Shoestring Movies of the 90’s - Part Deux

Clerks

Continuing my analysis of the bygone “Golden Age of Independent Filmmaking” of the 90’s, I wanted to tackle one that was actually nearer-and-dearer to my heart because of my own job and goals at the time. This one probably is more famous than Brothers McMullen, but their backstories are quite similar.

About the same time that Burns was making his mark, there was a guy just across the state lines trying to do the same thing. In Red Bank, NJ, Kevin Smith was making a small movie about poor, overworked and under-paid, and under-appreciated Dante, a convenience store clerk who had to deal with annoying customers, relationship issues, the town pot dealers, and his annoying sidekick Randall. I am, of course, referring to Clerks, the movie that launched the career of Kevin Smith and introduced the world to Jay and Silent Bob. That could be a fortunate or unfortunate thing, depending on your stance.

If you don’t know the story, it was a pretty big deal in my circles in 1995, having been released the previous October. This may have been because I, like Randall, worked in a video store, and also like Randall, I hated most of the customers. So not only was Kevin Smith doing what I one day hoped to do, but he was also spreading the gospel about how annoying working a job like that could be. Smith himself worked in the convenience store and video store while making the movie, both for money and so he had locations to shoot in. If you remember, one of Dante’s complaints is that the steel shutters that cover the windows won’t open because someone stuck gum in the locks. This was purely done for logistical reasons, so Smith could shoot scenes at night that were supposed to be taking place during the day. It’s admirable guerilla filmmaking, and gives Dante one more thing to be annoyed about.

Smith, like most of his contemporaries, cast his friends and himself in his movie, because who wants to pay real actors when your budget is so meager? I will give the nod to Brothers McMullen on this one, because some of the acting in Clerks is pretty bad. Not that I could have done better, but it’s sad when the character who only has a few lines, and one of them is to sing, “Would you like some making fuck?” has the best line readings in the whole movie.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Clerks is that is it launched what later became known as the “View Askewniverse,” which was the name of Smith’s production company and world that he set all of his films in. In a way, it set the tone for many film franchises that came later, everything from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to M. Night Shyamalan’s Eastrail 177 Trilogy, also known as the Unbreakable Trilogy, also known as “one really awesome movie, and a couple mediocre ones.”

Even though Smith was one of the first to have a series of seemingly disparate movies interconnect, I must admit that while it was a funny in-joke at first, where the characters would mention people and events from Smith’s other movies, by the time Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back was released in 2001, I started to wonder if this guy actually knew how to write anything else. And when you throw in the Clerks Animated Series, which was actually one of the best things he’s ever done, you start to think he’s pretty much a one-trick pony. And the less said about Clerks II, the better.

Still, Smith remains incredibly popular to this day, having created comics, screenplays, books, TV shows, and even a one-man show, and it’s very admirable that it all started with this little black-and-white movie that he made in suburban New Jersey with his friends. I think any resentment I have built-up for him is mostly from the fact that he actually accomplished what I wanted to when I was in my twenties. And he did it while remaining an incredibly average guy. You kind of have to admire him for not compromising his principles, if he has any. When you look at his films, you sometimes wonder.

So, back to Clerks: During the course of this day of dealing with aggravating customers, Randall and Dante engage in many philosophical debates about a wide range of topics, like their favorite Star Wars movie (back when there were only three to choose from) and Dante’s uneasiness with how many men his girlfriend has performed oral sex on. While this is obviously not Shakespeare, this dialogue does not have the earnestness and conceit of movies like Brothers McMullen did, and that made it refreshing. Not only did my friends and I feel the pain of the characters in the movie, but we were around the same age, and often waxed philosophic about the exact same things that they did, and most of us had the exact same kinds of girl troubles (I know I did.) Maybe part of the issue was my friends and I not being smart enough to understand the depth of, well, anything, but mostly Clerks was just a lot less heady than a lot of other indie movies. Needless to say, I know it’s not a contest, but I watched this movie many more times than Brothers.

The important difference between the two movies is that while I do not really get what the message was in Brothers, the message of Clerks was simple: if you don’t like your job, then quit. Randall and Dante actually tussle on the floor of the convenience store, before Randall finally tells him what his problem is; that he thinks his terrible job is so important that he has to go in on his day off and that he is “so much more advanced” than his customers. Randall, the biggest slacker of the entire movie, points out that Dante’s biggest problem is not the customers, or the boss that asked him to come in on his day off, but himself. He allows himself to be bullied by his boss, the customers, his ex, and even Randall, who convinced Dante to let him borrow his car so he can go rent a movie from a different video store. It’s actually very good writing, structure-wise, when then the character who is the biggest idiot is the voice of reason.

I will also say that while neither of these gents displayed the filmmaking talents of a young Speilberg, Clerks literally does age better because it was shot in black-and-white, so if you watch it in 2021, it doesn’t look like an old home movie found in your grandparents’ attic. You could almost say that comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges; while they’re both independent films, Burns made a “film” while Smith was making a “movie,” but that’s pretty much just window dressing because if I had to choose between the two of them which one to watch for the rest of my life, I would choose Clerks every time. Of course, the acting is bad, there are some gay slurs in there that certainly don’t hold up, and there really isn’t much point to it other than, “poor Dante,” but that all just makes it a more enjoyable movie because that’s all it was trying to be.

If you’re A Kevin Smith fan, check out my pal Claynferno’s recent, very cool interview with him, which happens to be on our podcast site (two plugs in one!) here. Also check out a bunch of the other fun stuff I do on my linktree. And let me know what you think.

Keep on Keepin’ on,

Durs