Clerks. (1994)

Director:

Kevin Smith

Writer:

Kevin Smith (written by)

Release Date:

19 October 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Just Because They Serve You... Doesn't Mean They Like You.

Plot:

A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.

Plot Keywords:

Long Take | Underage Smoking | Homosocial Friendship | Ex Girlfriend | Convenience Store Clerk

Awards:

4 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Brian O'Halloran	...	Dante Hicks
Jeff Anderson	...	Randal Graves
Marilyn Ghigliotti	...	Veronica Loughran
Lisa Spoonhauer	...	Caitlin Bree
Jason Mewes	...	Jay
Kevin Smith	...	Silent Bob
Scott Mosier	...	Willam Black / Angry Hockey Playing Customer / Angry Mourner
Walter Flanagan	...	Woolen Cap Smoker / Egg Man / Offended Customer / Cat Admiring Bitter Customer (as Walt Flanagan)
Scott Schiaffo	...	Chewlie's Rep
Al Berkowitz	...	Old Man
David Klein	...	Hunting Cap Smoking Boy / Low I.Q. Video Customer / Hubcap Searching Customer / Angry Mourner / Angry Crowd at Door
Ed Hapstak	...	Sanford / Angry Mourner
Pattijean Csik	...	Coroner
Ernest O'Donnell	...	Rick Derris (Trainer)
Kimberly Loughran	...	Heather Jones (Alyssa's sister)

Also Known As:

Clerks (USA) (alternative spelling)
Clerks X: Tenth Anniversary Edition (USA) (DVD title)
cLeRKs (USA) (poster title)
Cajeros (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Balconista, O (Brazil) [pt]
Clerks (Spain) [es]
Clerks - Die Ladenhüter (Germany) [de]
Clerks - commessi (Italy) [it]
Clerks - tiskirotat (Finland) [fi]
Clerks, les employés modèles (France) [fr]
Shop-stop (Hungary) [hu]
Trgovci (Slovenia) [sl]
Ypalliloi (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated R on appeal for extensive use of extremely explicit sex-related dialogue.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Mono (original Sundance cut)

Certification:

USA:TV-MA (tv rating) | Australia:MA (2008 re-rating) | Australia:R (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Singapore:M18 | Iceland:L | Australia:R | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:III | Israel:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:Btl | UK:18 | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (re-rating after appeal) | UK:15 (2005 re-rating) | Canada:14A (Nova Scotia) (video rating) (10th anniversary edition)

Filming Locations:

Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Willem Black was supposed to be a collegiate type, but the original actor for the role, Dan Hapstak, changed his mind and opted out of the role. Scott Mosier was then cast as the role, but since he didn't look collegiate, they reworked the character into an idiot man child.

Goofs:

Continuity: The clothes worn by the mother asking for "Happy Scrappy Hero Pup."

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dante Hicks: [phone rings and Dante falles out of a closet] Hello. What? No I don't work today, I'm playing hockey at two.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Snowball Effect: The Story of 'Clerks' (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Big Problems

A witty, hilariously profane cult picture

Clerks is one of those movies everyone knows everything about even before they've seen it. The most fascinating aspect is probably the back-story: Kevin Smith sold his comic-book collection to finance it, shot it in the convenience store where he was working at the time, and cast his school friends in the various roles (two of them wound up playing three or four characters each). The film became a huge hit at Sundance, and is now widely (and justly) considered one of the best independent movies of all time.

The plot is quite easy to sum up: nothing happens. It's just a "regular" day in the lives of a few people working in or outside a Quick Stop convenience store. The fun starts immediately, as Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) is asked to replace a sick colleague. This upsets him a lot, since it's supposed to be his day off ("You know what the worst part is? I'm not even supposed to BE here today!"). So now he has to serve a bunch of rather annoying or excessively weird people, with occasional help from his friend Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), who "works" in the video store next to Quick Stop. Together, they discuss things like hermaphroditic porn or, Tarantino-style, which Star Wars sequel is better (Jedi or Empire?), and also try to find ways of not working, or at least make the day less boring (as Randal puts it:"This job would be great if it wasn't for the f**king customers"). Between these discussions, they also interact with Dante's present girlfriend Veronica (whose sex life causes heated debates) and ex Caitlin, who's apparently engaged to some Asian design major. And let's not forget Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith himself), two drug dealers consistently located outside the store.

Smith uses these characters to reference his favorite movies (the previously mentioned Star Wars, as well as Jaws and Indiana Jones) and talk about any subject in the filthiest way imaginable. Some incredibly outrageous stuff is mentioned ("jizz moppers", necrophilia, "snowballing"), but unlike John Waters, he never shows the events discussed by Dante, Randal et al. Everything occurs, or has occurred, off-screen, so all we get to do is have a good laugh, because no matter how crude it gets (the film is rated R for "Extensive Use Of Extremely Explicit Sex-Related Dialogue"), Smith's writing remains genuinely funny. Randal, in particular, steals every scene with his existential musings ("I'm a firm believer in the philosophy of a ruling class. Especially since I rule.") or very politically incorrect antics (the top? Reading a list of pornographic flicks in front of a mother and her baby).

If you haven't seen it yet, do it, and fast: Clerks fully deserves its cult status. It has priceless dialogue, wisecracking characters and loads of swearing. What else can you ask for?