CLERKS III might be in the works! YES!!!

I think you have to be a certain age demographic to like Kevin Smith. As much as I can't stand his work now, there was a time I thought a lot of his movies were fairly "important," and I do think he has completely changed the way we view "nerds" in popular culture.

Before Clerks and Mallrats the typical nerd in film always looked like they were from Revenge of the Nerds or Steve Urkel. Out of nowhere comes this fresh voice in this new wave of directors (Linklater, Terrentino, Smith) who redefined what a nerd was. They were angry and obsessive. They were not the kid with a pocket protector. Smith had a huge hit with Clerks, and it spoke to a big part of Gen X, and I think those are the people who still support him today. Smith bombed with Clerks in color, aka Mallrats. Then I finally started to think he was finally finding a voice and becoming the director we thought he would be with Chasing Amy. I still think Chasing Amy is a fantastic film. His dialogue felt real, and I thought the relationships felt relatable in an era of Ross and Rachel.

Dogma was good, but Smith has put out nothing of value since Dogma, and that was 20 years ago. Pretty much everything else is such a step back and departure from what we/I thought Smith should have been to a generation. It feels as if Smith has never grown since becoming a hit director at such a young age, and I thought Clerks II reflected that. Clerks II was such a mess, and with where the world was in 2006, it still shocks me that Randall and Dante were still working in fast food while the heart of Smith's fanbase had grown up. Randall and Dante should have been working in a lifeless cubicle to relate to a large amount of Americans and explore a different type of life. Instead, we get Donkey Shows and a Jay and Silent Bob dance number.

I feel like Smith ran out of things to say in 1999, and we have been stuck with terrible movies that studio somehow keeps making for the past 20 years. His recent efforts have been terrible and just seem like a vanity project to let his daughter act. All of that is fine, but the fact he blames critics and says his movies are just for fun, and silly ideas from his podcast are such a weak excuse.

 

That he did.

 

In his defense....
Carlin liked him!

 

Appeared in three of his movies.

 

I'm agreeing with you. Thin Kev is just something that we are not accustomed to looking at.

Just judging his appearance as a Thin Kev, he seems to be in far better shape and definitely does not look objectively bad as a thin guy.

Although, as a thin guy, he does look a bit more like Robert Downey Jr.

Kev.



Robert.

 

I don't agree with that. It is always this person or that person invented "indie" film cinematic universe.

It has been invented way back before Kevin Smith movies or sex, lies, and videotape became popular.

Although many viewers got on the bus, sometime down the road.

 

True. Smith even says so, saying he swiped it from Marvel Comics to begin with:



(6:36. At 7:06, literally "I stole that idea from Marvel Comics" )

 

My rough ranking, from best to worst:

1) Amy
2) Clerks
3) Dogma
4) J&SB
5) Miri

After that, I don't care enough to rank 'em!

 

"Hollywood doesn't make sequels. They don't even make SQEAK-quels, yo."

 

Mallrats is horrible. The best part of Clerks II is Rosario. Even Mrs. Marmot isn’t as cool as her.

 

I liked Chasing Amy and thought it was far more of a movie than Clerks.

But it was done on a larger budget, so you can't really compare apples to apples.

Chasing Amy is the quintessential example of a creative and interesting indie type of movie that is every bit as entertaining as anything that comes out of the big Hollywood studios.

It is my favorite Kevin Smith movie.

 

I liked Roserio in Josie and the Pussycats.



She was even better in Men in Black II.

 

I just threw both in my queue, bumping Josie to number 1.

Rosario in Clerks II and Heather Graham in Austin Powers II. I don’t know what it is about them, but they are perfect women to me.

 

That's part of the problem - who can believe a schmuck like Dante with someone like Rosario's character?

 

It's a list of how I rank KS movies. Of course I can compare the 2!

And you're looking for "apples to oranges" as your phrase. "Apples to apples" would mean the 2 are comparable...

 

Heather can even make a movie like Lost in Space, somewhat tolerable. And that is saying a lot!