Clerks
Encyclopedia
Clerks is a 1994 independent
comedy film
written and directed by Kevin Smith
, who also appears in the film as Silent Bob
. Starring Brian O'Halloran
as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson
as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two store clerks and their acquaintances. Clerks was the first of Smith's View Askewniverse
films and the only one to date to be shot entirely in black and white. It introduces several characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob
, who reappear in his later works, including Mallrats
, Chasing Amy
, Dogma
, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
, and Clerks II
.
Clerks, which had been shot for US$27,575 in the convenience store where director Kevin Smith
worked in real life, grossed over US$3 million in theaters, launching Smith's career.
), a clerk at a local Quick Stop convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey
, is called into work on his day off by his boss to cover a few hours for another employee who is sick. Arriving at the store, he finds that the locks to the security shutters are jammed closed with chewing gum, so he hangs a sheet over them with a message written in shoe polish: "I ASSURE YOU; WE'RE OPEN."
Dante's day is spent in the purgatory of serving a succession of customers while bemoaning the fact that he's "not even supposed to be here today." Interspersed with the demands of his job, Dante passes time in wide-ranging conversations with his slacker friend, Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson
). Randal ostensibly works at the neighboring video store, although he spends almost the entire day at the Quick Stop. They converse about many things to pass time, such as whether the contractors working on the second Death Star
when it was destroyed at the end of Return of the Jedi
were innocent victims or not. Dante's current girlfriend, Veronica Loughran (Marilyn Ghigliotti
), also stops in and the two talk about Dante's current disposition—in a rut with no motivation to change. Further contributing to Dante's misery is an announcement in the local newspaper that his unfaithful ex-girlfriend, Caitlin Bree, is engaged to be married.
Learning that he is stuck working the store all day, Dante convinces his friends to play hockey on the store roof. The game is short; 12 minutes in, an irate customer shoots their only ball off the roof and into a sewer. Reopening the store, Dante finds out one of his ex-girlfriends has died and her memorial service is today. Randal talks him into closing the store again and going to the wake. The visit is disastrous, with Randal and Dante running out to escape in their car. The audience does not see what transpires during the memorial service. However, a later conversation between the two reveals that Randal accidentally knocked over the casket by leaning on it.
That night Caitlin Bree (Lisa Spoonhauer
) surprises Dante with a visit. After she assures Dante that the engagement announcement was premature and arranged by her mother, the two trade banter and Dante becomes torn between her and Veronica. He finally decides to take Caitlin on a date and slips home to change. He returns to discover that Caitlin had sex
with a dead man in the unlit bathroom, having mistaken the man for Dante (the man had earlier entered the bathroom with a pornographic magazine and had suffered a fatal heart attack while masturbating). An ambulance takes Caitlin away in shock, along with the corpse.
Jay and Silent Bob
(Jason Mewes
and Kevin Smith
), a pair of stoners who have spent all day hanging out (and dealing marijuana) outside the Quick Stop, enter the store to shoplift. Dante turns down Jay’s offer to party with them. Knowing Dante's predicament, Silent Bob pauses before following Jay outside and offers the following wisdom: "You know, there's a million fine-looking women in the world, dude. But they don't all bring you lasagna at work. Most of 'em just cheat on you." Dante then realizes that he loves Veronica. When she returns to the Quick Stop, though, Randal complicates things by revealing that Dante was in love with Caitlin and is planning to date his ex again thinking Dante still wanted Caitlin. Veronica angrily breaks up with Dante and reveals to him that Randal told her of his plans to be with Caitlin.
When Randal enters the Quick Stop after closing the RST video, Dante loses his temper and fights with him. After the fight, they lie on the floor worn out. Dante claims that Randal does nothing for him but make his life miserable by getting him fined, offending his customers, and ruining his relationship. Randal explodes saying that Dante is the one who closed the store to play hockey, to go to the wake, and to attempt to get back together with his ex-girlfriend without thinking about his current one. He then says that Dante came to work of his own volition and overcompensates for having a monkey's job. He claims Dante thinks he is more advanced than the customers and Randal storms off with "If we're so fucking advanced, what are we doing working here?" leaving Dante speechless on the floor.
They reconcile and Dante says he will try to talk to Veronica and visit Caitlin and possibly get some direction in his life. The film ends with Randal walking out of the store, popping back in briefly to toss Dante's sign at him stating, "You're closed!"
. The "lost scene" was also presented in comic book form of the Clerks comic book
series, with the title of "The Lost Scene".
Dante and Randal, after hearing of the death of Dante's former high school flame Julie, go to her wake. At the wake, Randal picks up some death cards from a table and discusses collecting them like baseball card
s. Dante also runs into another former high school classmate, Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams
), from Chasing Amy
. Alyssa tells Dante that she was going to see Julie's appearance on Truth or Date (see Mallrats
) before she learned of her death. Randal walks over to the two and greets Alyssa with "Hey, 'Finger Cuffs'!" (see Chasing Amy
) prompting her to angrily storm off.
As Dante and Randal wait in line to see Julie's casket, Dante recalls the time he was caught by Julie's parents while he and Julie had oral sex
. When the two arrive at the casket, they question the choice of Julie's funeral clothing (a tube top
), and Randal decides he's bored and wants to go to the car. Dante throws him the keys, but Randal misses the catch and the keys fall into Julie's pants. Dante reaches into the pants to find the keys while Randal rubs his shoulders, making it seem like Dante is upset. Julie's father pushes Randal out of the way and, after seeing Dante's actions, pounces on him. Randal is then pushed by her mother and bumps into Julie's casket, which topples over, as does Julie's body. Randal catches the keys as they fly into the air, and he and Dante run out abruptly.
and roughly edited due to a very modest budget of $
27,575. To acquire the funds for the film, Kevin Smith
sold a large portion of his extensive comic book collection in 1993, maxed out eight to ten credit cards with $2,000 limits, dipped into a portion of funds set aside for his college education and spent insurance money awarded for a car he and Jason Mewes lost in a flood. The film was shot in 21 straight days (with two "pick-up" days). Originally, Smith wrote the role of Randal Graves for himself, but after realizing he could not write, direct, work in the store, and take a starring role at the same time, he cast himself in the smaller role of Silent Bob and began searching for someone to play Randal. According to Smith's commentary on the DVD, this is why Randal has the best lines.
