What Makes Kevin Smith’s First Film So Iconic?

Kevin Smith introduced the world to low-budget, highly successful films with his movie Clerks. It was the vehicle that launched a slacker’s empire.

But what about Clerks was so great that it made Smith a household name? And how did it influence every film he’s made since?

Kevin Smith, The Director

Kevin Smith was a guy who loved movies and worked at Quick Stop. He was in what he saw as a dead-end job and just wanted to smoke pot and talk about movies with his friends. But then he had the idea to take what little money he had from selling off much of his stuff, including his coveted comic book collection, and make a movie based on his life.

Clerks The Movie

Clerks was released in 1994 on a budget of just over $27,000 and ended up grossing over $3 million. It was also filmed in black and white and at the same Quick Stop convenience store where Smith worked during the day.

The film takes place over the course of one day and follows store clerk Dante Hicks (Brian O’Halloran) and his friend Randal (Jeff Anderson), who works at the attached video store. Dante’s work ethic is far better than Randal’s, as Randal quite obviously hates everyone that walks in. He wants to be left alone to watch movies and hang out with his friend.

Related: How Kevin Smith Made Clerks On His Own

Over the course of the day, Dante is met with a variety of terrible customers, all of whom he watches with concern and disdain. He also discusses Star Wars at length, leaves the store to attend a wake, goes to play hockey on the roof, and learns a few uncomfortable truths about his girlfriend. Dante also decides to pursue at least some kind of relationship with an ex-girlfriend until she has an unfortunate encounter in the bathroom that ends with her in shock and being carted out to an ambulance.

As Dante and Randal go through their day, their friendship becomes very apparent. Although Randal can be a complete bastard, he has a protective love for his friend and goes to great lengths to show it. But when Dante spends the entire day complaining, Randal is the one to set him straight.

The film also introduced us to two of the most enduring Kevin Smith characters who have appeared in his movies as well as popping up in other media: Jay and Silent Bob. Jay (Jason Mewes) and Bob (Smith himself) are drug dealers who have set themselves up outside the Quick Stop.

The two of them are very much the crazy comic relief of the film, with Jay running his mouth every time they are on screen and Silent Bob living up to his name with only one line in the entire movie. This would be a running theme for the two of them in subsequent films.

Clerks was a hit for many reasons, but one of them was all the conversations Smith himself had at work and with friends. He allowed his characters to rant for long periods about stupid topics that you talk about with your own friends. It was an homage to a generation of grunged-up slackers who loved loud music and hated their jobs. It made Kevin Smith into a household name and turned Smith and Mewes into cult heroes.

Why Clerks Succeeds

1994 was an interesting year for film. Forrest Gump was destroying the box office while Jim Carrey was making his big-screen debut as Ace Ventura. But another film was also making waves. Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction created a genre that could best be described as “hyper conversation and violence.” There would be plenty of copycats as the years went on, but Clerks, released that same year, would create the “aimless conversation between friends” genre.

Related: Clerks 3 and A Retrospective of the Kevin Smith Trilogy

Kevin Smith has said that he wasn’t sure if Clerks would be a hit since it was essentially a fun project he had always just wanted to do. But his snappy, odd dialogue, visual choices, and understanding of the working man’s dilemma were all spot on.

While most of the world was trying to be as cool as Samuel L. Jackson and memorize his Ezekiel speech, others were at their everyday jobs quoting Randal’s “This job would be great if it weren’t for the f&%ing customers” line. There was a distinct difference between these two groups, although both would eventually come together as they each shared their favorite films. Where Pulp Fiction was a huge mainstream hit that felt like underground cinema, Clerks was the exact opposite.

A Lasting Legacy

Clerks spawned the Smithverse. This includes the sequels Clerks II and Clerks III, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Smith has also directed non-Clerks-related films such as Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

The film also led to a series of in-person speaking engagements called An Evening With Kevin Smith, where the director would tell stories about himself, his time making films, and random funny other things that came to mind. He would answer audience questions and wear his trademark hockey jersey, long shorts, backward baseball cap, and trench coat (also what he wore while playing Silent Bob).

He has created a following around his more crazy projects (see 2014’s Tusk) and has been vocal about his anger towards the Weinstein Company, Harvey in particular, about their treatment of him and his film Dogma.

Clerks was a triumph of the little guy with a camera and an unflinching passion for film. It is worth the watch and shows that Smith had reached his peak earlier than most directors.