Clerks III, 2022.
Directed by Kevin Smith.
Starring Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, Austin Zajur, Jason Mewes, Rosario Dawson, and Kevin Smith.
SYNOPSIS:
Kevin Smith’s Clerks trilogy, which began in 1994 with a little black-and-white indie film that stuck around much longer than he expected, concludes with Clerks III, in which Randal decides to make a movie about all the things that have happened to him and his fellow clerk buddy Dante over the years. Lionsgate has issued the film on Blu-ray with a code for a digital copy and a great batch of bonus features, including two nice long documentaries. It’s a must-buy for fans.
I suppose there are two ways to look at Clerks III. On one hand, director Kevin Smith could be accused of trotting out the old hits like Foreigner playing a state fair. On the other hand, you could look at it as Smith leaning into the movie universe that has carried his career, giving us another chance to spend time with some great characters.
The curmudgeons can have the first view; I’ll take the second one. Having been a fan ever since I first saw Clerks in a movie theater, I’ve enjoyed the way Smith built out and has maintained his own movie universe, long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe existed.
Sure, Smith has an easier task at hand, since his films don’t cost a lot to make. Like Woody Allen, he has made a nice living out of making movies that don’t have to gross north of a billion dollars worldwide to be profitable. And, yes, unlike Woody Allen, he hasn’t stymied his career because of questionable personal behavior. (I don’t know enough about the worst allegations against Allen to have an opinion of them, but I’d say his marriage is a great example of how just because you can do something, it doesn’t mean you should.)
Clerks III revisits Dante and Randal, who first burst on the scene in 1994’s Clerks as the, well, clerks of a convenience store and a video store, respectively. This time around, they’re co-owners of the Quick Stop, having assumed joint ownership of it at the end of Clerks II, and, in a sign of the times, RST Video has been replaced by a cannabis shop owned by Jay and Silent Bob.
When Randal survives a type of heart attack known as “the widow maker” because 80% of those who suffer it die, he decides that he has wasted his life talking about movies when he could have been making one. He decides to turn his experiences at the two stores, along with what happened at the Mooby’s fast food restaurant in Clerks II, into a film based on his own life.
This gives Smith a chance to recreate many iconic scenes, particularly all those great ones from the first film, as Randal sets out to chronicle all the crazy things that have happened over the past nearly 30 years. However, Dante has reservations about the project, in particular the part at Mooby’s, given what happened to his wife (Rosario Dawson) and daughter.
Dawson makes a few appearances to talk to her husband about how he should get on with his life, helping Dante overcome his anxieties as production on Randal’s movie, and this story, nears its conclusion. I’m not sure that the downer part of the ending was really necessary, but I assume it was Kevin Smith’s way of saying that this part of the View Askewniverse has run its course.
If so, it’s a fine way to cap the stories of two guys who were never quite sure what to do with their lives but ended up forging a strong friendship that was able to withstand many crises. While I’ve managed to do okay for myself with some semblance of a career, I imagine there are plenty of other Gen Xers who can relate to the stage of life Dante and Randal find themselves in.
Of course, this isn’t a movie that will win a bunch of awards. The acting is as uneven as ever, but Clerks III has its heart in the right place, and if you’re part of its intended audience, you’ll enjoy the ride.
Lionsgate has issued the film on a single Blu-ray disc, along with a code for a digital copy. The studio did an excellent job with the bonus materials, starting with The Clerks III Documentary. Running 96 minutes, it’s an in-depth look at the making of the film from beginning to end, and it starts with a version of the story that was almost made several years ago. I’m thankful it wasn’t, because I don’t think that tale was as strong as this one.
There’s also the 75-minute We’re Not Even Supposed to Be Here Today: 3 Decades of Clerks, which takes us through the history of the trilogy. Like me, you may learn a few new bits of information along the way, including the fun fact that Kevin Smith kept the rights to Jay and Silent Bob in his initial deal with Miramar, allowing him to reap the benefits of that over the years. (He compares it to having the rights to C-3PO and R2-D2.)
Smith also included nearly 30 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes, but there’s no introduction for any of the footage, which is a bummer. I’d be interested in hearing Smith’s thoughts on why it was excised. However, it is worth watching for Michelle Buteau’s many funny alternate lines in her role of Lisa, whose daughter comes to the Quick Stop one night to interview Randal for her school newspaper.
Finally, the main bonus features conclude with a commentary track featuring Smith and actors Brian O’Halloran (Dante), Jeff Anderson (Randal), Trevor Fehrman (Elias) and Austin Zajur (Blockchain Coltrane). As you might imagine, it’s a fun track that has Smith playing host to a raucous discussion about a wide variety of topics, many of which even relate to the making of the film. It’s definitely worth a listen for fans.
Rounding out the platter a theatrical trailer and a two-minute introduction by Smith that plays as soon as you put the disc in your player.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