A Quick Stop convenience store (located at 58 N. Leonard Avenue in Leonardo, New Jersey
) where Smith worked was the primary setting for the film. He was only allowed to film in the store at night while it was closed (from 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.), hence the running gag of someone jamming gum in the padlocks and the steel shutters
remaining closed; otherwise, it would seem odd that it was dark outside during all the daytime scenes. Because Smith was working at Quick Stop during the day and shooting the film at night, he slept no more than an hour a day. By the end of the 21 day shoot, Smith was unable to stay awake while some of the most climactic scenes of the film were shot.
Several members of Smith's family played roles in the film due to budget constraints. When Dante is discussing the "Milk Maids", the shopper shown is Smith's mother and the customer whose job it is to "manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination" is played by Smith's sister, Virginia. Several of Smith's childhood friends also play roles in the film. Walt Flanagan
plays four roles in this film: The "Woolen Cap Smoker" in the beginning (which he reprises in Clerks II
), the famous "Egg Man", the "Offended Customer" (during the "jizz mopper" scene) and the "Cat Admiring Bitter Customer,". Walt never intended to play this many roles (Smith would often, in jest, refer to Flanagan as "the Lon Chaney
of the '90s"). As one of Smith's friends who was present often during filming as either extra help or just moral support, it fell to Walt to play these characters when the actors Smith originally got to play them just didn't show up.
Dante's beard changes throughout the film because Smith asked Brian O'Halloran to shave his goatee before filming started. After seeing what O'Halloran looked like without it, Smith told him to grow it back. Thus, the scenes earlier in the shoot show a thinner beard, while later ones show Dante with a thicker goatee, as it had longer to grow back.
In the scene where Randal lists the names of the porno movies he needs to order, he and the Happy Scrappy Hero Pup lady are not actually in the room at the same time. Jeff Anderson refused to read the list of porno films in front of her, and particularly in front of the child (although the reaction shots of the Happy Scrappy Hero Pup lady were obtained by a crew member reading the same list to her). In fact, Anderson also felt uncomfortable about knowing his mother would watch the film and hear the list and he, embarrassed, gave the list back to Smith to cut it down — mere seconds before shooting, Smith passed the list back to Anderson with a few more added for good measure. The young girl in this scene is Ashley Pereira, niece of Vincent Pereira (Director of A Better Place
and "resident View Askew historian").
The depressing ending was criticized by Smith's mentors Bob Hawk and John Pierson
after its first screening at the Independent Feature Film Market, and it was under Pierson's advice that Smith cut the ending short, deleting Dante's death and ending the movie with Randal's departure. Fans have since analyzed the death of Dante as an homage to the ending of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
, which is discussed earlier in the film as Dante's favorite Star Wars
movie because "it ended on such a down note." Deleted scenes from the extended cut of the film also implied that the killer would never be caught, as Randal disconnects the security cameras earlier in the day. Smith said it concluded this way because he "didn't know how to end a film." Both versions are available in Clerks. X, the tenth anniversary special edition; the lost ending itself was among the extras on the 1995 Laserdisc and the 1999 DVD release; in his commentary on the 1999 DVD, Smith states that had he kept the original ending, there would have likely been no further View Askewniverse films. The culprit in question was played by Smith's cousin John Willyung, who would go on to appear in later Smith films (most notably as "Cohee Lunden" in Chasing Amy
).
The MPAA
originally gave Clerks an NC-17 rating, based purely on the film's explicit dialogue; - it contains no real violence, and no clearly depicted nudity. This would have serious financial implications for the film, as very few cinemas in the United States
screen NC-17 films. Miramax hired civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz
to appeal the decision; the MPAA relented and re-rated the film with the more commercially viable "R" rating, without alteration.
and grossed over $3 million in the United States despite never playing on more than 50 theater screens in the United States at the same time. Clerks won the "Award of the Youth" and the "Mercedes-Benz Award" at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival
, tied with Fresh for the "Filmmakers Trophy" at the Sundance Film Festival
and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay and Jeff Anderson
for Best Debut Performance). In 2000, readers of Total Film
magazine voted Clerks the 16th greatest comedy film of all time and in 2006, British film magazine Empire
listed Clerks as the 4th greatest independent film. The film is also number 33 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly
ranked it 13th on "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" and 21st on "The Comedy 25: The Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years". Also in 2008, Empire
named it one of their "500 Greatest Movies of All-Time" placing it 361st on the list. The film was also one of the 500 films nominated for a spot on AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs but failed to make the top 100. It was also used in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
.
The film was well received by critics, with an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
and is considered a cult classic
.
on May 23, 1995. On August 30, 1995 a laserdisc
version was issued. This version features the original letterboxed version of the film, audio commentary by Smith and various cast and crew members, seven deleted scenes from the film, a theatrical trailer and a music video for "Can't Even Tell" performed by Soul Asylum
.
The first DVD
incarnation of the film appeared on June 29, 1999. The special features for the DVD do not vary from the laserdisc features. It was then released as a 3-disc, tenth anniversary edition set in 2004.
The film was released on UMD (playable on PlayStation Portable
) on November 15, 2005. Special features include "Clerks: The Lost Scene", "The Flying Car" and original cast auditions. In the fall of 2006, a new edition of the Clerks DVD appeared in Canada, dubbed the Clerks: Snowball Edition. The new release included a photo of a bikini-clad model on the cover and some of the extra features from the 1999 edition. It appears Smith was not involved in this release, as he indicated on his official message forum in August 2006 that he was not aware of its release.
Clerks was released on Blu-ray
on November 17, 2009, as a "15th Anniversary Edition". It has the same special features as Clerks. X, below, along with a new documentary, Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party
, as well as an introduction to the documentary by Kevin Smith.
Collector's Series. The features for this version of the DVD include:
Disc 1 - Theatrical Feature
Disc 2 - Clerks: The First Cut
Disc 3 - Bonus Features
, grunge
and punk rock
artists such as Bad Religion
, Love Among Freaks
, Alice in Chains
, and Soul Asylum
. The soundtrack also featured various sound clips from the film. It has been noted that Clerks is one of the very few films in which the cost of obtaining the rights to the music used was greater than the production costs for the entire film.
The Soul Asylum song "Can't Even Tell", which was played over the film's end credits and featured on the soundtrack, peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1994. The music video for the song was directed by Smith and was filmed in the same locations as the film. The video featured Smith, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran reprising their roles from Clerks.
