1994 SUNDANCE FILMMAKER'S TROPHY (DRAMATIC) WINNER - "CLERKS" directed by Kevin Smith
"I'm not even supposed to be here today." Out of all the quotes in this most amazingly quotable of quote-worthy movies, this one stands out because it sums up all the aggravation that the underpaid and under-appreciated felt at that time in the early 90's. It was a whine from somewhere deep in the soul, and New Jerseyite Kevin Smith proved himself to be the slacker's filmmaker with this masterfully amateurish debut film.
It's hard for me to even start with this film...I feel like we've all sat in our parent's basements and TV rooms, or in heavily hot-boxed dorm rooms, and cackled our asses off to this thing many, many, MANY times. I mean, from lead convenience store clerk Dante and his shoe polish-smelling hands, to his girlfriend performing a certain sexual act 37 times (in a row?), to Snowball, to drug dealer Jay and Silent Bob (who is actually director Kevin Smith) and their friend Olaf from Moscow and "my love for you is like a truck...BERSERKER!", to any number of truly funny gags ("OOOhh...Navy Seals!")... not to mention the 90's-tastic music of Soul Asylum, Alice in Chains, Bad Religion, etc... if you have to ask, you may never know.
What's remarkable now is seeing how his brand of raunchy, lowbrow humor mixed with sincere moments of reflection and sensitivity is a major influence on a lot of contemporary film comedy, including the Crown Prince of Comedy, Judd Apatow (whose own reign began in 1999 with the short-lived but beloved TV show, "Freaks and Geeks"). I feel as if we as a film audience are better able to stomach frankly graphic descriptions of sex, such as the sex position discussion at the electronics store ("the Dirty Sanchez, the Rusty Trombone...") and the poker scene that parses out the differences in ladies' nipples in "40 Year Old Virgin" ("the bumpy braille nipples...the Stevie Wonders...") if it weren't for Smith's unabashed willingness to let it all hang out."Clerks" was genuinely shocking for a more innocent time, and what's more...it was real. Real young people I knew spoke that way, and finally, a movie for us! That this film ever made it past film snobs to assume a mantle of indie greatness is something that even your 90's-ologist struggles to understand.
This was a film by a Jersey boy, filled with Jersey people (whose suspect acting and outdated hairstyles/clothing were part of the fun) that spoke to provincial, everyday worries... Does my girlfriend really love me? Do I really love her? Will I ever (or want to) get married? I hate this stinkin' job and this crap town, how do I get out of here? I'm afraid, will I ever be someone? Why do I feel so unsatisfied? My favorite part of the film is when Dante's best friend and fellow clerk Randal calls Dante on his failure to take responsibility for his own happiness. That a film that had previously had a girl go catatonic from having relations with a dead man in a convenience store bathroom can end with such a life-affirming theme is nothing short of a masterpiece in my book.
Here are some words from Kevin Smith himself that can be found in the Clerks X Criterion Edition of the film that was released in 2004, which I highly recommend picking up. A picture of Smith's notes on the lines of credit that he took out to make the film ("clerks" famously cost a little over $27,000 to make and earned over $3 million at the box office)follows:
He's got seven credit cards on that list. I love how open Kevin Smith is about his ambition and process as a filmmaker and the road from total ignorance to some experience and more money, but still near-total-ignorance. He's a human being, and that can be a refreshing thing in Hollywood.
"Clerks" is a monster that keeps on rambling, too. It's spawned "Clerks: The Animated Series" that had a short run on ABC in 2000, a series of comic books written by Smith and "Clerks 2," the wonderful 2006 companion piece that made me cry for joy when I first saw it. By all rights, it should have been abysmal, but Smith really pulls out the stops to make a still raunchy and lowbrow, but very touching and, ironically, mature film that is in a lot of ways better than its predecessor. If you don't believe me, you should read up on the 8 minute standing ovation that the film got at the Cannes Film Festival that year.
Enough of my yakking. You want clips, you got 'em. After the first clip, which is a trailer for the film, "Clerks" clips are NSFW, I repeat, NOT SAFE FOR WORK. Turn down your computers, wage slaves. Enjoy!
Berserker!
I could do this all day, but here's some NSFW "Clerks 2" for your pleasure:
I know I'm clips-crazy today, but your 90's-ologist is a tiny bit delirious from the sickness she's caught, so bear with me.
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