Clerks (1994)

Clerks excels with its constant and eccentric comedy. Moments such as the man searching for the perfect one dozen eggs or the imposing pervert who takes up the bathroom provide great situational comedy. Dialogue is strong too; Jay's (Jason Mewes) friend remarks in Russian, to which Jay says, "That's fucked up, man!" When asked what his friend said, Jay simply responds, "I don't know, but this guy's a character." The stoner-style delivery enhances the exchange. At one point, when Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and his friends lose a ball as they are playing hockey, Dante shouts to see if anyone has any balls. He receives the response, "Biggest pair ya ever seen, ya dingleberry." Clerks understands that its juvenility and inanity are generally its strengths.

The chemistry between performers, particularly Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson as Dante and Randal, respectively, is quite strong. Their friendship is lived-in and their exchanges consistently amuse. But more than being entertaining, their banter is believable. O'Halloran is also a good fit with Marilyn Ghigliotti, making the brutal breakup scene all the more effective.

Production-based cinematography decisions shine. While the film was limited in scope and budget, it made the most of the space afforded. Even in close quarters, the camera swings back and forth between Dante and Randal as they argue in rapid-fire fashion. Black and white matches the film's setting well; we feel as if the security cameras have unloosed themselves to give us a look into our characters' lives.

Clerks is a unique case as far as rating and review goes. Extended or director's cuts of films are often released; the changes present usually do not affect the reviewer's overall rating of the film. The same cannot be said for Clerks. The theatrical edition of the film fares well and would have scored higher as is. However, a later edition sought to "improve" the narrative with a sequence dubbed "The Lost Scene". This "improvement" has been taken into consideration when rating.

The Lost Scene is completely animated and in full color, clashing with the surrounding footage. The character designs are fairly hideous and distracting. The entire scene is inane, and while inanity is a specialty of the movie, it misses the mark in this case. The scene does not naturally preserve the flow of the film, instead bringing everything to a screeching halt. The scene manages to drag on for an ungodly amount of time before we are finally released and return to the actual movie, which ironically narrates the important events of the animated section, making its presence even more useless. The effects of the wake are better felt when they are left unseen. The rendition we were offered looked like a rejected Adult Swim feature. As it turns out, The Lost Scene was better off lost.

Funny, inventive, and perfectly capturing the drudgery of the day-to-day, Clerks remains an impressive first effort by director Kevin Smith. Unfortunately, later impulses to creatively excoriate resulted in damaging an otherwise very strong film.