CLERKS (UMD/PSP) DVD

Clerks
When Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) is reluctantly put in charge of the Quick Stop market on his day off, he tries, though half-heartedly, to perform his minimum-wage duties as efficiently as possible. This gets tough amidst the on-going fight with his girlfriend, Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti), and his attempt to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, Caitlyn Bree (Lisa Spoonhauer). Meanwhile, his friend and alter ego Randall (Jeff Anderson) is working behind the counter of the adjacent video store -- at least when he feels like it. Randall's unabashed disdain of his place of employment, a long with his self-admitted hatred towards its customers is a sharp contrast to Dante's feeble attempts at the niceties of customer service. Much of the film consists of Randall and Dante's criticism of their customers, their lives, and the world in general. Clerks, filmed in black-and-white on a budget of only $27,000, began the career of writer director Kevin Smith, who would go on to make Mallrats (1995), Chasing Amy (1997), Dogma (1999), and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks Jeff Anderson as Randal Marilyn Ghigliotti as Veronica Lisa Spoonhauer as Caitlin Bree Jason Mewes as Jay Kevin Smith as Silent Bob Scott Mosier as Angry Hockey-Playing Custom Scott Mosier as Willam the Idiot Manchild

Crew Kevin Smith - Director Scott Mosier - Editor Kevin Smith - Editor Leslie Hope - Makeup David Klein - Cinematographer Scott Mosier - Producer Kevin Smith - Producer Scott Mosier - Sound/Sound Designer Kevin Smith - Screenwriter

Clerks
While Clerks doesn't have much going for it cinematically -- it looks even cheaper than its $27,000 budget would lead you to expect and the directorial style can be described as "nail down the camera and let the actors play the scene" -- it's still an effective and very funny movie, largely thanks to the screenplay by first-time writer/director Kevin Smith. Chock full of instantly quotable dialogue performed by an unknown cast with an appropriate tone of Jersey slacker cynicism, Clerks is a hilarious rant against (and from) the lowest rungs of minimum-wage slavery. If convenience store clerk Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and his best friend, video store counter guy Randall (Jeff Anderson), don't do anything terribly interesting (the action high point of the film is a brief hockey game played on a roof), that's part of the point; these guys' lives are going nowhere, and they know it. But rather than do anything about it, they talk about whatever keeps them from dying of boredom, including which Star Wars movie was the best, the sexual escapades of their girlfriends, the virtues of hermaphrodite porn, and the endless parade of stupid customers they have to deal with. Anyone who has ever worked retail will enjoy a long, loud laugh of bitter recognition while watching Clerks, while anyone else should thank their lucky stars if they don't understand the sheer hell of spending eight hours behind the counter that this film captures with such accuracy. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
 

Jeff Anderson: Independent Spirit Award, Best Debut Performance (nominated)

Cannes Film Festival, Critics Week Jury Prize (winner) Independent Spirit Award, Best First Feature (nominated) Independent Spirit Award, Best First Screenplay (nominated) Sundance Film Festival, Filmmaker's Trophy: Dramatic (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: Subtitle Options: Sound Processing: Additional Features: "Clerks" the Lost Scene "The Flying Car" Original "Clerks" auditions DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: R DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 92 min