Filmmaker reacts to Clerks (1994) for the FIRST TIME! 

“In a row??!!”😂😂😂 One of the funniest moments ever 😂

I hope this is the start of a Kevin Smith binge. I love his movies. Clerks in particular is so simple and yet so hilarious and meaningful at times. You'd also enjoy Mall Rats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Clerks II.

I highly recommend the documentary about the making of this movie called The Snowball Effect. It goes through literally EVERY detail on how this film got made, from the origins of Kevin Smith's past, to his friendship with Scott Mosier who helped produce this picture, to the filming, to the entire run of festivals it needed in order to be bought for distribution. It's the perfect inspiration documentary for any filmmaker out there.

The film being in black and white is part of its charm and was also a cost-cutting measure as opposed to filming in color. Kevin Smith sold off his comic book collection to help fund production, and if you know how much that man loves his comics, it should tell you just how badly he wanted to break into movies.

I cant believe you hadn't heard of Clerks, it was a HUGELY influential for independent film makers and inspired countless people to pursue careers in film.

How many people gave filmmaking a shot only because they saw this?

Right on James. I was 23 when this came out and, no word of a lie, it literally changed my life. Years later, after seeing my favourite Kevin Smith movie ( Dogma) I made a 10 hour drive pilgrimage from where I live (Niagara, Ontario, Canada) to the Quick Stop, in Red Bank New Jersey. The guy just understands dialogue. Brilliance. I suspect you'll dig this.

I'm fascinated to see someone who grew up in that area, is into filmmaking, and hadn't heard of Clerks. Glad you found your way to it my man. Keep the vids coming!

"In a row?" - funniest three words I ever heard then, still are now. Kevin Smith knew where this was going, respect. Thanks for sharing, man, your content is always entertaining.

The reason for the whole bit about their being gum in the lock and the shutters closed was because Kevin Smith worked in the store, he could only film mostly at night when the shutters were closed.

What I admired most about this film were the long takes of dialogue. Always amazed how much the actors can memorize and then deliver believably. That, to me, is what makes this movie feel so grounded and real. Love it!

I think the reason this film is so good is because it's very genuine. It doesn't pander, and it doesn't condescend, it just portrays a day in the life :P

First time? No way. Such an awesome movie. Dialog and characters are brilliant. I'm sure others have posted but this movie was made on an absolute shoe string of a budget, and Kevin Smith spent the most on licensing the music for the soundtrack! I got my snacks ready - hope you like it. Thanks!

So glad you watched this. Your thoughts are always super-insightful. The writer-director Kevin Smith also plays Silent Bob (Jay & Silent Bob are continuing characters through many of Smith's movies). Back in the days of shooting on actual film, black and white was cheaper to use & process, so that's what he used to keep costs down. And he could only shoot inside the store at night when it was closed, so he had to create the idea that the shutters were stuck shut, to hide the fact that it was always nighttime. I like several of the films Smith has directed (though I think he particularly excels as a writer), probably Chasing Amy most of all. That has Ben Affleck in one of his early performances.

I remember seeing ”Dogma” first, then reading a BIG article about Kevin in Empire Magazine, in 1999-2001. This led med to ”Clerks”, ”Mallrats” and ”Chasing Amy” and, much later, ”Clerks II”. There’s a lot of gold here, man...

One of the very few films where the imperfections add so much to it's charm.

There was a very different alternate ending, that ends with Dante being shot dead by a robber. They even filmed it, so it made it beyond just concept. So weird, so tonally out there. Glad they went with the more light-hearted ending.

yo i’m so glad you finally reacted to clerks. i’ve been waiting for this a long ass time bro lol. can t wait to see your thoughts on this gem. few facts: kevin smith sold his comic book collection, ran up a few credit cards to their limits and got a lil cash from his parents to make this film. almost everything used in the film was free. he actually shot it in the quick stop and video rental store where he was working at. almost every single character was his friends or friends of friends which some played multiple characters. including his mom as the lady going through the milk checking the dates. also his limited budget is why it’s shot in black and white. clerks is the all time goat of indie films imo. the backstory filming clerks is almost as good as the movie. p.s. YOU GOTTA REACT TO CLRKS 2 NEXT!! it’s a truly amazing sequel.

Rest in peace, Lisa Spoonauer(Caitlin Bree). Gone too soon. She was married briefly to Jeff Anderson(Randall). They divorced, but remained close friends.

