The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Gems: Clerks (1994)

How do you choose what to watch on all those streaming services you have access to? There are so many options that it is just overwhelming. These services constantly release new content and overshadow all the great films from the past that are already there and ready to watch. Now there is The Wasteland Gems! Here is a great film on streaming right now that you should check out this weekend:

Clerks (1994)

Who is the most “New Jersey” filmmaker around? Kevin Smith is a great source of pride for so many Jerseyans who love to see one of our own doing some great work. The Red Bank, NJ native, has made a career out of making small budgeted, Jersey centric tales that capture the lives of Jerseyans. Obviously, his career has expanded from there, but those early View Askew efforts are still beloved films for so many people. The low budget, hangout style flicks capture so many relatable aspects of the human condition. That was what made Smith one of the leaders of the independent film movement of the 1990s. When you can speak to people, they will listen.

What makes Clerks (his first feature film) such a great success? Smith accomplishes so much with so little. You can easily see the limitations of the budget. The reason the whole film is shot in black-and-white film has nothing to do with the artistic expression…that type of film was cheaper. Smith was working at this small store and only got the opportunity to shoot there overnight. The running gag with the locked shutters is a filmmaking choice to hide the darkness outside when the film is supposed to take place mostly during the day. The film almost has a docu-drama type of film with the indie filmmaking and leveraging its tiny budget. Smith cast his friends and family in many roles to keep the budget low as well as borrowing money from his parents and maxed out several credit cards. This is a shining light of guerilla indie filmmaking with a great spirit that can be felt on screen,

What makes this film so relatable? We have probably all had days at work where we just didn’t want to be there. It would be even more impactful if we had a job where we had to fill in for someone on our day off. The experience in customer service is a unique one for sure. Dealing with difficult customers is one of the most challenging experiences being employed. Dante (our protagonist) deals with SO many terrible customers which just feels so overwhelming. His buddy Randal does too (at the video store next door) but we all wish we could handle them like Randal does. Many of us are Dante hoping that we can be Randal. But it is not just the work that keeps the audience connected to these characters. Relationships (both romantic and platonic) become the main bedrock to this whole film. Dante is stuck between the girl that got away and the loving one who he takes for granted. You have the friendship of Jay and Silent Bob on screen that is an absolute delight (with Bob getting his big thematic advice moment as always). The friendship between Dante and Randal is one of the shining lights of the film for sure. We wish to have a friend who is our “ride or die” but the stunted nature of this friendship makes for great humor and drama throughout.

But what is the biggest selling point of this indie flick? This is just SO much fun. This is an endlessly quotable flick with Smith channeling his talents so well into the film. Randal is downright hilarious. His way with words and ability to push back at all the random customers coming in is just endlessly amusing. Jeff Anderson fully embodies the spirit of Randal and brings so much authenticity to the performance. The duo of Jay and Silent Bob make for plenty of fun moments especially as Bob silently plays the straight man to Jay’s manic self. Jay Mewes has a wild good time on screen. But their whole dynamic with Olaf the Metalhead is wild, random, and fun. The situations are also wild. Dante and Randal get up to crazy shenanigans like ruining a wake. There are some crazy sexual moments as well with Dante complaining about “37 dicks” and an unfortunate moment of intercourse with a corpse.

Is Clerks a classic cinematic experience? As the 90s slowly become a period era (this film is over 30 years old now), this film will live on as one of the defining comedies of that time. This fully embodies the 90s while also engaging the audience in hyper authentic and relatable set-ups and themes. For a ragtag crew of Smith and his friends captured magic in a bottle with Clerks. With $27,000 and a dream, this has become a crowning achievement of independent cinema. This is a wonderful good time as well.

Clerks is streaming on Paramount+.