Another song which appeared on the soundtrack was "Got Me Wrong
" by Alice in Chains, which had previously been released on the band's extended play Sap
(1992). The song was issued as a single in late 1994, due to renewed radio interest from the song's appearance in Clerks. The song peaked at number 7 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 15 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1994.
On DVD and LaserDisc, the film is split into 18 scenes. Each scene is titled by a corresponding title card with the first being "Dante/Opening Credits" and the last being "End Credits".
of overlapping characters and stories. Of all of Smith's films, however, Clerks is the one with the most direct spin-off products.
and Buena Vista Entertainment. The pilot only referenced the character names and starred none of the cast from the original film, contained no foul language, did not feature Silent Bob. The character of Jay was featured, prompting Smith to point out that he owned the character rights to both Jay and Silent Bob (for the purposes of featuring them in separate films). The producers' solution was to change the character's name to Ray. Kevin Smith was unaware of the production of the series until casting was underway. Smith had been in production with Mallrats
at the time and attempted to become involved in the series but became disheartened quickly as an episode he had written for the series was shot down. He would later use the script for an episode of Clerks: The Animated Series
.
O'Halloran and Anderson both auditioned for the role of Dante Hicks (as Anderson's part of Randal Graves from the film had already been filled by future SNL
performer Jim Breuer
). After seeing the result, Smith said that it was terrible, and O'Halloran and Anderson said they were both glad they didn't get the part.
network (a subsidiary of the Disney company, which also owns Miramax Films
, the studio which released many of Smith's films, including Clerks) in late May/early June 2000 before being pulled from the lineup. The full six episodes were released on DVD in 2001 before being run on Comedy Central
in 2004 and Adult Swim
in 2008-10. In a trailer for (not in) Smith's 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
, Graves remarks on the series, saying to Hicks: "If you were funnier than that, ABC wouldn't have canceled us."
written by Kevin Smith featuring characters from the film. In the series are Clerks: The Comic Book, Clerks: Holiday Special and Clerks: The Lost Scene. Smith has discussed plans for Clerks 1.5, a comic that would bridge the gap between the original film and its sequel
, to be included in a reprint of the Clerks. trade paperback. The story ultimately was printed in the 2006 Tales from the Clerks collection, which also included the other Clerks comics with additional View Askewniverse material.
to Clerks was released on July 21, 2006. The working title was The Passion of the Clerks, though the film was released under the title Clerks II. The credits for Dogma
stated "Jay and Silent Bob will return in Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin"; however, that project "evolved" into Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The sequel features Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran reprising their roles as Dante Hicks and Randal Graves. The two now work at a Mooby's restaurant after Grave's incompetence resulted in the destruction of the Quick Stop and RST Video.
This was confirmed further during one of the three audio commentary tracks on the Clerks II DVD where Smith expressed interest in making a Clerks III in his 40s or 50s in which Anderson jokingly says "Oh, don't get me started,", referring to Anderson's well known doubts about making Clerks II when first approached by Smith.
On December 25, 2009, Smith replied to a tweet with a message board post. In it he says "Might be nice to box "View Askew Productions" 'til the eventual look back in on Dante and Randal with Clerks III."
In an interview with MTV, Smith voiced his desire to make Clerks III as a live-action sitcom.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
, who also appears in the film as Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, a fictional universe created and used in most films, comics and television by Smith, which began in Clerks....
. Starring Brian O'Halloran
Brian O'Halloran
Brian Christopher O'Halloran is an American actor best known for his roles in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse films, notably as Dante Hicks in Smith's debut film Clerks and its 2006 sequel, Clerks II...
as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson
Jeff Anderson
Jeffrey Allan "Jeff" Anderson is an American film actor, film director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in Clerks and Clerks II...
as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two store clerks and their acquaintances. Clerks was the first of Smith's View Askewniverse
View Askewniverse
The View Askewniverse is a fictional universe created by writer/director Kevin Smith, featured in several films, comics and a television series; it is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. The characters Jay and Silent Bob appear in almost all the View Askewniverse media,...
films and the only one to date to be shot entirely in black and white. It introduces several characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, a fictional universe created and used in most films, comics and television by Smith, which began in Clerks....
, who reappear in his later works, including Mallrats
Mallrats
Mallrats is a 1995 film written and directed by Kevin Smith. It is the second to be set in Smith's View Askewniverse series of interlocking films set mostly in New Jersey, although the movie was filmed in Eden Prairie Center and Osowski's Flea Market which are located in Minnesota...
, Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy is a 1997 romantic comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith. The central tension revolves around sexuality, sexual history, and evolving friendships. It is the third film in Smith's View Askewniverse series....
, Dogma
Dogma (film)
Dogma is a 1999 American adventure fantasy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also stars in the film along with an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Bud Cort, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo,...
, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
, and Clerks II
Clerks II
Clerks II is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, sequel to his 1994 film Clerks, and his sixth and latest feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse...
.
Clerks, which had been shot for US$27,575 in the convenience store where director Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
worked in real life, grossed over US$3 million in theaters, launching Smith's career.
Plot
On April 10, 1993, Dante Hicks (Brian O'HalloranBrian O'Halloran
Brian Christopher O'Halloran is an American actor best known for his roles in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse films, notably as Dante Hicks in Smith's debut film Clerks and its 2006 sequel, Clerks II...
), a clerk at a local Quick Stop convenience store in Leonardo, New Jersey
Leonardo, New Jersey
Leonardo is a census-designated place located within Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP population was 2,757...
, is called into work on his day off by his boss to cover a few hours for another employee who is sick. Arriving at the store, he finds that the locks to the security shutters are jammed closed with chewing gum, so he hangs a sheet over them with a message written in shoe polish: "I ASSURE YOU; WE'RE OPEN."
Dante's day is spent in the purgatory of serving a succession of customers while bemoaning the fact that he's "not even supposed to be here today." Interspersed with the demands of his job, Dante passes time in wide-ranging conversations with his slacker friend, Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson
Jeff Anderson
Jeffrey Allan "Jeff" Anderson is an American film actor, film director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in Clerks and Clerks II...
). Randal ostensibly works at the neighboring video store, although he spends almost the entire day at the Quick Stop. They converse about many things to pass time, such as whether the contractors working on the second Death Star
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
when it was destroyed at the end of Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
were innocent victims or not. Dante's current girlfriend, Veronica Loughran (Marilyn Ghigliotti
Marilyn Ghigliotti
Marilyn Ghigliotti is an American character actress, most noted for the role of Veronica Loughran in Clerks.Both of her parents are from Puerto Rico....
