Clerks III and The End of Kevin Smith 

Clerks the animated series is some of his best work.

I saw Kevin Smith speak in 2002 when he did that college Q&A tour. The place was packed and he answered questions for 5 hours. 5 straight hours of standing and speaking. Everything you can imagine someone asking him about, and some esoteric questions from superfans on topics I'd never even heard of. Deep cuts, and he was in for all of it. In the last hour or two he kept saying he'd stay until everyone had had enough and didn't want to leave anyone hanging, "Cause I was fat kid growing up" or something to that effect. At first everyone laughed but he repeated it a few times more, and I sensed his sincerity. Kind of like I'm not doing autographs today, but I'll talk so you don't feel left out - like empathy and maybe a vulnerability of still waiting people to like him, even with all the success he'd enjoyed. I didn't know it then, but I'd never actually watch another of his films after that. Watching this video I get the feeling he wanted to make movies because he had the same curiosity and ambition of any young film student, went all in, and struck gold. But he never honed his craft, never found his voice, and never came to believe in his own work. Just went from one thing to the next. In the face of diminishing returns, he retreated to what felt safe, the fans that will still embrace him. No the film fans but the geek culture fans. And he doubled down. Now he sounds like an aging rock star, someone who looks back with sadness of the good times behind him and bitterness about the fading crowds, the ticket sales, the album charts, the critics, whether he's "relevant", but just can't feel the music anymore. It was only the music, Kevin. It was only ever the music.

I liked Kevin Smith a lot when I was a teenager. Unfortunately, after years and years of his constant self-deprecation, bragging about how much his wife hates him, getting bogged-down in a slough of same-y podcasts, and posting pictures of himself sobbing after watching Superhero films, I can safely say that I'm no longer a Kevin Smith fan- in spite of how much I enjoyed his films as a teenager.

Clerks The Animated Series was genuinely one of the best adult shows ever. There isn't an episode that I don't reference at least once a week. For Leonardo Leonardo alone, it's worth being remembered.

Clerks 3 was terribly depressing.Maybe Clerks 4 will be a 90 minute film where we watch Randall slowly killing himself

Feeling pressured to publicly state for years that "yea the movie which was a tribute to my late father and a personal reflection on fatherhood sucks ass lmao" in order to retain a cool and hip media persona is honestly insane

The plot for Yoga Hosers sounds like something even Alan Patridge would dismiss as a stupid idea.

Says alot that one Bruce Willis's final coherent thoughts was that Smith sucks as a director

Not gonna lie I never liked him as a director much but watching him on stage talking about ANYTHING is more entertaining than quite a lot of movies, and for that I'll forever be a fan

I'm sure Kevin Smith's daughter was the best actress to audition for the part in his movies the same way Rob Zombie's wife was the best actress to audition for the lead in all of his movies.

45:27 - OMG YES! The editing in Clerks 3 is absolutely terrible. In one scene they are showing a montage of roller hockey on the roof and playing an up beat indie rock song, an injury occurs, a montage of ambulance, arrival at hospital, all the while that same song keeps playing its just at a lower volume. This keeps going all the way to them talking to a doctor in a exam room, with the song STILL playing at an even lower volume until it just stops in the middle of a scene like they forgot to push the slider all the way over and said, 'ah, whos gonna notice?'

My biggest complaint with Clerks 3 is that Randall didn't knock the casket over at the end. It feels like the most obvious move in the world

I was a diehard Kevin Smith fan from the late 90's to the mid 2010's. For ten years I listened to nearly every podcast he put out religiously. Several years ago though I started losing interest and haven't engaged with any of his content since. Two big things happened in my life at that time, I hit my thirties, and I moved back to my home province and settled down and had a family. Closer to 40 now than 30, and I feel like I've grown and changed enough that I'm never going to be his target audience again. After listening to him speak for countless hours on his podcasts over the course of a decade though Kevin Smith kind of feels like an old friend that I was really close to in college but have drifted apart from since. I no longer share much in common with him anymore but I still hold fond memories of our times together. Snooch to the booch old friend, I hope you live a long and happy life.

