A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.A day in the lives of two convenience clerks named Dante and Randal as they annoy customers, discuss movies, and play hockey on the store roof.
- Awards
- 7 wins & 10 nominations
- Woolen Cap Smoker
- (as Walt Flanagan)
- …
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaKevin Smith originally cast himself as Randal, which is why Randal gets some of the best lines.
- GoofsJay's costume is different in nearly every scene in the movie because the jacket he wore on the first day of shooting was his girlfriend's and he had a hard time borrowing it for the entire length of the shooting.
- Quotes
Indecisive Video Customer: They say so much, but they never tell you if it's any good. Are either one of these any good? Sir?
Randal Graves: What?
Indecisive Video Customer: Are either one of these any good?
Randal Graves: I don't watch movies.
Indecisive Video Customer: Well, have you heard anything about either one of them?
Randal Graves: I find it's best to stay out of other people's affairs.
Indecisive Video Customer: You mean you haven't heard anybody say anything about either one of these?
Randal Graves: Nope.
Indecisive Video Customer: [turns around, then shows Randal the same movies] Well, what about these two?
Randal Graves: Oh, they suck.
Indecisive Video Customer: These are the same two movies! You weren't paying any attention!
Randal Graves: No, I wasn't.
Indecisive Video Customer: I don't think your manager would appreciate it if...
Randal Graves: I don't appreciate your ruse, ma'am.
Indecisive Video Customer: I beg your pardon?
Randal Graves: Your ruse. Your cunning attempt to trick me.
Indecisive Video Customer: I was only pointing out that you weren't paying any attention to what I was saying.
Randal Graves: And I hope it feels good.
Indecisive Video Customer: You hope *what* feels good?
Randal Graves: I hope it feels so good to be right. There's nothing more exhilarating than pointing out the shortcomings of others, is there?
Indecisive Video Customer: Well, this is the last time I rent here.
Randal Graves: You'll be missed.
Indecisive Video Customer: Screw you!
[leaves]
Randal Graves: [runs to the door] Hey! You're not allowed to rent here anymore!
Jay: [outside; has no idea what's going on] Yeah!
- Crazy creditsJay and Silent Bob will return in "Dogma"
- Alternate versionsIn the original theatrical and early home video versions, the scene where the mom comes in with her kid to rent "Happy Scrappy Hero Pups" had a different child voice dubbed in saying "happy scrappy". However, starting with the 10th anniversary Clerks X DVD, the audio for the girl's line of dialogue was replaced with the girl's actual voice, rather than the dubbed version in the earlier releases.
- ConnectionsEdited into Clerks: Deleted Scenes (1999)
The vessels by which these thoughts and ideas are delivered go by the names of Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson), 22-year-old New Jersey convenience and video store clerks, respectively, who are pals despite drastically different attitudes toward their "dead-end" jobs. The film predominantly follows Dante over the course of a day at the Quick Stop, a day that he was never supposed to work in the first place. In addition to persistent stop- ins from Randal, he is visited by/chats with his girlfriend, Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti), grapples with the news about of a couple other ex-girlfriends and deals with a host of unusual customers, not to mention the shady characters who hang out outside the store including Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith).
"Clerks" plays out as "scenes at a convenience store" for the majority of its runtime to the point that it could've been a play and almost worked just as well. Film, however, feels more fitting; there's something about the context of this actual dinky convenience store location and the way Smith carefully selects his shot angles in each scene (shot in black and white) that brings everything together. The "theater" would betray the down-to-earth New Jersey reality of it all, even though so much of the film centers on dialogue.
What Smith is able to convey in a series of conversations, most filmmakers have to construct elaborate scenes in order to communicate. He can take a conversation about blowjobs or something even more inane and turn it into something much bigger. That's a hell of a skill. The only pitfall is that none of the actors can reel in the cleverness and timing of Smith's words. In some scenes the acting sort of just dissipates leaving only dialogue – these poor actors have to make these quip-filled exchanges sound like natural banter between minimally educated middle-class slackers.
Nevertheless, the script carries "Clerks" to the notoriety Smith has earned over the last couple decades. It's an entertaining tennis match of dialogue that's sharp, occasionally satirical and most importantly, taps into the core of what young people struggling to do something with their lives all feel. And he doesn't just go there with the conversations; he illustrates it in the various seemingly mundane dilemmas and conflicts Dante encounters through the course of his day.
Maybe most significantly of all, Smith speaks for the outcast in "Clerks." He speaks for the guy living in his parents' basement, the guy working a convenience store job, the guy who spends his days loitering outside convenience stores or playing street hockey and other characters society frowns upon for not "doing anything with their lives." He points out that despite their disregard for societal protocols, they still have smart things to say and above all, like "the rest of us," still yearn for meaning in their lives.
~Steven C
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- Jan 24, 2017
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Clerks.
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $27,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,151,130
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $31,665
- Oct 23, 1994
- Gross worldwide
- $3,151,130
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix