It's not John Cassavetes' Shadows (1959), but what Kevin Smith's Clerks, lacks in subtlety it makes up for in laughs
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
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Release:
Jun 29, 1999
Reviews for Clerks
a script so full of words that it probably rivals the telephone book in size.
Cheap, touching, and downright nasty, Kevin Smith’s first feature still remains the ultimate cinematic tribute to slackers.
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.
There's no denying the raw and energetic feel Smith created with a memorable script, great characters and a genuine sense of Gen X angst.
Clerks is so utterly authentic that its heroes have never heard of their generation.
Clerks remains a defining debut, a symbolic shot into the darkened domain of legitimate moviemaking.
Like a grass roots Woody Allen film, Clerks is one humdinger of a stand-up routine.
A hoot one moment, a hiss the next, the film is about as even as a city road after a hard winter. But the script's sheer vigour sees us through.
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.
So vulgar that it may prompt as many walkouts as it does cheerleaders.
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.
...an utterly profane and amusing movie by first-time filmmaker Kevin Smith.
an exemplar of what can happen when the stars align and someone's home movie can help foment a revolution
Behind the smartass exchanges is a quick-stop incision into the heart of being young in North America. Clerks are us.
Clerks for me was kind of like the Beatles on Ed Sullivan were for so many nascent Rock stars.
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.
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