" We were known as Harvey's boys." Kevin.

Let's be real, Kevin Smith's last good movie was Clerks 2. That was a long long time ago.

I personally think Kevin Smith never recovered after Seth Rogen got him to start smoking pot after Zack and Miri.

Kevin Smith is like that drama club kid who doesn't want to learn any acting methods or a music kid who doesn't want to learn how to play in different keys. Or an art kid who doesn't want to learn anatomy or a fanfic writer who doesn't want to learn how to write anything that is not a fanfic. A passionate kid who has a unique set if sensibilities and has his own voice, but doesn't have the tools to express it. And even if he gets to express it, he doesn't develop further as both a person and a creator, because this is how far a person can get with his raw talent. If the stars align, he would be able to create art - partly by his sheer passion, partly by accident. But without the proper discipline and studying he will never hone his voice into something more than one hit wonder. Or, even worse, he'll lose his voice. And I think that's the case - he lost his voice by trying to make mass appealing stuff, while never moving on from what he began with. He clearly tried to develop his voice and his craft, but I guess the reality of his situation is that he is too old and too successful to learn.

Never saw Red State, but to me it sounds like what someone who's never visited a red state fantasizes about.

Clerks 3 has really showcase how far Smith has fallen off as a writer.

Didn't realize Smith had become a little girl himself before making Jersey Girl. Interesting trivia.

failing upwards is a trend in the film industry it seems

52:43 - In Clerks there are two Star Wars conversations: the aforementioned private contractors and another about which was the better film Jedi or Empire and the conversation is about down endings - "Luke gets his hand cut off, Han gets frozen in carbonite." This is where he states that life is a series of down endings. Weidly, that ends up being Dantes arc for the trilogy, but originally Dante is shot at the end of Clerks because "im not even supposed to be here today!"

Former Smith fan here, technically he never finished his Canadian horror film trilogy. The never produced third film was supposed to be "Moose Jaws", which is exactly what it sounds like: Jaws with a Moose. Yeah... Weed didn't help that guy at all...

Lets all remember in the original ending of Clerks, Dante gets shot by the last customer that comes in the store. So in theory the Clerks Universe ended there.

The thing that's SO tragic to me, as someone who is a massive fan of Smith's earlier work & was equally disappointed in Clerks III as you described here - I COULD feasibly see where the central concept of Clerks III could have kinda worked? The big hurdle for me is how Smith insisted on a script where we watch these 50-60 year olds play THEMSELVES in a film about their lives (From seemingly the only 2 days in their entire times working that any notable events ever happened?), as a way for Smith to tap-into the meta-ness of how he created the first film - but it's all just very CREEPY & very SAD watching these 50+ year olds re-enact scenes of themselves while they were in their 20s? What COULD have worked, and maybe have helped weave-in Smith's seeming concerns he had with the themes of "Reboot", is if Randall had to cast young, slacker-ish teens to play him & his buddies' roles in this story about his life - and in-turn, marking a passing-of-the-torch from both Randal AND Smith, an acceptance of the next generation ahead of them, while also showing in a bittersweet sort of snark that "nothing ever changes" - there will always be Dante's, there will always be Randall's, and there will ALWAYS be Kevin Smith's But - instead, we got a 90 minute parade of Kevin Smith making a (badly made) movie with his famous friends that was all about him - and that's kinda sad, really? Always gonna love him and his early work, though - he'll always make me a proud NJ film kid ALSO shoutout to the incredible work on this vid and all of yours! Been a fan for a while now! Keep up the great film analysis work!~

Sometimes I think the best thing to come from Kevin Smith's career is Tell Em Steve Dave.

