871. Clerks

Clerks
1994
Directed by Kevin Smith

I can never quite decide if I like this film or not.  The first time I watched it, I thought the dialogue was very funny.  Upon my second viewing, I realized the movie is incredibly childish.  The film's immaturity isn't necessarily a bad thing, although I am still unsure how many stars it deserves.

The film follows a day in the life of Dante Hicks, a twentysomething working at a convenience store in New Jersey.  It is his day off, but he is forced to cover for another employee who is sick.  Dante spends most of his day talking to his friend Randall, who works at the video store next door.  Throughout the day, Dante learns that one of his ex girlfriends has died, while another one has become engaged.  This leads him to speculate about his relationships and the direction his life is headed.

This film appeals to anyone who has ever worked a behind the counter job.  I guess this is basically everyone, although if you managed to avoid it, hats off to you.  I worked at a library in high school and you would be surprised how passionate people get about 25 cent late fees.  In any case, we have all had those days where we desperately wish we were somewhere else and pass the time by discussing pop culture with our coworkers.  The dialogue in this movie is relatable and fun.  It is a vast improvement from Slacker.

However, the memory of those days has started to fade a bit for me and I have realized that there is more to life than working retail and discussing gross sex acts.  Therefore, this is no longer a film that appeals to me that much.  I would also just like to say that I think the Divine Comedy comparisons are pretentious and a bit too ambitious for what this film actually turns out to be.

Anyway, still a movie to check out.  At least then you will have an opinion on Kevin Smith, which apparently is essential to being a human.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Budget of $27,000.

Filmed in the store in which Kevin Smith was working at the time.