4/4  Perfect Score for The Quick Stop.
Kevin Smith's debut as a director, is much more than it looks. It costed very little, with low production value, and B class acting. That doesn't take away from the fact, the little indie turned into a cult classic film. They didn't spend... (read full)

3/4  line up three reviews and make like a circus seal
clerks is one of my all time favorite movies, number 1 on my dvd shelf and the 3rd dvd i ever bought the first 2 were spaceballs and south park vol 3 haha but the movie shot on low the and spawned my favorite director Kevin Smith so if you... (read full)

4/4  great movie
definitely an amazing first effort by Smith. some people don't appreciate the smart and witty humor of the film. while not entirely deep, and definitely not one for the children, my dad introduced me to it when I was about 16. ever since t... (read full)

4/4  Comedy masterpiece!
Clerks is a film that I greatly look up to these days. Kevin Smith did everything he could to create a story that would be both interesting to the viewer, and yet be original enough for people to want to see more than once, while at the sa... (read full)

3.5/4  Clerks Quick Review
I watch this movie every time it is on TV, and still enjoy it every time. The dialogue is great, and the characters were written well enough to hold up and appear in several other movies in the 10+ years since.

3/4  Clerks Quick Review
A good movie that really keeps people interesting in such a small subject matter. Although the acting is terrible and the plot is loose, it some how gets under your skin and people begin to like it. It is funny enough to watch again. see it

4/4  Clerks Quick Review
Kevin Smith's initial foray into filmmaking is an expletive-filled, low-budget and ultimately amazing journey into the lives of two convenience store clerks and the myriad of people they interact with. Hilarious, outrageous & smart.

4/5 You Talk About a Day...
  by Untitled (nowhere)
"I'm not even supposed to be here today", says Dante, an overworked counter jockey who, like you probably know, has to deal with every single bad customer known to man, as well as angst, love problems, and the general feeling that nothing is going the way that he wants. Who would have thought that such a seemingly mundane topic and premise turned into something like this. Clerks is proof that screenplays are what makes a movie so great. The black and white look really fades when your watching the movie, as you forget it's in black and white. Forget the fact that it's low-budget, it's a high quality piece of work, a good example of what to make in a movie, especially for a young aspiring film-maker.

Clerks is a day in the life of Dante Hicks, a store worker who is called in on Saturday, to his dismay, which is supposed to be his day off. It's easy to see why he's dreading work, as being a worker at a ______ grocery store in New Jersey isn't exactly working at Apple designing the next iPod or making a movie at Pixar Studios (have you seen the studio of Pixar?). But dealing with rude customers is hardly the point here, as the characters go on beyond the typical rude stuck up jerk that treats the store clerks like garbage, These people deal drugs, be annoying jocks, and die in the bathroom (as well as violate his ex-girlfriend). Along the way, Dante and his wisecracking (and totally awesome) friend Randal hang out, play hockey (by closing the store), deal with their love lives (very important!), and even go to wake (with disasterous outcome)

What makes Clerks so great is the script. That script. It has a lot of hilarious jokes and one-liners abound, but I think the dialogue is just well written. It's sometimes random, and often references pop culture and features heated arguments about the things that matter most in life: Sci-fi, $#%, and confrontation of problems. And the conversations that they have are absolutely great, totally hilarious. It's kind of like what makes Tarantino dialogue great, although different, the comparisons are pretty accurate as far as quality. No wonder Tarantino himself has been a fan of his works, as he publically expresses his admiration for Smith in one way or another (Smith invited him to a screening of Clerks 2 before it was released).

