REVIEW 1:
Oh, Kevin Smith, only you could make $27,000 be so damn good! I was one of the lucky minority that actually got to see this movie in the theatres (quite a feat since it only played in 50 theatres total). Raunchy, razor sharp, and absolutely hysterical, this movie had all the pretenses to be a cult hit. With a premier like this, it is easy to see how Kevin Smith has such the cult following (or, "obedient lap dogs") that he has. Being the sultan for sleaze that I am, I'm only interested in movies that have the potential to start a giant riot (I'm a desensitized 80's child). For this reason, I set my weekly watch by the TV show "South Park" and have all but a shrine devoted to John Waters in my penthouse. I love directors who have the guts to film a devastatingly funny, yet intensely controversial feature. While Kevin Smith doesn't have balls quite as big as a youthful John Waters--I don't exactly see Dante eating Walt Flanagan's dog's shit in a Clerks sequel (We'll see... -Chris-)--his pair is superhuman-sized nonetheless. In an industry where "political correctness" is a leech on every director's back, it's nice to see a director who flips the bird to all of it, and does a movie completely on his own terms. And this, my friends, is why no one can argue with me when I say that Clerks is Kevin Smith's finest hour.
The premise is very simple: two guys work (very poorly) in a video store and a convenience store that are next door to each other. Comedy ensues. The amateurish acting (Brian O'Halloran is excluded from this because he actually IS a really good actor), REALLY works in this film. Jeff Anderson (Randal) is positively hysterical with the dead-pan way he deals his dialogue and it is actually very real sounding. Also, be expected to be completely blown away by some of the most brilliantly written dialogue this side of His Girl Friday (actually, watch Clerks and His Girl Friday back-to-back...you can make some really interesting comparisons). If we had a director that had the writing style of Kevin Smith and the visual aspect of David Lynch, Steven Spielberg would never work again.
And let me say a word in his defense: Kevin Smith has never been known for camera work, but his style really works in Clerks as it is filmed more like a documentary than anything. Also, I'm getting just plain sick of these supposed Kevin Smith "fans" who say "I love his flicks, but he can't do a camera angle to save his life." It seems to be too trendy to bash his camera work. It just bothers me that these pimple-faced fast food workers that haven't ever thought about cinematography a day in their life bash him for his camera angles just because everyone else does. Yeah, it's true he doesn't do the best camera work, but who the fuck cares? His true talent is his dialogue. And his camera work is getting better, especially in his very last "Jay and Silent Bob" flick (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back). No one ever bashed John Waters' cinematography in his early flicks, and his camera never moved, EVER. So all you overly critical Internet pisspots need to QUIT YER BITCHING!
I could go on and on about how funny Clerks is, but it's better just to see it for yourself. This is probably best viewed by the late teen to 20-30 something crowd, but I've met people in almost every age group that loves it (except the kindergarten crowd...they tend to be less receptive to outright blasphemy and perversion). If you consider yourself mainstream, walk right on by and rent Rat Race instead. However, if you bow down to Eric Cartman every Wednesday on Comedy Central, then go rent this flick absolutely immediately. "It'll warp your fragile little mind."
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