Clerks
Given the fact that I have dressed up, with my friend Ron, as Jay and Silent Bob during a couple of trips to Dragon*Con, it’s hard to imagine that when I didn’t like Kevin Smith’s first film when I watched it in 1995. Yeah, the dialogue about contractors and the second Death Star in “Return of the Jedi” was hysterical, but the rest of the film was too vulgar and immature for my tastes at the time, and “Mallrats” wasn’t much better. By the time “Chasing Amy” came out in 1997, though, I started to turn around on Smith. And when “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” was released in 2001, he had become one of my favorite filmmakers of all-time. Now, I cosplay as his beloved Silent Bob at Dragon*Con. Quite a turnaround, eh?
The film’s story can be summed up in one sentence, uttered early and often by the film’s hero, Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran), “I’m not even supposed to be here today.” In the first scene, Dante is on the floor in his room, and he gets a call from his boss. The boss needs Dante to open the store. Dante has a hockey game at 2pm, but the boss will be in by 12pm. He manages to get the store opened, but from the start, things begin going to a strange place, starting with a businessman who tries to convert smokers to gum, leading to a riot. When his best friend, Randall (Jeff Anderson), comes in to open the video store next door, the day’s events move from the strange to the surreal, including a game of roller hockey on the roof of the store; a trip to a wake for an old flame (later referenced in “Mallrats,” the proper start of the View Askewniverse); and dead man in the store’s restroom. Top it all off with relationship issues between Dante and his present girlfriend, Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti), and the surprising announcement of nuptials for old flame Caitlin Bree (Lisa Spoonauer), and there is an immediate recipe for this turning into a pivotal day for Dante.
Kevin Smith has never really been an acclaimed as an accomplished filmmaker over the years, at least in the same way people like Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell and Robert Rodriguez have been; sure, a lot of his films have received acclaim, but more as a result of his writing than his filmmaking style. Watching “Clerks,” shot on grainy black-and-white by David Klein, it’s easy to see why, but the fact of the matter is, that grainy look becomes a fitting visual representation of the universe Dante and Randall live in. These guys are in their 20s, and working in customer service jobs. Randall finds a silver lining in his work easier than Dante does, but as we discover, as bluntly vulgar as Randall can be, he’s also more sure of himself, and honest with himself, than Dante is. Dante hates his job, but lacks the conviction to do anything about it. I get where he’s coming from, because in my 12 1/2 years of working at my job, I’ve had more than a few instances of feeling like I couldn’t do it anymore, and yet, couldn’t find the will power to change it. I know the black-and-white cinematography was more a result of budgetary limitations for Smith, but it’s amazing, when you watch the film again, to realize how right this is in bringing the themes and emotional worlds of the characters to life.
The relationship issues are what really bring the strongest laughs, and emotions, to the film, though. Dante has been with Veronica for seven months, and things are going pretty great for them. However, when Dante shoots off at the mouth about his abilities as a lover, he ends up starting an argument that leads to a needless fight about each other’s sexual pasts (he’s slept with 12 women, while the number “37” finds surprising meaning with Veronica), a theme that will play itself out to greater effect in “Chasing Amy.” All the while, though, Dante has kept his old girlfriend, Caitlin, firmly on his mind, even though she cheated on him, and left him a ruined husk of a man, and Veronica genuinely loves him. The idea of Caitlin getting married freaks Dante out, and when she shows up, and tells him she’s not sure how she feels, things start to really get complicated, although a shocking moment of vulnerability and lust by Caitlin puts the kibosh on those complications. As he always does, though, Silent Bob (Smith) has some sage advice, when he says, “You know, there’s a million fine looking women in the world, dude. But they don’t all bring you lasagna at work. Most of ’em just cheat on you.” It was originally meant for Bob’s drug dealer bestie, Jay (Jason Mewes), but when Mewes (always a vulgar pleasure) couldn’t say get it right, Smith said it himself, leading to a defining moment in not just Smith’s career, but the entire dynamic between Jay and Silent Bob. Isn’t it weird how much better things can turn out when they aren’t planned.
I was originally going to wait and review this, the 2000 animated show, and the film’s 2006 sequel all in one block, a la the “Planet of the Apes” series. However, with little time before this year’s Dragon*Con fast approaching, and no time for long movies, I needed to do something fast, so the other “Clerks” efforts will have to wait. I’m glad I decided to watch this again, because I found myself more engaged in Smith’s first film than ever before. It also struck some surprising emotional notes for me, which really helped it hit home, as I have a feeling it did for Smith when he made it 20 years ago.