Oh, and the characters are absolutely amazing and nearly impossible not to like, or laugh at. These characters are all part of a universe, and they are all very memorable. These are the kind of people you wish were real so you could hang out them. Dante is angsty yet pretty understandable protagonist, and despite his whinery, you still like him anyway. Same goes for both Veronica and Caitiln. Of course, Randal is my favorite, a wise-cracking, and all around awesome person, the type of person that lives to Po and offend other people and knows why it's so fun. The way he talks to some people make him my own personal hero. And there's the idiots who come in to the store. As mentioned before, you don't deal with generic customers. Anti-smoking gum advertisers, the most annoying type of jock on planet, a prude (boy did I want to punch this guy in the face), and an old man who dies while....nevermind. I also love the montage of idiot customers with the stupidest questions, that make you just laugh ("What would you get for a six year old boy who chronically wets his bed") Can't forget Jay and Silent Bob either, the two hilarious stoners, one who knows how to love fast and the other who has plenty words of wisdom when the time comes.

It also has some good messages about being a teenager. I'm not too fond and don't let movies tell me what I should think and I don't let them shape my viewpoints. But I just can't help but agree with what Randal says about the situation that Dante, and probably many of us, have been in. I feel the ending (I'll try not to spoil it) really is a great one, much better than the alternative ending, which is an immature ending and ruins the whole message of the movie, whatever it is. It shows that you really can't let angst and problems get you down, and it ends on a good note to send out the movie and really represents a good solution to the many problems faced when in the situation of Dante.

In the end, Clerks doesn't rely on anything regarding style, atmosphere, or any other parts of film-making, Clerks is made thanks to colorful characters, a great script, and some interesting messages. Another thing is that it makes me actually like the characters a lot, a whole lot, soemthing movies with such ordinary people have trouble doing, because, after there all, they are fictional. Besides some great songs in the movie, there is no other gimmicks behind it. Clerks really is a movie with situations that make you want to watch, like the characters, and laugh at the many idiots this movie displays. Really, this is a great comedy movie, and it's worth watching to this day.

B+

5/5 Inspiring
  by Matthew Allard (Cleveland, OH)
Clerks inspired me to become a filmmaker.

If Kevin Smith made such a hilarious, classic movie with only $27,000, maybe I can too.

5/5 Top 5 movies of all time.
  by Rolland G. Kerr Jr. (Greenbriar, WV)
Kevin Smith is one of today's greatest directors. This was his debut and it like all of his films, is so real (even though some of it is far fetched) that you can't help but identify with it. Because of this IT'S FUNNY! Parents beware it's got some very raunchy parts.

5/5 One of the best comedies around!
  by John Lindsey (Socorro, New Mexico USA.)


Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) is suppose to be in charge of his convinence store, but life seems kind of harsh for him and his friend video-store clerk Randall (Jeff Anderson). Dante's girlfriend Veronica (Marylin Ghigliotti) has been fighting with him and wants to get back to old girlfriend Caitlyn Bree (Lisa Spoonhauer) as the two fellows seem to be harsh to their costumers and seem to be goofing off.

Brilliant independent cult comedy which marked the debut of writer-director-actor Kevin Smith is one of the 90's best and original comedies. Here this movie gives us original characters that no one will forget including the live-action equalant to Beavis and Butt-Head known as Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) and Jay (Jason Mews) who are badass stoner characters. I love how the clerks in this movie are speaking to each other about movies including on which Star Wars is better and how they goof around when they are suppose to work. The film is very funny but it does contain very vulger language that aren't for virgin ears but however this comedy surely isn't for everyone.

This 3-Disc special edition DVD includes both theatrical and extended unrated cut with loads of extras like audio commentaries, lost scene, MTV spots with Silent Bob and Jay, Music Video, featurettes, documentary, Q and A feature, Photo Gallery, articles and reviews, 1993 Program Note replica, DVD-Rom, and more.

4/5 37??!!
  by Eric S. Kim (Southern California)
Yeah, I know. Low budget. Black and white. Nothing much really happens. I get it. I still like it, though. I like it because of the witty dialogue, which is basically where all the humor in this movie is found. The Star Wars dilemma, the cigarette fury, the oral sex story, etc. I mean, it's all about the dialogue, and the characters that say them. Sure, there's a bit of physical comedy here and there, but the quirky conversations are what makes "Clerks." Basically, I'm not a big fan of Kevin Smith, but this is one film that I particularly enjoyed watching.