Clerks (1994)

Directed by Kevin Smith. Starring Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonauer, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith. [R]

From debuting writer/director Smith, this black-and-white 16mm indie comedy made on a shoestring budget (approximately $27,000, by most estimates) proves you don’t need movie stars or studio resources to make a sharp, very funny film whose cult fandom comes quite close to bleeding into the mainstream. It’s a day in the lives of a couple of Jersey retail workers—convenience store clerk, Dante (O’Halloran), and video store clerk, Randall (Anderson)—as they deal with a variety of customer types, frustrating and/or comedic encounters with acquaintances, “random” interludes that move the action to the roof and an (offscreen) funeral, a couple of drug dealers hanging around outside the store (Jay and Silent Bob, played by Mewes and Smith), and Dante’s indecision toward his “comfortable” current girlfriend (Ghigliotti) and an “exciting” former flame (Spoonauer). No real plot, just a string of observations, conversations, and misadventures, many of them as profane as they are hilarious, although it’s too eventful to really feel like an authentic slice-of-life; I won’t refute its humorous shock value, but did they really need to include the, ahem, necrophilia episode? (If for nothing else, it makes Dante’s love-life conundrum too easy for him to solve.) Terrific soundtrack ranges from Alice in Chains’ “Got Me Wrong” and Soul Asylum to the Jesus Lizard and Supernova’s “Chewbacca”; reportedly, the cost to secure the rights to the songs ended up costing more than the film’s actual production! Launched Smith’s “View Askewniverse” of recurring and interconnected characters, inspired an animated TV series, and spawned a couple of sequels with over a decade separating each chapter.

83/100