), also stops in and the two talk about Dante's current disposition—in a rut with no motivation to change. Further contributing to Dante's misery is an announcement in the local newspaper that his unfaithful ex-girlfriend, Caitlin Bree, is engaged to be married.
Learning that he is stuck working the store all day, Dante convinces his friends to play hockey on the store roof. The game is short; 12 minutes in, an irate customer shoots their only ball off the roof and into a sewer. Reopening the store, Dante finds out one of his ex-girlfriends has died and her memorial service is today. Randal talks him into closing the store again and going to the wake. The visit is disastrous, with Randal and Dante running out to escape in their car. The audience does not see what transpires during the memorial service. However, a later conversation between the two reveals that Randal accidentally knocked over the casket by leaning on it.
That night Caitlin Bree (Lisa Spoonhauer
Lisa Spoonhauer
Lisa Spoonhauer is a character actress famous for the role of Caitlin Bree in Clerks, which she reprised for an episode in the animated series...
) surprises Dante with a visit. After she assures Dante that the engagement announcement was premature and arranged by her mother, the two trade banter and Dante becomes torn between her and Veronica. He finally decides to take Caitlin on a date and slips home to change. He returns to discover that Caitlin had sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
with a dead man in the unlit bathroom, having mistaken the man for Dante (the man had earlier entered the bathroom with a pornographic magazine and had suffered a fatal heart attack while masturbating). An ambulance takes Caitlin away in shock, along with the corpse.
Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob
Jay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, a fictional universe created and used in most films, comics and television by Smith, which began in Clerks....
(Jason Mewes
Jason Mewes
Jason Edward Mewes is an American television, film actor, and internet radio show host best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's films.-Early life:...
and Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
), a pair of stoners who have spent all day hanging out (and dealing marijuana) outside the Quick Stop, enter the store to shoplift. Dante turns down Jay’s offer to party with them. Knowing Dante's predicament, Silent Bob pauses before following Jay outside and offers the following wisdom: "You know, there's a million fine-looking women in the world, dude. But they don't all bring you lasagna at work. Most of 'em just cheat on you." Dante then realizes that he loves Veronica. When she returns to the Quick Stop, though, Randal complicates things by revealing that Dante was in love with Caitlin and is planning to date his ex again thinking Dante still wanted Caitlin. Veronica angrily breaks up with Dante and reveals to him that Randal told her of his plans to be with Caitlin.
When Randal enters the Quick Stop after closing the RST video, Dante loses his temper and fights with him. After the fight, they lie on the floor worn out. Dante claims that Randal does nothing for him but make his life miserable by getting him fined, offending his customers, and ruining his relationship. Randal explodes saying that Dante is the one who closed the store to play hockey, to go to the wake, and to attempt to get back together with his ex-girlfriend without thinking about his current one. He then says that Dante came to work of his own volition and overcompensates for having a monkey's job. He claims Dante thinks he is more advanced than the customers and Randal storms off with "If we're so fucking advanced, what are we doing working here?" leaving Dante speechless on the floor.
They reconcile and Dante says he will try to talk to Veronica and visit Caitlin and possibly get some direction in his life. The film ends with Randal walking out of the store, popping back in briefly to toss Dante's sign at him stating, "You're closed!"
The lost scene
The events of Julie Dwyer's wake were scripted by Smith, but unfilmed due to the probable cost of producing the scene. For the tenth anniversary Clerks X DVD release, the scene was produced in color using an animation style similar to that of Clerks: The Animated SeriesClerks: The Animated Series
Clerks is an American animated sitcom based on Kevin Smith's 1994 comedy of the same name. It was developed for television by Smith, Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier and former Seinfeld writer David Mandel with character designs by Stephen Silver.-Cast:- Broadcast history :Only two episodes...
. The "lost scene" was also presented in comic book form of the Clerks comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series, with the title of "The Lost Scene".
Dante and Randal, after hearing of the death of Dante's former high school flame Julie, go to her wake. At the wake, Randal picks up some death cards from a table and discusses collecting them like baseball card
Baseball card
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on some type of paper stock or card stock. A card will usually feature one or more baseball players or other baseball-related sports figures...
s. Dante also runs into another former high school classmate, Alyssa Jones (Joey Lauren Adams
Joey Lauren Adams
Joey Lauren Adams is an American actress who has appeared in more than thirty films. She is known for her distinctive, raspy voice and for her roles in View Askewniverse films, particularly Mallrats and Chasing Amy, with the latter giving her a Golden Globe for Best Actress nomination.-Career:She...
), from Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy is a 1997 romantic comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith. The central tension revolves around sexuality, sexual history, and evolving friendships. It is the third film in Smith's View Askewniverse series....
. Alyssa tells Dante that she was going to see Julie's appearance on Truth or Date (see Mallrats
Mallrats
Mallrats is a 1995 film written and directed by Kevin Smith. It is the second to be set in Smith's View Askewniverse series of interlocking films set mostly in New Jersey, although the movie was filmed in Eden Prairie Center and Osowski's Flea Market which are located in Minnesota...
) before she learned of her death. Randal walks over to the two and greets Alyssa with "Hey, 'Finger Cuffs'!" (see Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy is a 1997 romantic comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith. The central tension revolves around sexuality, sexual history, and evolving friendships. It is the third film in Smith's View Askewniverse series....
) prompting her to angrily storm off.
As Dante and Randal wait in line to see Julie's casket, Dante recalls the time he was caught by Julie's parents while he and Julie had oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
. When the two arrive at the casket, they question the choice of Julie's funeral clothing (a tube top
Tube top
A tube top is a shoulderless, sleeveless "tube" that wraps the torso. Such a top is generally very tight over the breasts in order to prevent the garment from falling...
), and Randal decides he's bored and wants to go to the car. Dante throws him the keys, but Randal misses the catch and the keys fall into Julie's pants. Dante reaches into the pants to find the keys while Randal rubs his shoulders, making it seem like Dante is upset. Julie's father pushes Randal out of the way and, after seeing Dante's actions, pounces on him. Randal is then pushed by her mother and bumps into Julie's casket, which topples over, as does Julie's body. Randal catches the keys as they fly into the air, and he and Dante run out abruptly.