Id like to hear your review of clerks 3 when your in your late 40s and 50s, and your friends start to die off and you haven't done anything important in life. It hits different

I remember Kevin Smith had a video talking about cutting off his dependence on weed and acceptance on social media. Hopefully things will be different with his next movie with his changed perspective in his life now.

Oh God, the mugging. I just can't take the Silent Bob mugging.

I knew we had “lost” Kevin after the whole He-man fiasco and the filming himself crying afterward. I’m glad the guy survived that heart attack but he just wasn’t the same afterward. I personally think Clerks 2 and Zack and Miri were his last good films. This is coming from someone who watched his movies religiously in the 90’s and early 2000’s. I watched Mallrats so much when I was in high school. I’d go to the mall with my pals and try and recreate the hijinks TJ, broady, Jay and Silent Bob. I still stand beside his early work. Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy and the pinnacle of it all Dogma. It’s sad to see hm so reduced. Also I watched him do an interview with Stan Lee before he passed and it was painful to watch. Kevin all but bullies, interrupts and goes full “well actually” comic book geek on the poor man. I just ended up yelling at my screen for 20 min before I turned it off. You don’t talk to Stan Lee like that.

Kevin was punished *hard* every time he tried to put some sincerity in his films. To the point where he regressed back to childish infantile safety, geekdom, his lil safe space of comic books and star wars and smoking pot with his buddies. It's still sincere in a way, but he's too afraid to venture out of the metaphorical mancave. I really wish he'd not given up on those glimpses of pure human soul he put into Jersey Girl and Zach & Miri. He might be a vastly different filmmaker and person today.

I always wondered how his later career would have turned out without the constant weed consumption after Zack & Miri…his personality changed drastically…

There are 3 Kevin Smiths: Filmaker Kev/Hollywood Kev/ and Stoner Kev

Not titling this video "We need to talk about Kevin" is a missed oppor... well, ok, maybe that woulda been a bit cliché, but. Yknow, whatever.

I like that even an hour-long video about Kevin Smith's worst movies doesn't cover Jay And Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie

It makes absolutely no sense that Dante dies of a massive heart attack right after Randall almost dies of a massive heart attack. The odds of having a catastrophic heart attack at their age is pretty small Edit: subbed

Kevin Smith peaked early in his career. He made 5 awesome hilarious comedies the final one being Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). After 2001 he made some absolute trash and seemed to redeem himself with Clerks 2 (2006). While not as good as the original it did capture that Kevin Smith Clerks magic. I was a Kevin Smith Superfan I even owned "Clerks the Animated Series" on VHS tape. I think the heart attack changed Kevin Smith to his core and with that change lost the ability to make these care free comedies. It's been 18 years since Clerks II. I've lost all hope for Kevin Smith as a director a long time ago but I wish him the best in his personal life.

Fellow Canadian here, I think i experienced what you did with Kevin Smith, with a Canadian Author named Douglas Coupland, the man who created the term Gen X, and wrote a pivotal novel by the same name in the early 90s. Much like Kevin did with Clerks, he just captured the ethos of the early 90s zeitgeist and the cultures and subcultures he was a part of it. It was a refreshing voice that felt distinct and necessary at the time. But Coupland came out with a book called Generation A some 20 years later...yeah it didn't hit the same, still my favorite author, sometimes creators and storytellers find that perfect time and place, and trying to recreate that or recapture that usually leaves us disappointed.

The only three Kevin Smith movies i need, are Clerks", Mallrats", and Dogma". And, I'm good.

I despised clerks 3. I felt like they tricked me into watching something that would make me depressed. I don't need that in my life I have enough to worry about

I walked out of the screening of Clerks 3 (with kevin smith present) after about 30 minutes of the film. I was SO disappointed by everything I was seeing. I was embarrassed to be sitting there among those laughing at what was happening on the screen.