Yesss my dude, a 90s classic I love the way Randall and Dante compliment each other. They are brilliantly written characters Dante seems like a humble “aw shucks” nice guy on the outside, but on the inside he’s kind of a scumbag Randall is the opposite. He comes off as a total punk, but on the inside he’s loyal with a heart of gold

I worked at a convenience store when this came out. Became my favorite movie. Roommate that worked there with me went to film school bc of it.

Olaf and Snowball are the most underrated characters in this movie. "That's beautiful, man." 🤣 Oh! If nobody else mentions it, there is an animated short that covers the events of the wake that we didn't get to see. Lastly, as you get further into this universe, you'll get callbacks to the different characters and their strange circumstances. I think Kaitlyn's fate is mentioned in Mallrats.

The reason it's in B/W is very simple. It was cheaper than color film.

The main strength of Kevin Smith films has always been the dialogue, no question about it.

I'm glad you kept one of the best jokes in, "She said she did all the work!"

I'm curious to see if anyone found this film relatable? Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema Have a great day!

One of my favorite films of all time!!! Kevin Smith is the goat! Thanks to this film, I see the number 37 everywhere and in the most random and ordinary places. Edit: Also got to go to Leonardo, NJ and visit the actual Quick Stop Groceries where they filmed the film and it was amazing seeing the actual store in person and surprisingly it’s not a big store and it’s very closed space and tight so the fact that they where able to film all those iconic scenes in such a small space is incredible!

PLEASEE do clerks 2 !!

Dogma. If you haven't seen it it's gotta go on the list 👍 Another Kevin Smith classic you will definitely enjoy

I have seen this at least 50 times over the years - a total go-to for me. Looking forward to your reaction :)

Many years later they made Clerks II with (mostly) the same cast, and then just recently made Clerks III. Like with the "sunrise" series, you get to see the characters as they age and evolve.

Thank you for reqcting to this. Your comment on the film being in black and white and wanting a color copy had me rolling

Two best lines from this movie is “I’m not even supposed to be here today!” and “In a row?”

There is a movie called Mall Rats with the same actors and directed by Kevin Smith (AKA Silent Bob) as well it would probably be another good one for you to check out.

You absolutely need to react to Clerks 2 it’s amazingly good.

This movie dropped after I got out of the military. When I went to see it, I was working two jobs. One was at a convenience store, the other was at a video store. Needless to say, the movie SPOKE to me.

Kevin Smith is so good at working with whatever he has to work with. I honestly feel that a lot of Ben Affleck's filmmaking is influenced by his early work with Kevin Smith.

That's one thing about Kevin Smith movies, no matter how crazy things get, it's either Silent Bob or Randall or some other side character giving some GOATed response to someone else doing dumb shit in the story

so glad you did this movie. This movie was done on a budget of around 30K. It became like a cult classic. Ironically enough, there are sequels to this and even a recent one at it, but none of the sequels matched the magic of the original one, not even with increased budgets.

This is my favorite movie of ALL time. #1 no other is really even close.

Kevin Smith was an underground filmmaker, a schlub like you or me, who decided to take on all the debt he could with credit cards and get all the extra cash he could selling his belongings and comic books, to put this movie out there. He didnt have some maniacal drive, he wasnt the most talented film maker, but he had something to say and he believed in it enough that he risked it all to say it. He never really got much better as a filmmaker and eventually over time the angst and meandering thoughtfulness of youth left him and his screenwriting devolved into JUST dick and fart jokes as opposed to using those jokes to say something deeper, but for a time, basically from Clerks 1 all the way through Dogma he had plenty to say and said it well enough for an audience to make them cult classics. Starting around Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back (which i still do enjoy quite a bit) he started leaning into the popularity of his characters and became reductive the farther he went on, but considering he never intended to become a rich and famous director and never claimed to be some great auteur, i respect everything he does.

it was filmed in black and white and clerks 3 really explains a lot of the reasoning. glad you are doing this one, its a classic.

YESSSSSS! Yesssss! Welcome to View Askewverse! I am so happy!

Great movie, and I love that we got a little bit of James origin story in this video. We’re all grateful you saved up for that camera

So excited to see your take on this.

this is such an awesome movie! background is really interesting too.

Kevin smith goes on a hell of a journey through his movies. Comedy, drama and even horror. Its well woth checking out more. Had the privilege of being on stage with him and jay years ago. Ticked something off on my bucket list that day. Also he has some Q&A concert films that are worth checking out if you want some film making, and general life stories from him.

