VERSUS THE SCARECROW EPISODE TEN: Double Digits, Double Duty. I decided to challenge myself and really open the doors of my film knowledge and take on “The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide”. It’s 808 pages of movies and movie reviews from some of the most knowledgeable movie people you don’t know. It’s a book put together by a staff that praises, and destroys, some of our favorites and not so favorites. You can read the rest of my series here.
Just a quick refresher: each episode, I’m going to tackle three films from three different categories. Two films will be films I’ve never seen before and one will be one I’ve seen before or own. For the new films, well, new to me, I’m going to review them like a typical FTS review using the TOAST Rating system. But, for the films I’ve seen, I’m going give a quick paragraph or two about why I like or don’t like the film. We’ll try to include the poster and trailer for each film. “….and here. We. Go!”
Can you believe it? Ten episodes already? Where does the time go? Well I can tell you that the time goes towards watching old movies, and some new, reviewing them or happily reflecting back on them… and making snacks to eat while watching and reviewing… and drinking Coke Zero… the point I’m trying to make is thanks for reading!! As a reward, this series will now be a bi-weekly segment! This means more episodes, more movies, and more importantly, more snacks!! As a side note, I am playing with a new writing format and it may or may not change through the coming episodes. Enjoy!!
Now onto this week’s episode: I’ll be taking a look at Christopher Guest’s mockumentary Waiting for Guffman (1996), Woody Allen’s futuristic sci-fi comedy Sleeper (1973), and I reflect back on a film that will soon become the first in a trilogy, Kevin Smith’s Clerks (1994)
A Relfection on Clerks (1994)
Clerks is one of those films where I saw the sequel before the original. I laughed my ass off watching Clerks 2 and knew I had to go back and see the original. I knew the mythos behind the film and how Kevin Smith and friend (and producer) Scott Mosier maxed out several credit cards and borrowed money from family to make the film for roughly 28 thousand dollars. The film, which went on to critical acclaim and develop a cult following, is darkly hilarious (not just because it’s in black and white) and introduces us to not only Dante and Randall but the now legendary duo of Jay and Silent Bob.
The film follows the events of two convenience store clerks and their day. Sounds like a boring film right? Wrong. Kevin Smith pours joke after joke into the movie and makes it all the more relatable by phrasing it like people regularly talk. There are movie references galore and enough sex talk to satiate your appetite for weeks (unless you’re the 36 dicks type). The film even gave me one of my favorite movie quotes: “I’m not even supposed to be here today!” I found myself relating to Dante, Randall, and Silent Bob at times, and became so engaged with the characters, I was ready to follow their adventures wherever they went. Sadly, only two Clerks movies were ever made, but thankfully, Jay and Silent Bob have showed up in nearly every damn Kevin Smith movie.
Thankfully, again, that’s all going to change. On a recent special edition episode of his Hollywood Babble-On Podcast, Kevin Smith announced he is working on Clerks 3 and that movie, not Hit Somebody, will be his last major motion picture. Following the format of the previous Clerks films, Clerks 3 will follow Dante and Randall during one day at work and the adventures they get into. I’m incredible excited for this film and upon hearing about this, I instantly watched Clerks and Clerks 2 in a double feature. Both films hold up well and always make me laugh. Check it out if you haven’t already.
You can read the rest of episode 10 where I reviewed Waiting for Guffman and Sleeper. If you’re interested in more, you can find the rest of the Versus The Scarecrow series here.