Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Hilarious and insightful
I watched Clerks last night on video with my wife after putting it off for a couple of years. This is a very funny movie. There is no plot per se, but essentially the movie centers around Dante, the convenience store clerk who has no direction in life and dreams about dumping his girlfriend Veronica, who is combative but loyal and caring, for his ex-girlfriend Caitlin, who cheated on him repeatedly when they were dating. His buddy Randall, who works (sort of) at the nearby video store is the ultimate cool guy whose zen like observations about Dante's life are so on the mark. Clerks is filled with funny and vulgar exchanges that I cannot repeat here, ... . Also memorable is Silent Bob, played by the film maker Kevin Smith, who speaks only once but has the most profound line in the entire movie. The girl who plays Veronica reminded me of Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny. My favorite scenes: 1) the chewing gum salesman trying to turn kids off of cigarette smoking, 2) the man who wants to use the rest room, 3) Randall ordering porno flicks over the phone in the presence of a young lady and her daughter, and 4) Dante and Veronica talking about how many people they have been with and their argument that ensues from it. Clerks is a Gen-X classic best appreciated by high schoolers and those in their 20's, but even an old codger of 31 like myself can enjoy it too.
Rating:  - Great Movie, Great DVD (or Laserdisk).
I'm not going to tell the plot of Clerks, since tons of other reviewers have already done that, but instead I'm going to focus of the DVD, because I don't feel enough people write about that. First off here's the special features: Audio Commentary: This commentary features a nearly countless amount of people, but mostly Kevin Smith with the occasional tid bit from actor Brian O' Halloran (also known as Brian Christopher O' Halloran) or producer Scott Mosier. Funnily, Jason Mewes showed up drunk for the recording of this and lies on the floor past out most of the time, sometimes waking up to swear or scream "Snootchie Bootchies." Obviously only one mike was used for this, but that never bothered me much, because the commentary is a load of fun, with tons of interesting things and laughs. I like this much better than the overrated Mallrats commentary. Deleted Scenes With Introductions by Kevin Smith: There are about 6 deleted scenes, almost all of them extended bits, but all of them interesting. Ones I particularly liked were the longer Gum Guy's speech, the longer conversation with Dane and Veronica, and the longer talking between Veronica and Randal. The only completely additional scene is in #3 where Randal tries to pursuade a customer to rent Smokey and the Bandit 3. Not very funny, but interesting. The introductions to the scenes by Kevin Smith are very good, short and to the point, where as in all the other DVDs he rambles on for about two minutes about why you should visit Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash or mumbles or wastes time going "Um," you get my point. In these intros he simly states what you'll find new in the scene and then you view, I think the longest intro is about thirty seconds. Excellent. Original Ending: The shocking original ending is included for your enjoyment, and it is obvious why it was cut, although I personally love the scene and think it'd be a great ending to the film. Why? Because it ends on a downer, just like Dante and Randal talk about early in the film, and is more realistic (OK, maybe not, but I like it). Sit through the short set of credits for a breif cameo by director Smith. The ending features an introduction where Smith states how happy he is that the scene was cut. Interesting. Music Video: The funny music video for Soul Asylum's "Can't Even Tell", featuring a recreation of the hockey scene, in color no less! It's an interesting look at what if would be like if the movie was in color, but it's also a pretty good song, and the video is entertaining, measuring around four and a half minutes. Introduction by Smith is included, which is pretty interesting. Theatrical Trailer: The film's original trailer is included with introduction by Smith, where he states how crazy he is for it and that it's one of his favorite trailers ever. It's a nice trailer and all, but really, it is just a trailer, and I think he sees into it more than most people will (though I read a review that called the trailer "a piece of film itself"). Anyway, those are the extras. It doesn't look like much, but quality overwhelms quantity, and all these extras are very cool, and worth your time. The sound and picture on the film is fine, at least when you think about it. Remember Clerks cost less than a car to make, and the picture is consistently grainy throughout, as well as black and white (oh boo hoo to all you people who can't watch a black and white movie), but I could always tell what was going on, and after about two minutes, I got used to the grain (you will, too). The sound is a 2.0 surround sound that is always clear and never bothersome. There's minor hiss, but barely irritating (or noticeable). Anyway, I like CLerks a lot, although most people won't watch it because of the black and white picture and a lot of people find it boring, but I just don't understand how anyone could find a movie with such great acting and dialouge boring. Well, if you need an explosion or a bunch of action every ten minutes..... Hope you liked my review (kind of long, sorry), and please vote if it was helpful. Thank you for reading.
Rating: - Very entertaining!
Clerks is a very entertaining film from writer-director Kevin Smith(Mallrats,Chasing Amy).It was originally made for around $27,000 if I'm not mistaken,and(in the tradition of El Mariachi and other very low budget films)it outshines numerous other movies made for many,many times more money.The plot is very simple.It's one crazy day in the life of convenience store clerk Dante Hicks(Brian O'Halloran),and all the interesting characters he has to deal with.The film costars Jeff Anderson as Dante's best friend Randal,who works(allegedly anyway) in the video store next door and loves to torment the customers.Marilyn Ghigliotti plays Dante's girlfriend Veronica,and Lisa Spoonhauer plays Dante's ex Caitlin Bree(who has somewhat of a breakdown towards the end of the film,but I won't say why here!).Numerous other wacky characters find their way in and out of the store during the course of the day as well.
The movie also introduces the world to the characters of Jay and Silent Bob,played by Jason Mewes and director Kevin Smith. The DVD is great-sound and picture aren't exactly fantastic(but hey it's a very low budget film)-but the special features are very cool,including deleted scenes,alternate ending,and an interesting commentary by Kevin Smith and other members of the cast and crew(including Jason Mewes,who was obviously very intoxicated at the time!). Overall a very entertaining film,although because of some of the subject matter and foul language younger viewers shouldn't watch.
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