Cast
- Brian O'HalloranBrian O'HalloranBrian Christopher O'Halloran is an American actor best known for his roles in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse films, notably as Dante Hicks in Smith's debut film Clerks and its 2006 sequel, Clerks II...
as Dante Hicks - Jeff AndersonJeff AndersonJeffrey Allan "Jeff" Anderson is an American film actor, film director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in Clerks and Clerks II...
as Randal Graves - Marilyn GhigliottiMarilyn GhigliottiMarilyn Ghigliotti is an American character actress, most noted for the role of Veronica Loughran in Clerks.Both of her parents are from Puerto Rico....
as Veronica Loughran - Lisa SpoonhauerLisa SpoonhauerLisa Spoonhauer is a character actress famous for the role of Caitlin Bree in Clerks, which she reprised for an episode in the animated series...
as Caitlin Bree - Jason MewesJason MewesJason Edward Mewes is an American television, film actor, and internet radio show host best known for playing Jay, the vocal half of the duo Jay and Silent Bob, in longtime friend Kevin Smith's films.-Early life:...
as JayJay and Silent BobJay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, a fictional universe created and used in most films, comics and television by Smith, which began in Clerks.... - Kevin SmithKevin SmithKevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
as Silent BobJay and Silent BobJay and Silent Bob are fictional characters portrayed by Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith, respectively, in Kevin Smith's View Askewniverse, a fictional universe created and used in most films, comics and television by Smith, which began in Clerks.... - Scott MosierScott MosierScott A Mosier is an American-Canadian film producer, editor, podcaster and actor best known for his work with director Kevin Smith, with whom he co-hosts the weekly podcast, Smodcast.-Early life:...
as Willam Black / Angry hockey-playing customer / Angry mourner - Walt FlanaganWalt FlanaganWalter Flanagan is an American actor, podcaster, songwriter, comic book artist and comic book store proprietor. Flanagan is a long-time friend of Kevin Smith, and it was Flanagan who had turned Smith back onto comic books.Flanagan is also co-host of the "Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!" podcast with...
as Woolen cap smoker / Egg man / Offended customer / Cat admirer - Pattijean Csik as The Coroner
- Ken Clark as Administer of Fine / Orderly
- Scott Schiaffo as The Activist / Chewlies gum representative
- Ed Hapstack as Hockey player / Angry funeral woman
- Ernest O'DonnellErnest O'DonnellErnest O'Donnell is an American actor who is known for his roles in various Kevin Smith films, most notably Clerks....
as Rick Derris - Kimberly Loughran as Heather Jones
- Frances Cresci as Little smoking girl
- Joey Lauren AdamsJoey Lauren AdamsJoey Lauren Adams is an American actress who has appeared in more than thirty films. She is known for her distinctive, raspy voice and for her roles in View Askewniverse films, particularly Mallrats and Chasing Amy, with the latter giving her a Golden Globe for Best Actress nomination.-Career:She...
as Alyssa Jones (The Lost Scene)
Production
The film was shot in black-and-whiteBlack-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
and roughly edited due to a very modest budget of $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
27,575. To acquire the funds for the film, Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
sold a large portion of his extensive comic book collection in 1993, maxed out eight to ten credit cards with $2,000 limits, dipped into a portion of funds set aside for his college education and spent insurance money awarded for a car he and Jason Mewes lost in a flood. The film was shot in 21 straight days (with two "pick-up" days). Originally, Smith wrote the role of Randal Graves for himself, but after realizing he could not write, direct, work in the store, and take a starring role at the same time, he cast himself in the smaller role of Silent Bob and began searching for someone to play Randal. According to Smith's commentary on the DVD, this is why Randal has the best lines.
A Quick Stop convenience store (located at 58 N. Leonard Avenue in Leonardo, New Jersey
Leonardo, New Jersey
Leonardo is a census-designated place located within Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the CDP population was 2,757...
) where Smith worked was the primary setting for the film. He was only allowed to film in the store at night while it was closed (from 10:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m.), hence the running gag of someone jamming gum in the padlocks and the steel shutters
Window shutter
A window shutter is a solid and stable window covering usually consisting of a frame of vertical stiles and horizontal rails...
remaining closed; otherwise, it would seem odd that it was dark outside during all the daytime scenes. Because Smith was working at Quick Stop during the day and shooting the film at night, he slept no more than an hour a day. By the end of the 21 day shoot, Smith was unable to stay awake while some of the most climactic scenes of the film were shot.
Several members of Smith's family played roles in the film due to budget constraints. When Dante is discussing the "Milk Maids", the shopper shown is Smith's mother and the customer whose job it is to "manually masturbate caged animals for artificial insemination" is played by Smith's sister, Virginia. Several of Smith's childhood friends also play roles in the film. Walt Flanagan
Walt Flanagan
Walter Flanagan is an American actor, podcaster, songwriter, comic book artist and comic book store proprietor. Flanagan is a long-time friend of Kevin Smith, and it was Flanagan who had turned Smith back onto comic books.Flanagan is also co-host of the "Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!" podcast with...
plays four roles in this film: The "Woolen Cap Smoker" in the beginning (which he reprises in Clerks II
Clerks II
Clerks II is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, sequel to his 1994 film Clerks, and his sixth and latest feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse...
), the famous "Egg Man", the "Offended Customer" (during the "jizz mopper" scene) and the "Cat Admiring Bitter Customer,". Walt never intended to play this many roles (Smith would often, in jest, refer to Flanagan as "the Lon Chaney
Lon Chaney, Sr.
Lon Chaney , nicknamed "The Man of a Thousand Faces," was an American actor during the age of silent films. He was one of the most versatile and powerful actors of early cinema...
of the '90s"). As one of Smith's friends who was present often during filming as either extra help or just moral support, it fell to Walt to play these characters when the actors Smith originally got to play them just didn't show up.
Dante's beard changes throughout the film because Smith asked Brian O'Halloran to shave his goatee before filming started. After seeing what O'Halloran looked like without it, Smith told him to grow it back. Thus, the scenes earlier in the shoot show a thinner beard, while later ones show Dante with a thicker goatee, as it had longer to grow back.