I think the most most frustrating part of Kevin Smith's career was that the Clerks trilogy really didn't have an arc. I could have seen Clerks being about what it's like to be a worker on the bottom of the totem pole, Clerks II about what it's like to supervisor/mid-career, and Clerks III about trying to put work on the backburner and trying to shift your focus to yourself and your family. I love the idea about Randal being a TLJ vlogger... and as a counter-point, Dante could be a family man who (mostly) lost touch with geek fandom, as he's too busy trying to support his family. Could've told an interesting story about those who settled down vs those who grew up by middle age. But we'll never know. I always hoped K Smith would treat those movies as sacrosanct, but if you look at his entire body of work (specifically when he wrote on Batman, and Daredevil) there really isn't a lot he treats as sacrosanct, and I feel like his work is a lot poorer for it.

"you shut your mouth before I fuck it" is something I've been saying to people since I was a teenager

To be fair to Willis, if i had to look a the script and say random movie titles while my co star mugs embarrassingly, id be a bit pissy too. That's how you not introduce a film to its leads. That's anti comedy or laziness to the max.

Tusk was legit. That was bizarre as hell and pretty spooky and hilarious. But the whole Johnny Depp character could go completely

Ben Affleck was the bomb in Jersey Girl yo

I got to meet Brian O'Halloran and Jason Mewes at Mighty Con near St. Louis. It was surreal because you feel like you know these men but you really can only know their characters. I told them how I showed my VHS copy of Clerks to all of my friends and was inspired to make my own independent film. What I didn't say was the truth that Clerks III never should have been made...

I literally thought Zach and miri was a judd apatow flick until a few years ago

Maybe Dante is Dante trapped in hell, but then finally gets to accend to heaven with Beatrice for admitting his sin and losing his cynicism, and Randall is virgil, destined to sheaperd the next Dante through the 9 levels. 😊

There's so much movie-related slop on RU-vid lately, and so much of it feels either lazily written or borderline AI-generated. I'm just thankful videos like this still exist. The writing and editing on this channel are always top-notch, all the while tons of movie-related commentary on RU-vid isn't even worthy of being background noise.

I havent seen clerks three, but it gives me this " what if i just died, how would they all feel then" vibe.

Here's an idea: What if Clerks III was about two best friends who took opposite career paths? Dante is still married to Becky, and is a multi-millionaire after he agreed to franchise the Quick Stop. Randal, being Randal, takes his half of the payout and attempts to keep RST Video up and running in an era of streaming and VOD. The stress of having a family and owning a franchise vs the stress of being in over your head operating a failing business. You can still use the heart attack storyline. Just a better way of getting there? Idk. Maybe that wouldn't work either.

The algorithm brought me here: and as an avid consumer of cinema as well as video essays from a wide variety of the greats, I thought that this was a really thoughtful and detailed video essay. i would have adored it if a student had handed it in. You’re doing a great job - i’m off to donate to your patreon :) hope you blow up soon!!

You also left out how he massacred he-man seemingly to spite it’s nostalgic audience

jersey girl section ended, i moved my mouse and saw how much time was left and audibly said "holy sht"

Man, thank you so much. I really wanted something to watch and this being two hours old is unbelievable timing. Loving it. 🙏🏻

It's funny back in the 90's seeing movies about people in their early 20's slacking off and hanging out dealing weed in front of a Quick Stop/mall. Seeing a movie about the same characters doing it 30 years later and middle age isn't funny anymore.

I can't disagree on much with Clerks 3 but... If the speech at your best friends eulogy contains a reference to something you both loved and appreciated, it's generally considered a good speech.

i think that dante dying before his "living life again" arc is a great creative choice. there are a lot of people who don't get a phase 2 in life and you never know who's going to be one of them. and that hits very hard

I recently re-watched Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. It works really well if - while you're watching it - you pretend its a cartoon.

