as it does cheerleaders.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hicks
Chris Hicks
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

...it is the ability to identify with the characters that makes the story so universal. I mean, we've all known people like these who have annoyed us all our lives.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
09/04/04
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

I don't care if the flick cost $14.54 to produce; it's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen.

comment Comment
07/26/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Smith dogpiles absurdity and obscenity on top of each other. The dullness of the dead-end jobs is brightened by bizarre bits--a fat guy asking for softer toilet paper, drops dead on the toilet.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/01/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

An impressively funny film.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment 1 Comment
01/01/00
Eric D. Snider
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/21/03
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Clerks for me was kind of like the Beatles on Ed Sullivan were for so many nascent Rock stars.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Brad Laidman
Brad Laidman
Film Threat

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
05/21/05
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Kevin Smith actually pulled it off.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Brad Laidman
Brad Laidman
Film Threat

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
07/22/06
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

At 24, Smith also knows something about casting. Using a mixture of stage actors and novices, he's found the right ensemble tone to make Clerks seem as spontaneous as it needs to be.

comment Comment
01/01/00
John Hartl
John Hartl
Film.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by source; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Clerks

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1999 was one of the most important years for modern cinema. Ten years on, we're celebrating a remarkable twelve months of movies with new features around some of the year's best... More...

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RT spoke to Smith for his five favorite films ever, and followed up with an interview about dealing with the MPAA and the process of creating the Zack and Miri universe. More...

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Just in time for filming to begin, Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno has added five new faces to its cast. More...

April 30, 2007: RT-UK Exclusive: Two Hours With Kevin Smith
Some journalists are lucky to get 15 minutes with a director; RT-UK hit the jackpot of good fortune when "Clerks 2" director Kevin Smith agreed to a two-hour long kick... More...

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