The reason for the black and white is cause the fluorescent lights would make people look green and Kevin Smith couldn't afford the proper lighting equipment and it was filmed in the store he worked in that is located near Red Bank NJ where he worked in the mornings classes in the afternoon and working on the movie at night

This is my favorite film of all time

OMGee! You’ve done it! You’ve actually done it! Thank you James! Thank you patreons! And thanks to Kevin Smith for making this movie with what he had and showing us that we absolutely can make our dreams come true and make a film if we so desire. Please watch the Clerks trilogy. It only gets better from here.

Since you worked at Arby's for a first job, you will relate to Clerks 2. It's the same characters, older, working in a fast food restaurant called Mooby's. Serendipitous.

A fun location based film is Louis Malle’s Elevator to the Gallows. Not only is it an amazing film (with Jeanne Moreau at her finest and a film score that was improvised by Miles Davis), but a specific location within the film adds a really fun twist to the story. I would loooove to see your reaction to it!

Love you James. Nobody on RU-vid has reacted to clerks 2

The John Cusack movie where he owns a record store is High Fidelity. The one where he's a hitman is Grosse Pointe Blank

This is Kevin Smith's directoral debut and it was shot in for less than ~$30K. It's almost a student film but it developed a cult following. I highly recommend Kevin Smith's Dogma, if you want to see a higher budget film of his.

The John Cusack movie you were thinking of is called High Fidelity.

The beginning of the View Askewniverse....you've taken your first step into a larger world. Great reaction, looking forward to the rest in this saga. 👍✌❤

At 17:33 I think you are referring to the movie High Fidelity

This movie was actually filmed in Leonardo, New Jersey right off route 36. It’s a real shop that is still there. So, if you ever come back to New Jersey for a visit, you can go to the shop

Clerks 2 got an 8 minute long standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival.

Proves a relatable story doesn't need a big budget and massive production. Talent in storytelling is the best component. Your video made me realize the magic Kevin Smith pulled off here. None of the characters were without their flaws, but each of them let the viewer decide the morality. Dante was sympathetic because he tried to feign responsibility but his desire to please everyone was impossible. Randall was irresponsible, but he wasn't wrong in his assessment of his position. Even the drug dealers (Jay and Silent Bob) hit on facts, but the question of right or wrong was still left in the viewers lap. And knowing that Dante was killed in a hold up at the end of the night in the original script always makes me reconsider the meaning of what we see.

As someone who got into filmmaking while in college in the 90s, I can say that this movie was hugely influential. We all wanted to be Quentin Tarantino, but we knew we could be Kevin Smith. The actors where his friends, he worked in the store, and he had a budget that seemed attainable to a bunch of 20 year olds, and he got distribution! If he could do it, so could we. Watch El Mariachi (1992), it's Rodriguez's first movie, he made it for $7k, it was also a major inspiration to a lot of us to just go for it and make a movie.

For the love of god please react to Clerks 2. You’ll for sure not regret it.

Oh shit!! Lets goooo!!!!! I never thought id see this on this channel. Im super excited and im starting the vid now. ✌️

Haven't even watched your reaction yet but I highly recommend watching the entire trilogy!

Oh I am SO excited to watch this!!! I'm weirdly nervous... You are by far my favourite reactor, and this is one of my favourite movies... I'm worried you won't like it! Haha this is gonna be a fun one, thanks so much James!!! Tell Em Steve-Dave!!! 🐜

This is such an inspirational movie because it feels like something anyone could make. It’s not good because of impressive locations or prestigious actors. It’s just pure passion and creativity that makes this movie special

I really appreciate the time you took to provide insightful commentary on the film. Far to often, it seems like reactors limit their comments on a movie to ‘that was funny’ or ‘it was too long’, etc.

High fidelity I think was the John Cusack movie u were thinking of man. This is definitely the most enjoyable movie ever based on such a simple pretence, set a genius combo of Kevin smith and scott mosier on their path

In the 90s, wherever we were hanging out, only 2 movies where on rotation on the TV - Pulp Fiction, and this.

I remember after the last day of high school going to see a double feature of Clerks and Pulp Fiction with like 15 friends. Will never forget it.

Hell yeah. Heritages. A man of culture. You must of grown up in a 10 mile radius where I grew up.

The reason it was shot in black and white is because the fluorescent lighting in the store would look terrible in any other film format. So their options were to re-light the whole building with movie lighting, or shoot it in B&W. As the entire film was basically made on Kevin Smith's credit card debt, they went with the B&W option.