Kevin Smith has definitely had his ups and lows with me, but I do always wish the best for him, out of nostalgia, and him seem like I genuinely nice person… Here’s hoping for the best

(Apologies for the long comment) I too, enjoyed Jersey Girl as a kid, and rewatched it recently to still find a lot of positives. Like you mentioned, the film has a lot of heart, and although filled with cliches, the relationship between Ollie and his daughter was super sweet and well executed in my opinion, from the tense fight scene they have midway, leading up to the final Sweeney Todd number, which was quite heartwarming. The relationship with George Carlin was great too, and I found Ben Affleck to be quite charming in this film. The biggest issue I had with this film was what I consider to be extremely lazy writing with one of its main plot points. After having lost his flashy career for a few years, Ollie gives an amazing speech at a council meeting, which reignites his love for public relations and is a macguffin that incites the main conflict of the film, where Ollie has to choose between his chance to be successful in his industry again, or being a father. The problem is, literally the moment Ollie starts speaking, it cuts to music and we don't hear a single word of the actual speech. Even if they only showed a few sentences of the speech and then cut to music, I would still consider it lazy, but at least then, we would have some remnants of what made this speech so great, and its importance in highlighting Ollie's talents. But no, we get absolutely nothing and it feels so cheap and lazy. You might say, "Hey, maybe it's not that important to the rest of the film", but they literally have all the characters discussing the speech and its impact in the next few scenes, and the remaining conflict of the film stems from this pivotal scene. It reminded me of your Inglorious Basterds/Lady In The Water video, when you talked about how crucial the content of the book that Shymalan's character writes is to the world in the movie, yet they don't give any thought or even a hint to what the contents could be. It's like Kevin Smith said "Hey, we need a scene where the protagonist is reminded of his wasted potential and talent, to drive the main conflict of the movie, but there's too much pressure, because the speech has to be really good, so I'm just not going to show it at all". There are other things that bothered me too, e.g. the Liv Tyler relationship feeling a bit forced, and me not buying her crying over a guy she's just starting to get to know. P.S. I'm subscribed to a whole bunch of channels which do film essays, and yours is by far, my favorite. I'm super excited every time you upload a video. Keep up the great work!

There's two Kevin Smiths, the Kevin Smith who was our 'Nerd on the Inside' who mocked Hollywood and came across as a normal guy making fringe cult movies and Kevin Smith who became a Hollywood shil who believed his own hype and fame went to his head!

You forgot his disaster with the Masters of the Universe animated series reboot that forgot to include the main character, He Man, as important to the story.

I wonder why Kevin Smith doesn't write scripts that other (more competent) people then direct.

The reason why 'father racing to get his child's performance' is such a popular 'cliche' is because it's relatable to any real parent who has to balance work and home schedules. I mean, you work a job to support your family and the schedules are often tricky to balance but then there's this one occasion that's out of step with the usual schedule and it's something that your child has worked hard on and it's really important to them and they're at an age where that one occasion might permanently define their outlook on life, but for your employer it's just another 'personal issue' and the idea of missing work for something like that almost feels silly the day after but it isn't.

14:20 Zack and Miri was *NUKED* because of it's title and premise. As soon as it attempted to market, that angry mom group sent thousands of letters and calls requesting a formal change because "I don't want my children reading the word porno when seeing commercials or walking through the mall". I love the movie, but I understand it may be a more niche, or adult-specific enjoyment.

I cant remember who it was but as a youtuber once said “Kevin Smiths suffers a fate worse than anyone else, being Kevin Smith”

I actually went to see Clerks III in theaters the week it came out. I didn't hate the movie, but it never sat right with me how abruptly he killed off Becky. I completely understand Rosario Dawson is busy and expensive, but that's not a reason to kill off such a great character like that. Reminds me of how Smith originally had Dante dead at the end of the original Clerks. Like in that ending, he kills her off for no other reason than he doesn't know what to do with them anymore. Just my opinion at least. You could've had Becky in a small role where she's giving encouragement to Dante as he's helping Randall make his movie, while maybe even integrating their daughter into the story.

