An impressively funny film.
Clerks (1994)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:47
Fresh:41
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
Reviews for Clerks
Amateurishly acted, clumsily edited and slapped together out of what looks like surveillance camera footage, the thing bumps along not so much on talent as on audacity.
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.
An impressive and irascible debut that rings true even when you're laughing too hard to hear it.
Kevin Smith is a good writer with a great sense of humor. Good jokes and dialogue are cheap and are most of what this film has to offer.
None of this is riveting, yet there's something about seeing life from the distinct angle of the convenience-store clerk that's just new enough to hold you.
The film looks no more expensive than it was; some of the acting (by local nonprofessionals) is spectacularly amateurish; the story is a series of anecdotes about hockey, shopping and loving the one you're with. But it's worth loitering in this shop.
Clerks is so utterly authentic that its heroes have never heard of their generation.
Unquestionably uneven, but it is also a very funny wake-up call to the over-the-counter culture.
Movies like this either work for you or they don't. This one frequently put me to sleep.
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