It's time again for me to enlighten some of you who have missed out on some fantastic cinematic gems for whatever reason, on their virtues and why you should stop whatever you are doing and watch it right now, (unless you are in the middle of coitus of course).
Clerks
Year: 1994
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jay Mewes, Kevin Smith, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonhauer, Walter Flanagan, Scott Mosier
IMDB Plot Summary: Dante Hicks is a clerk at a local convenience store in New Jersey. On one particular Saturday morning, he gets called in on his day off. Once there, he must deal with multiple problems. The shutters outside won't open. His ex-girlfriend, whom he is still in love with, is getting married. His girlfriend, who bugs him about starting college, has revealed certain, uh...stuff about her past. His boss hasn't come in to take his place. He has a hockey game at 2 o'clock. Another ex has died, and today's the last day he can go to her wake. He must deal with customers that aren't so intelligent. His friend, Randal, a clerk at the video store next door, is even less dedicated to his job than Dante, and is always bothering Dante's customers. And the biggest problem of them all: HE'S NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE THERE TODAY!! Can Dante manage it all? (Written by MTRodaba2468)
Why it is worth watching: OK let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith, not just his work, most of which (with the exception of Cop Out) I like, but the man himself. I find him to be be extremely talented and funny and if you read any of his books, watch his Evening with... talks or listen to his podcasts you will know that his is an extremely candid individual, who though sometimes seeming crass verging on vulgar, still exudes a boyish charm.
Anyway this particular film is probably my favourite of all of his filmography. Possibly because when it came out I was also working in a service industry, (working weekends at as a telephonist at a taxi company, while at college and university), having to deal with dick customers (not all of them of course most of them were quite pleasant, though more then you would think). I was the right age to understand the ennui that the main protagonist Dante is going through, so it really spoke to me, as it did with a lot of people of then, and from what I've heard it still holds true for people watching it for the first time now.
So reasons to watch this film. First of all the dialogue, it is funny, crude and extremely realistic. When watching this you can truly believe that the two main leads are just a couple of friends shooting the shit, to relieve the boredom of their day. Talking of the two leads the contrast in the characters is portrayed brilliantly by O'Halloran and Anderson (the latter of which had no acting experience before this). Loosely based on the relationship between Kevin Smith himself and his friend Bryan Johnson, (about whom I will be writing a bit more in my next post), Dante and Randal are a double act that can only be compared to (if stretched), that of Ferris and Cameroon in Ferris Bueller's Day Off or possibly R2-D2 and C3PO from well you know, Star Wars. Dante can be seen as a classic straight if slightly put upon man, Randal is far from the buffonish sidekick that makes up the tradional formula. He is smart, witty and really doesn't give a fuck. O'Halloran and Anderson bring a warm, casual chemistry to the roles that is a great central pillar to this film and it's sequel Clerks 2.
Filmed on money borrowed from credit cards, by a crew mainly made up of young film school graduates, (Smith having dropped out early to work on the script), and their friend, the look of the film may be criticised by some. I however feel that the look is perfect for this film. Once described as "the filmic equivalent of a garage band", it is pure Grunge. Which also translates into it's brilliant soundtrack, which features great early 90's musicians like Soul Asylum, Alice in Chains and Bad Religion amongst others.
I can not recommend this film highly enough and if you need any other reason here are three random things you will find in this film;
Clerks
Year: 1994
Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Jay Mewes, Kevin Smith, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonhauer, Walter Flanagan, Scott Mosier
IMDB Plot Summary: Dante Hicks is a clerk at a local convenience store in New Jersey. On one particular Saturday morning, he gets called in on his day off. Once there, he must deal with multiple problems. The shutters outside won't open. His ex-girlfriend, whom he is still in love with, is getting married. His girlfriend, who bugs him about starting college, has revealed certain, uh...stuff about her past. His boss hasn't come in to take his place. He has a hockey game at 2 o'clock. Another ex has died, and today's the last day he can go to her wake. He must deal with customers that aren't so intelligent. His friend, Randal, a clerk at the video store next door, is even less dedicated to his job than Dante, and is always bothering Dante's customers. And the biggest problem of them all: HE'S NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO BE THERE TODAY!! Can Dante manage it all? (Written by MTRodaba2468)
Why it is worth watching: OK let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith, not just his work, most of which (with the exception of Cop Out) I like, but the man himself. I find him to be be extremely talented and funny and if you read any of his books, watch his Evening with... talks or listen to his podcasts you will know that his is an extremely candid individual, who though sometimes seeming crass verging on vulgar, still exudes a boyish charm.
Anyway this particular film is probably my favourite of all of his filmography. Possibly because when it came out I was also working in a service industry, (working weekends at as a telephonist at a taxi company, while at college and university), having to deal with dick customers (not all of them of course most of them were quite pleasant, though more then you would think). I was the right age to understand the ennui that the main protagonist Dante is going through, so it really spoke to me, as it did with a lot of people of then, and from what I've heard it still holds true for people watching it for the first time now.
So reasons to watch this film. First of all the dialogue, it is funny, crude and extremely realistic. When watching this you can truly believe that the two main leads are just a couple of friends shooting the shit, to relieve the boredom of their day. Talking of the two leads the contrast in the characters is portrayed brilliantly by O'Halloran and Anderson (the latter of which had no acting experience before this). Loosely based on the relationship between Kevin Smith himself and his friend Bryan Johnson, (about whom I will be writing a bit more in my next post), Dante and Randal are a double act that can only be compared to (if stretched), that of Ferris and Cameroon in Ferris Bueller's Day Off or possibly R2-D2 and C3PO from well you know, Star Wars. Dante can be seen as a classic straight if slightly put upon man, Randal is far from the buffonish sidekick that makes up the tradional formula. He is smart, witty and really doesn't give a fuck. O'Halloran and Anderson bring a warm, casual chemistry to the roles that is a great central pillar to this film and it's sequel Clerks 2.
Filmed on money borrowed from credit cards, by a crew mainly made up of young film school graduates, (Smith having dropped out early to work on the script), and their friend, the look of the film may be criticised by some. I however feel that the look is perfect for this film. Once described as "the filmic equivalent of a garage band", it is pure Grunge. Which also translates into it's brilliant soundtrack, which features great early 90's musicians like Soul Asylum, Alice in Chains and Bad Religion amongst others.
I can not recommend this film highly enough and if you need any other reason here are three random things you will find in this film;
- The best use of the number 37 ever
- The laziest fight scene ever choreographed
- Accidental Necrophilia
No comments:
Post a Comment