In the scene where Randal lists the names of the porno movies he needs to order, he and the Happy Scrappy Hero Pup lady are not actually in the room at the same time. Jeff Anderson refused to read the list of porno films in front of her, and particularly in front of the child (although the reaction shots of the Happy Scrappy Hero Pup lady were obtained by a crew member reading the same list to her). In fact, Anderson also felt uncomfortable about knowing his mother would watch the film and hear the list and he, embarrassed, gave the list back to Smith to cut it down — mere seconds before shooting, Smith passed the list back to Anderson with a few more added for good measure. The young girl in this scene is Ashley Pereira, niece of Vincent Pereira (Director of A Better Place
A Better Place
A Better Place is a 1997 American independent film, written and directed by Vincent Pereira. It stars Robert DiPatri and Eion Bailey. It was produced in association with View Askew, Kevin Smith's production company, and released to DVD by Synapse Films...
and "resident View Askew historian").
Original ending
The original ending for the film was meant to continue from when Randal throws Dante's "I Assure You, We're Open" sign to him. After Randal leaves, Dante proceeds to count out the register and does not notice another person entering the store. Upon informing the latecomer that the store is no longer open, the customer shoots Dante, killing him in cold blood. Afterward, the killer makes off with all the money from the cash register. The sequence ends with Dante's dead face looking off past the camera; after the credits roll, a customer (played by Smith, with his beard shaved off) comes into the store, sees no one around (Dante is lying dead behind the counter) and steals some cigarettes.The depressing ending was criticized by Smith's mentors Bob Hawk and John Pierson
John Pierson (filmmaker)
John Pierson is an American independent filmmaker. He is best known for helping to produce the first works by filmmakers Spike Lee, Richard Linklater, Michael Moore, and Kevin Smith...
after its first screening at the Independent Feature Film Market, and it was under Pierson's advice that Smith cut the ending short, deleting Dante's death and ending the movie with Randal's departure. Fans have since analyzed the death of Dante as an homage to the ending of Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner. The screenplay, based on a story by George Lucas, was written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan...
, which is discussed earlier in the film as Dante's favorite Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
movie because "it ended on such a down note." Deleted scenes from the extended cut of the film also implied that the killer would never be caught, as Randal disconnects the security cameras earlier in the day. Smith said it concluded this way because he "didn't know how to end a film." Both versions are available in Clerks. X, the tenth anniversary special edition; the lost ending itself was among the extras on the 1995 Laserdisc and the 1999 DVD release; in his commentary on the 1999 DVD, Smith states that had he kept the original ending, there would have likely been no further View Askewniverse films. The culprit in question was played by Smith's cousin John Willyung, who would go on to appear in later Smith films (most notably as "Cohee Lunden" in Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy
Chasing Amy is a 1997 romantic comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith. The central tension revolves around sexuality, sexual history, and evolving friendships. It is the third film in Smith's View Askewniverse series....
).
The MPAA
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
originally gave Clerks an NC-17 rating, based purely on the film's explicit dialogue; - it contains no real violence, and no clearly depicted nudity. This would have serious financial implications for the film, as very few cinemas in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
screen NC-17 films. Miramax hired civil liberties lawyer Alan Dershowitz
Alan Dershowitz
Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He has spent most of his career at Harvard Law School where in 1967, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor of law in its history...
to appeal the decision; the MPAA relented and re-rated the film with the more commercially viable "R" rating, without alteration.
Reception
The film became a surprising success after it was taken by Miramax FilmsMiramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
and grossed over $3 million in the United States despite never playing on more than 50 theater screens in the United States at the same time. Clerks won the "Award of the Youth" and the "Mercedes-Benz Award" at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, tied with Fresh for the "Filmmakers Trophy" at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
and was nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards (Best First Feature, Best First Screenplay and Jeff Anderson
Jeff Anderson
Jeffrey Allan "Jeff" Anderson is an American film actor, film director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in Clerks and Clerks II...
for Best Debut Performance). In 2000, readers of Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
magazine voted Clerks the 16th greatest comedy film of all time and in 2006, British film magazine Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
listed Clerks as the 4th greatest independent film. The film is also number 33 on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
ranked it 13th on "The Cult 25: The Essential Left-Field Movie Hits Since '83" and 21st on "The Comedy 25: The Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years". Also in 2008, Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
named it one of their "500 Greatest Movies of All-Time" placing it 361st on the list. The film was also one of the 500 films nominated for a spot on AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs but failed to make the top 100. It was also used in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is a film reference book edited by Steven Jay Schneider with original essays on each film contributed by over 70 film critics...
.
The film was well received by critics, with an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and is considered a cult classic
Cult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
.
Home media
Clerks was first released on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
on May 23, 1995. On August 30, 1995 a laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
version was issued. This version features the original letterboxed version of the film, audio commentary by Smith and various cast and crew members, seven deleted scenes from the film, a theatrical trailer and a music video for "Can't Even Tell" performed by Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983.The band originally formed in 1981 under the name Loud Fast Rules, with the original line-up consisting of Dan Murphy, Dave Pirner, Karl Mueller and Pat Morley. The latter was replaced by Grant Young in...
.
The first DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
incarnation of the film appeared on June 29, 1999. The special features for the DVD do not vary from the laserdisc features. It was then released as a 3-disc, tenth anniversary edition set in 2004.
The film was released on UMD (playable on PlayStation Portable
PlayStation Portable
The is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
) on November 15, 2005. Special features include "Clerks: The Lost Scene", "The Flying Car" and original cast auditions. In the fall of 2006, a new edition of the Clerks DVD appeared in Canada, dubbed the Clerks: Snowball Edition. The new release included a photo of a bikini-clad model on the cover and some of the extra features from the 1999 edition. It appears Smith was not involved in this release, as he indicated on his official message forum in August 2006 that he was not aware of its release.
Clerks was released on Blu-ray
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on November 17, 2009, as a "15th Anniversary Edition". It has the same special features as Clerks. X, below, along with a new documentary, Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party
Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party
Oh, What a Lovely Tea Party is a 2004 documentary about the making of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, released and produced by Kevin Smith's View Askew Productions...
, as well as an introduction to the documentary by Kevin Smith.
Clerks. X
On September 7, 2004, a tenth anniversary edition of Clerks was released. The 3-disc set is commonly known as Clerks. X as part of the Miramax FilmsMiramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
Collector's Series. The features for this version of the DVD include:
- A 24-page color booklet featuring thoughts on the film from Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier ten years after making it. The booklet also features various reprints of reviews and images of posters and memorabilia from the film's release. Smith states in the booklet that Clerks II would be filmed in 2005.
Disc 1 - Theatrical Feature
- The original theatrical cut of the film in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround.
- The original 1995 laser disc commentary track.
- An "enhanced playback track" featuring trivia subtitles and title card descriptions.