Great video man. Old school View Askew films will always hold a special place in my heart. Gotta agree on a lot of the points about Clerks III. I saw it in the theatre the day it was released with my best friend who is also a big View Askew fan. When the movie ended we had a lot of good to say about it no doubt with the nostalgia glasses firmly on our faces but overall it was only passable for me as a good KS film. Your channel inspired me to start doing video editing and video essays myself on my channel. Fellow Canadian too. You do fine work my friend.

I'm a vaguely nerdy Gen X guy . Just vaguely . I never really liked Star Wars but i liked Kevin s . When Clerks came out we worshiped it . Kevin Smith was our voice and I got to hear that voice getting more and more quiet over the decades . This is a good video . I had fun . Thanks

I’m just three years younger than Smith, even had a heart attack (and stroke) the same year he had his. I was a young man when Clerks came out and was in the crowd that immediately took to it. I even loved Mallrats and saw it in a downtown Toronto tiny theatre on the day it came out with only about four other people in the room. Similar to seeing Chasing Amy and Dogma. In the late 90’s as the internet was blossoming I began to see Smith for who he really was, a money and clout hungry man who would sell his grandmother for a dollar or a leg up. I remember likening him to Disney, in that they would both sell you anything and everything they could even slightly brand with their trademark. Between trying to sell anything for an extra dollar and pushing his untalented and extremely mid daughter into everything this is how I now view his legacy.

I liked Tusk from the villain's POV - A redemption arc where he truly wanted to be killed by his victims. Every walrus he killed only worsened his guilt, Justin Long finally goring him to death was a welcome release. Without the guy also donning a walrus suit, movie is not good. With the back story and walrus fight, good and unique movie!

I was listening to his podcasts back when Zack & Miri failed, and I distinctly remember him taking some of the marketing blame; specifically refusing to change the name (and remove the "porno").

Its so sad self doubt crushed this man... He was louded as hollywoods next greates director and then after retiring had the worlds best podcast Now neither his podcast or his films are worth anyones time

DUDE EXCELLENT WRAP AROUND WITH BEFORE MIDNIGHT I LITERALLY POGGED

legend says he's still wearing the same hockey jersey to this day

I'll stick with Clerks 1 & 2. Plus, the animated series.

I appreciate the time and effort you put into this video, it was very informative and very moving(as i have lost my own father and can relate to the jersey girl situation) and i am looking forward to exploring your channel more. If i find more videos that capture me like this one did, then i will be more than happy to give a little on patreon.

As someone who was at point inspired to get into film after watching Clerks, this was a really cathartic piece. It really put all his films into context and somehow made me feel equal amounts of dread and hope for his future output.

I think the final shot in Clerks 3 means Randall is in hell and Elias is the devil.

For a time Smith had the lowest grossing Seth Rogan and Will Smith films.

Affleck was the Bomb in Jersey Girl!

I completely agree with Kevin Smith's assertion that some movies work better in theaters than at home. Action blockbusters do completely work better in a theater than at home. Dialogue driven movies absolutely work better at home. Action blockbusters are "events" that take way more advantage of the sound and giant screen. Dialogue driven movies always suffer in theaters because there's less intimacy that enhances dialogue-driven movies. The sound systems in theaters do not prioritize voices and dialogue nearly as well as home watching does. At home, you can add subtitles to even further enhance a dialogue-driven movie. You can pay closer attention. You can be comfortable. You can be alone. You can pause the movie in case of distractions. Of all of Kevin Smith's movies I saw in the theater, watching Clerks and Chasing Amy at home enhanced the experience in those films for me exponentially. I was able to better absorb the subtleties in those movies MUCH better and easier than in a theater. So, no. I don't agree that "big screen + loud" is always a better experience. In Oppenheimer, the theater experience was dreadful because of the random ambient bass notes that would distort the dialogue. There was only one scene worth sitting in the cinema to see (the bomb going off), and that was it. Watching Oppenheimer at home was definitely better.

