Courtesy View Askew Productions
When Kevin Smith’s original Clerks film came out in the year of our lord 1994, it felt like a monumental shift in storytelling, comedy, world-building—and the accessibility of filmmaking itself. Famously, Smith maxed out a bunch of credit cards to produce the movie and his gamble paid off; homeboy’s been making movies ever since, some of them great (like Mallrats), plus he’s dabbled in comic book writing, became a bigwig in the podcast-o-sphere and even did a run with the iconic Canadian television program Degrassi: The Next Generation (we’re still kind of bummed he came between Caitlin Ryan and Joey Jeremiah, but old wounds heal hard).
In other words, Kevin Smith has lived—and in living, he’s formed his own rather impressive microcosm of inter-connected characters and goings-on, much of which he pulls from for his newest work, Clerks III.
Once again we join Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randall (Jeff Anderson), employees of the now-infamous Quick Stop convenience store where the first film was set; they now own the joint. We’ll gloss over their tenure as fast food workers in Clerks II for space constraints (and because it was just kind of a bad movie). All seems well in the world of our heroes, right up until Randall has a heart attack at work. He survives and decides the event was like a prompt for his making a movie based on his life. He then enlists his pals to make the film—which, we learn, is the very same film that would become Clerks. Or is? Or always was? It’s a sequel. Or a prequel. Neither? Honestly, it’s a little bit meta and a whole lot of love letter to Smith’s own storied career. You’ll find nonstop callbacks and in-jokes for fans of Dogma and Clerks: The Animated Series; you’ll find cameos from Ben Affleck and Ethan Suplee and Fred Armisen and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Sadly, though, there is no Jason Lee (Mallrats’ Brodie Bruce, easily one of Smiths greatest creations and, honestly, a landmark performance from Lee), but there is some Rosario Dawson for some reason, and you’ll find plenty of the enduring “heroes” themselves, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith). Those dudes sure love weed.
Those who know these films and shows and Smith’s long-running gags will find plenty to enjoy, not least of which are satisfying Easter eggs and nods to jokes that have been around so long it’s almost absurd. To his credit, the fabled director has no issues with poking fun at his own shortcomings as a cub filmmaker (some of which are hilarious and point out the ways in which we learn to be better at our respective crafts). Those who wish to enter the Smith fold at this point without almost encyclopedic prior knowledge will likely find themselves lost at best and confused at worst. Still, that Smith managed to bring back so many players from a nearly 30-year-old film to reprise their roles speaks to his fortitude and, probably, his kindness.
Reviewing Clerks III is thus a tricky proposition. Those of us in the know will chuckle and point and remember how we felt in our youths over lines like “I don’t appreciate your ruse,” or “I’m not even supposed to be here today.” Those who don’t know what those words mean in this context probably won’t without tackling a filmmaker’s entire body of work, and that’s a big ask. Even so, you’ve gotta hand it to the guy for doing whatever the hell he wants, however he wants. People will see Clerks III out of some strange combination of attachment, sure, but also because it makes us feel like we’ve been in on something bigger than ourselves for decades. This one’s for the fans. It’s only for the fans. And that’s OK. Oh, and real quick? Huge shoutout to Trevor Fehrman as Elias. Dude’s a comedy assassin.
7
+Smith does what he wants; perfect for longtime fans
-Not for n00bs even at all
Clerks III
Directed by Smith
With O’Halloran, Anderson, Mewes, Smith, Fehrman and Dawson
Violet Crown, Regal, R, 115 min.