- "Clerks: The Lost Scene" animated short. This scene was originally written in the screenplay for the film but was never shot. For the DVD, the scene was animated in the same style as Clerks: The Animated Series. The scene can be presented in two different ways.
- The scene can be viewed separately from the film with an introduction by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier.
- The DVD also presents the owner with the ability to play the theatrical cut of the film with the animated scene as if it were part of the feature.
- The Flying CarThe Flying CarThe Flying Car is a six-minute 2002 short film written and directed by Kevin Smith. It stars Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson as the View Askewniverse characters Dante Hicks and Randal Graves, who were introduced in Clerks...
, a short film featuring Hicks and Graves. The short was shot in 2001 for The Tonight ShowThe Tonight ShowThe Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
and features the two main characters from Clerks stuck in traffic having a somewhat similar conversation as the one in Clerks where the two are driving to a funeral and discussing sexual curiosity. On the DVD, the short is presented in its original cut with an introduction from Kevin Smith. - A series of short television ads that MTVMTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
commissioned from Kevin Smith featuring Jay and Silent Bob. Eight of them appear on the DVD (MTV also aired a special that Smith hosted but it could not be secured for the DVD for clearance reasons). The spots are introduced by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier. - An original film trailer for the film edited by Matthew Cohen with a brief introduction from Kevin Smith.
- The original music videoMusic videoA music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Can't Even Tell" performed by Soul AsylumSoul AsylumSoul Asylum is an American alternative rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983.The band originally formed in 1981 under the name Loud Fast Rules, with the original line-up consisting of Dan Murphy, Dave Pirner, Karl Mueller and Pat Morley. The latter was replaced by Grant Young in...
directed by Kevin Smith. The music video is introduced by Smith and Scott Mosier. - Three short featurettes about the restoration process used to recreate the feature film for the Clerks. X DVD. In the first featurette, Scott Mosier describes the sound restoration process. In the second, David Klein explains the visual restoration process. The third featurette is hosted by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier as a general introduction to the restored version of the film.
- Original auditions for the film featuring Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, and Ernest O'Donnell. The auditions are introduced by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier.
- DVD-ROM features.
Disc 2 - Clerks: The First Cut
- The very first cut of Clerks before it was edited for theaters. This cut of the film features additional scenes and the original ending intact, less sound production and the original soundtrack which featured music by Love Among Freaks exclusively. This version of the film replicates what Smith showed to film critics and journalists before taking the film to Sundance and selling it to Miramax. It was taken from a Super-VHS tape and unlike the theatrical release underwent no apparent restoration. It is included in the 10th anniversary set in lieu of the collection of deleted scenes that had appeared in the previous DVD issue.
- AudioAudio commentaryOn disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
and video commentary for the first cut of the film. The commentary was recorded in 2004 with Kevin Smith, Scott Mosier, Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson and Jason Mewes.
- Audio
Disc 3 - Bonus Features
- "Snowball Effect", a 90-minute retrospective documentary for Clerks that focuses on Kevin's early inception of the film, the process of making and distributing and finally, the reaction and response to the film from critics and fans.
- Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary, a short student film that Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier made during their time at film school. It comes with an introduction by Smith and Mosier.
- 10th Anniversary Q&A session with Kevin Smith, David Klein, Scott Mosier, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran.
- 13 deleted sceneDeleted sceneIn Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
s and outtakeOuttakeAn outtake is a portion of a work that is removed in the editing process and not included in the work's final, publicly released version. In the digital era, significant outtakes have been appended to CD and DVD reissues of many albums and films as bonus tracks or features, in film often, but not...
s from Snowball Effect - A still photo gallery of over 50 photographs and production images from Clerks as well as early photos of crew and cast members.
- Two collections of journal entries written by Smith. The first entries were written before finishing Clerks and the second were written while Smith took the film to Sundance Film Festival.
- Eight articles and reviews about the film.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was released on October 11, 1994. It was composed of various new and previously released songs by alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
artists such as Bad Religion
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin , Brett Gurewitz , Jay Bentley , Greg Hetson , Brian Baker and Brooks Wackerman . Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the...
, Love Among Freaks
Love Among Freaks
Love Among Freaks was an alternative rock/funk rock band, founded in the New Jersey, USA area.-Beginning:The band started out with Steve Smyth, Bob Pantella, and Alexis Lehman. The band had combined Lehman's use of funk with the bass, and Pantella had combined drum loops along with his live...
, Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, and Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum
Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band that formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1983.The band originally formed in 1981 under the name Loud Fast Rules, with the original line-up consisting of Dan Murphy, Dave Pirner, Karl Mueller and Pat Morley. The latter was replaced by Grant Young in...
. The soundtrack also featured various sound clips from the film. It has been noted that Clerks is one of the very few films in which the cost of obtaining the rights to the music used was greater than the production costs for the entire film.
The Soul Asylum song "Can't Even Tell", which was played over the film's end credits and featured on the soundtrack, peaked at number 16 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1994. The music video for the song was directed by Smith and was filmed in the same locations as the film. The video featured Smith, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran reprising their roles from Clerks.
Another song which appeared on the soundtrack was "Got Me Wrong
Got Me Wrong
"Got Me Wrong" was a largely acoustic single by American grunge band Alice in Chains. The studio version was first featured on the band's EP Sap...
" by Alice in Chains, which had previously been released on the band's extended play Sap
Sap (album)
I "Right Turn" is credited to Alice Mudgarden in the liner notes.II "Love Song" is unlisted on the CD.-Personnel:Alice in Chains*Layne Staley – vocals, drums on "Love Song"*Jerry Cantrell – guitar, vocals, bass on "Love Song"...
(1992). The song was issued as a single in late 1994, due to renewed radio interest from the song's appearance in Clerks. The song peaked at number 7 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and number 15 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1994.
Vocabulary title cards
Various title cards are used throughout the film (after the title card for the film's title itself, "Clerks", with the exception of Dante). Though none of the vocabulary terms are defined in the film, the enhanced trivia track on the "Clerks X DVD" defines them as they appear.On DVD and LaserDisc, the film is split into 18 scenes. Each scene is titled by a corresponding title card with the first being "Dante/Opening Credits" and the last being "End Credits".