Any commentary on how he handled the masters of the universe netflix cartoon?

I am so sorry you had to go through this. Not really.

Great video, man. Flattered that you went our of your way to give my name a shout out over a dozen times.

Cop Out is like an inside joke among some of my friends to refer to a specific kind of failure. The only part in the Jay and Silent Bob reboot I laughed at was the Val Kilmer cameo. You are just spot on about Clerks 3 the film was actually just spiritually offensive. What’s the takeaway or point of the film? “Lol Randall and Dante are fucking losers and they are DYING!! Oh you want Clerks!! Here are your clerks nerd!!”

Clerks 3, regardless of how personal it might be to Smith, was a giant middle finger to the audience who loved his movies growing up, destroyed everything built up in Clerks 2, and totally shit on everything that Dante and Randall had become by the end there of. If Smith lost everything tomorrow, I wouldn't shed a tear.

he absolutely ruined his season of degrassi

Holy shit, man! I truly expected to quickly zone out and click away from this, but you earned an hour of my time and I am shockingly pleased that I spent it this way. You absolutely nailed so many things that I've felt & thought about one of my formerly-favorite filmmakers, one of the "auteurs" who's frustrated and inspired me in infuriatingly-equal measure. And you even made me actually wanna watch Jersey Girl, which is nuts. I'm a subscriber now and really interested to see what else is on your mind. Thanks for the effort you put into this, and thank you for caring about cinema as much as you do!

I think part of the reason also behind the decline in his movies was no longer having his longtime producer Scott Mosier involved in his films

This popped up in my algorithm and I hadn’t thought about Smith in years so figured I’d give a watch. As a wrestling fan I think this is my confirmation that I will never ever escape CM Punk discourse lol

Dont' forget Jersey Girl was not only hampered by Jennifer Lopex and Ben Affleck's relationship. I remember Gili came out about the same time too, which didn't help his cause. I saw Jersey Girl when it came out on DVD and thought it was good...

I saw Jersey Girl as a member of a test audience and gave it extremely negative feedback. I don't even remember why it was so terrible because it wasn't bad enough to be memorable, but sufficiently bad to spend the time explaining it on the post film questionnaire

I just don't get how the later sequels suck this much.

Every time one of these "Kevin Smith has lost it" videos comes out, I have to click on it, feel attacked, and then identify with whats being said by another former fan. And yeah I agree with most of this, but Tusk was enjoyable for me, the end actually disturbed me and I found it to be a very strong parable about people being just the worst. Did not finish Yoga Hosers.

I’m not a hater, or at least I don’t think I am. When Clerks came out it was a perfect movie for me because I was in that whole post-college wannabe-guerrilla filmmaker phase, and, hey, he did it. I was aware how weak the acting was, but, hey, he’s living the dream! Mallrats was a pretty bad sophomore slump with all the failings of Clerks, but a lot more money and nine of the charm. Chasing Amy was a much better film, but it just kinda didn’t work for me. And by then a decade had gone by and I’d just kind of grown out of it. And given how often people say “he’s done,” I haven’t been terribly interested in seeing his movies in a long time. And he’s become kind of an unrepentant shill for a whole bunch of tv shows and projects that are sub par, and he knows it, but people pay him for his geek street cred. So I’m over it. I don’t hate him, but I’m also not really interested after 25 years of nothin’.

Fantastic work! This is what RU-vid should be right here. I feel like I've been taken on a journey and it kept my full attention the whole time. I'm not so much a fan of Kevin Smith's movies as I am interested in the man himself and examining his legacy. This and your previous video are my favorite examples of this. I like that you took the time to examine each entry. People usually gloss over Cop Out especially, but as your essay proves, there's a lot of insight into Kevin and cinema that can be gleaned by taking a closer look at it. I like how you brought it back to Before Midnight near the end.

I am beyond excited, best morning coffee essays on earth