Yes, this was shot in Leonardo a few towns north of Asbury Park. I grew up in Neptune, NJ, which borders Asbury Park. See City by the Sea, set in Long Island, but shot in Asbury Park. It ould fit the location theme well. I worked at a now nonexistent Wawa in Neptune. We played a lot of street hockey.

Went with a buddy to see a concert in Camden, NJ and made the trek the next day across the state to see the Quik Stop. I stood where Jay & Silent Bob stood and went through the milk and eggs.

I always taught of the feet shot as making the viewer feel included in the circle of friends. Very reminiscent of standing outside with my friends in the cold and kind of glancing at everything if only to keep moving trying to stay warm.

High Fidelity was the John Cusack model

Man Clerks 2 is by far one of the funniest films I have ever seen. Cannot wait till you see it!

I just watched this film I don’t know if you seen the extended Cut but there is an animated segment of the film that shows us what happened at the Funeral xD

Two things in this movie I really like are Randall. His condescending and sarcastic attitude is hilarious. Also, even though it wasn't in this RU-vid edit is Jay's reference to the movie "Blue Velvet". That's a cult favorite David Lynch movie that you may want to check out. My only criticism of your reactions is that you tend to edit the movies down too much for You Tube especially compared to other reactors but I do like your take on the movies. Beef them up a bit more-lol.

We ALL know Kevin Smith's "Mallrats" is next!!

I love how the new Star Wars answered the question of whether independent contractors built the Death Stars

As a filmmaker, if you've been to film school you should have heard about the class of 1992. This is one of those directors. They were like the 90s indie version of the class that produced Lucas, Coppola, Spielberg, DiPalma, and others. Another super low budget genius to look at is Robert Rodriguez. I'm not sure if he's considered among the same class but he's certainly from the same era. He did an indie called El Mariachi for $7k and then did a legit blockbuster called Desperado for $8M. Seems like everything he touches is gold. He also did SpyKids.

In 1994 hearing people argue about Star Wars in public was novel and entertaining. In 2023 it's every conversation everywhere and annoying as hell.

In a row?

Salsa Shark ❤

"Clerks was shot for $27,575 in the convenience and video stores where director Smith worked in real life. Upon its theatrical release, it received generally positive reviews and grossed over $4 million in theaters."

Kevin Smith is the homie too. Super cool, smart, passionate, genuine dude

A lot of times when I'm rewatching Star Wars the Death Star conversation enters my brain, I have to pause the movie, and watch scenes from "Clerks" on youtube.

Watched this for the first time with my dad at my grandmas during some random visit as a rental. It had us on the floor rolling. Years later not so impressed with Kevin Smith anymore but I’ll always cherish that memory with my dad.

The original ending which can be found on the dvd/blu, has Randall leave the store with Dante going back behind the counter. He forgets to lock the door. a guy comes in and goes to the counter where Dante tells him the store is closed. the guy then shoots Dante and kills him, robbing the store. it would have ended with a shot of Dante laying on the floor dead. the director, Kevin Smith, plays Silent Bob and he has many of his friends and even his own mom show up in the movie. Some of them even play different characters. At one point, two different characters talk to one another and it's the exact same actor. In this case the producer of the movie. He was the guy taunting Dante as they played hockey. He's standing on the ladder. He talks to the guy, Willam, on the sidewalk below. Willam talks back to him. Same producer, Scott Mosier. When Jay and Silent bob were dancing, Jay would not dance until no one was around. he was embarrassed to be seen dancing. so the camera was set up and they let it run until he was done. there was a cartoon series made out of this movie. It was on ABC and for some reason they aired it out of order and it got canceled pretty quickly. I don't think they aired every episode.

Welcome to the view askew Kevin Smith universe! Watching movies is fun with you James.

It was shot in black and white because the store where it was shot at was an actual store so that could only shoot at night. Total cost of the movie was roughly $26,000

Now you should watch Mallrats. It also has Jay and Silent Bob.

Good to see some love for the kevin smith askewniverse.... hope you will dig deeper into the filmography, know you will have a good time

This movie is so iconic it was inducted into the Library of Congress in 2019.

lol yes the guy criticizing everyone on the roof playing hockey is Jersey to a 'T' ... and I love every minute of it hahaaa

My 32nd favourite film ever.

One of the greatest films of all time. The entire budget for this movie was made by selling Kevin Smith's comics. This movie was based on friends who now work at the comic shop owned by Kevin Smith. They are on the show comic book men.

Youre gonna have to watch the rest of this franchise