- Dante/Opening Credits
- Vilification - An act of making cruel and insulting statements about a person
- Jay and Silent Bob
- Randal
- Syntax - The arrangement of something in a methodical manner
- Vagary - An erratic or peculiar modification, act or thought
- Purgation - An act of getting rid of something disagreeable, flawed or unsatisfactory
- Malaise - An all-around feeling of illness or bad health without any exact cause
- Harbinger - A person or thing that predicts the future
- Perspicacity - The intensity of judgment or observation
- Paradigm - A typical example of something
- Whimsy - A thought that has no apparent explanation to exist
- Quandary - A condition of doubt or uncertainty as to what to do in a certain situation
- Lamentation - An act or expression of sadness or distress
- Juxtaposition - An act of comparing two things, especially in a way that suggests connection between them or to distinguish them
- Catharsis - An event or sensation of spiritual cleansing brought on by a powerful emotional experience
- Denouement - The part of the ending in which all questions are answered and everything is cleared up
- End Credits
Related projects
Following Clerks, Smith set several more films in the same "world", which he calls the View AskewniverseView Askewniverse
The View Askewniverse is a fictional universe created by writer/director Kevin Smith, featured in several films, comics and a television series; it is named for Smith's production company, View Askew Productions. The characters Jay and Silent Bob appear in almost all the View Askewniverse media,...
of overlapping characters and stories. Of all of Smith's films, however, Clerks is the one with the most direct spin-off products.
Clerks: The TV Show
A pilot for a live-action TV series was produced in 1995. It was produced by DisneyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
and Buena Vista Entertainment. The pilot only referenced the character names and starred none of the cast from the original film, contained no foul language, did not feature Silent Bob. The character of Jay was featured, prompting Smith to point out that he owned the character rights to both Jay and Silent Bob (for the purposes of featuring them in separate films). The producers' solution was to change the character's name to Ray. Kevin Smith was unaware of the production of the series until casting was underway. Smith had been in production with Mallrats
Mallrats
Mallrats is a 1995 film written and directed by Kevin Smith. It is the second to be set in Smith's View Askewniverse series of interlocking films set mostly in New Jersey, although the movie was filmed in Eden Prairie Center and Osowski's Flea Market which are located in Minnesota...
at the time and attempted to become involved in the series but became disheartened quickly as an episode he had written for the series was shot down. He would later use the script for an episode of Clerks: The Animated Series
Clerks: The Animated Series
Clerks is an American animated sitcom based on Kevin Smith's 1994 comedy of the same name. It was developed for television by Smith, Smith's producing partner Scott Mosier and former Seinfeld writer David Mandel with character designs by Stephen Silver.-Cast:- Broadcast history :Only two episodes...
.
O'Halloran and Anderson both auditioned for the role of Dante Hicks (as Anderson's part of Randal Graves from the film had already been filled by future SNL
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
performer Jim Breuer
Jim Breuer
Jim Breuer is an American stand-up comedian, actor and radio host. He is most noted for his time as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and starring in the 1998 cult "stoner comedy" Half Baked, alongside Dave Chappelle....
). After seeing the result, Smith said that it was terrible, and O'Halloran and Anderson said they were both glad they didn't get the part.
Clerks: The Animated Series
Clerks: The Animated Series was a short-lived six-episode animated television series featuring the same characters and cast of the original film. Two episodes aired on the ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
network (a subsidiary of the Disney company, which also owns Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
, the studio which released many of Smith's films, including Clerks) in late May/early June 2000 before being pulled from the lineup. The full six episodes were released on DVD in 2001 before being run on Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
in 2004 and Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
in 2008-10. In a trailer for (not in) Smith's 2001 film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 American action adventure comedy film written, directed by, and starring Kevin Smith as Silent Bob, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of his cult favorite Clerks...
, Graves remarks on the series, saying to Hicks: "If you were funnier than that, ABC wouldn't have canceled us."
Clerks: The Comics
Clerks is a series of comicsComics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
written by Kevin Smith featuring characters from the film. In the series are Clerks: The Comic Book, Clerks: Holiday Special and Clerks: The Lost Scene. Smith has discussed plans for Clerks 1.5, a comic that would bridge the gap between the original film and its sequel
Clerks II
Clerks II is a 2006 American comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, sequel to his 1994 film Clerks, and his sixth and latest feature film to be set in the View Askewniverse...
, to be included in a reprint of the Clerks. trade paperback. The story ultimately was printed in the 2006 Tales from the Clerks collection, which also included the other Clerks comics with additional View Askewniverse material.
Clerks II
The live-action, feature film sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to Clerks was released on July 21, 2006. The working title was The Passion of the Clerks, though the film was released under the title Clerks II. The credits for Dogma
Dogma (film)
Dogma is a 1999 American adventure fantasy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also stars in the film along with an ensemble cast that includes Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Alan Rickman, Bud Cort, Salma Hayek, Chris Rock, Jason Lee, George Carlin, Janeane Garofalo,...
stated "Jay and Silent Bob will return in Clerks 2: Hardly Clerkin"; however, that project "evolved" into Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. The sequel features Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran reprising their roles as Dante Hicks and Randal Graves. The two now work at a Mooby's restaurant after Grave's incompetence resulted in the destruction of the Quick Stop and RST Video.
Clerks III
During press for Clerks II, Smith briefly discussed the possibility of a Clerks III. Stating that "if there's ever gonna be a Clerks III, it would be somewhere down the road in my 40s or 50s, when it might be interesting to check back in on Dante and Randal. But I don't know about Jay and Bob so much, cause at 45, leaning on a wall in front of a convenience store might be a little sad."This was confirmed further during one of the three audio commentary tracks on the Clerks II DVD where Smith expressed interest in making a Clerks III in his 40s or 50s in which Anderson jokingly says "Oh, don't get me started,", referring to Anderson's well known doubts about making Clerks II when first approached by Smith.
On December 25, 2009, Smith replied to a tweet with a message board post. In it he says "Might be nice to box "View Askew Productions" 'til the eventual look back in on Dante and Randal with Clerks III."
In an interview with MTV, Smith voiced his desire to make Clerks III as a live-action sitcom.
External links
(film) (animated series) (sitcom pilot)- Clerks. website at View Askew ProductionsView Askew ProductionsView Askew Productions is an American film and television production company founded by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier in 1994. Actors Ben Affleck, Jeff Anderson, Matt Damon, Walter Flanagan, Bryan Johnson, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Brian O'Halloran and Smith himself are just some of the stars that...
- Radio Interview with Kevin Smith from FBi 94.5 Sydney Australia
- At a Convenience Store, Coolness to Go - New York Times Movie Review - March 25, 1994
- Information on the live-action Clerks TV pilot