This is definitely my favourite Kevin Smith movie so far… it might have something to do with my own sordid state of affairs though, working in a supermarket and stagnating just like Dante. It’s not the director’s most cinematic of ventures, it could be easily interpreted to a stageplay. Smith’s knack is characterisation and dialogue, and his staple, Jay and Silent Bob.

The Quickstop and video store customers are perfectly sketched in quick cutaways… the egg man, the milk maid, the mother and child – and nothing is spared in granting us the joy of Jeff Anderson’s superb putdowns (“I don’t appreciate your ruse… your cunning attempt to trick me.”) When he finally literally spits on a customer, I can’t help but feel a slight rejoicing in my soul. “Bunch of savages in this town.” His monologues about “You ought to sh*t or get off the pot,” and one that ends with, “If we’re so f**kin’ advanced, why are we stuck here?” are completely perfect and one hell of a wake-up call to anyone in the same situation as Dante. I love the phrase he uses, “This is a life of convenience to you…”

This is the one of only two Smith movies to date (haven’t seen Jersey Girl yet, looking forward to it…) that doesn’t either venture into the surreal (Dogma or Mallrats) or skimp on the characters (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back). Chasing Amy comes a very close second. Though I love Dogma for what it has to say and can just about sit through the other two, I feel like he works best in this reality based environment where he can just drop his camera in and capture real characters. Even Silent Bob’s trademark quip in Clerks. is much more understated and simple than the later ones. And the movie’s in black and white… it’s just gotta be better…

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 27th, 2004 at 8:37 pm in 5 hearts, Movie Reviews and tagged as b/w, indie, top 250, video store. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.