Clerks III

It's mawkish, messy, not particularly clever about its meta commentary, and some of the jokes fall incredibly flat... but you know what? A good deal of this really works. The emotional stuff feels like it's straining, but it still got to me when it needed to. Emotions were felt.

I'm truly thankful I liked this for the most part, as I thought Kevin Smith's last two movies were genuinely awful. I can safely say that it's a huge improvement on Yoga Hosers and Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. It may be that I just have a soft spot for Clerks, but either way, I thought this was really good in parts, to the point where I can overlook some (but certainly not all) of the obvious flaws.

I had initially wanted to rerun through all of Kevin Smith's films before getting to "Clerks 3" but as it's on Amazon Prime now, it's probably better to watch it whilst I can. I think I'd view this as being one I watched appreciating its aimable charm, rather than one actually liked.

When a heart attack causes him to question the value of his life so far, Randall Graves (Jeff Anderson), decides to turn his experiences into a low budget film, set in the convenience store, starring himself and Dante (Brian O' Halloran), and utilising Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) who own the weed store next door. Though Dante agrees to help, a personal tragedy in his own life threatens to overwhelm him.

When I saw "Reboot" a year or so ago, I thought that perhaps it would be impenetrable to anyone who wasn't already a pretty big fan of Smith's work, and not a good film to anyone that was. "Clerks 3" is better film, in my opinion, even if I still think that unless you've got a pretty good memory and a gnawing affection for "Clerks" it's just not going to mean much to you. I do have those - so came away generally feeling that the film was an acceptable time, but more because of how poignant and sweet the film becomes, in line with, I think, the director himself as he's become older.

I didn't find it funny though, which could be considered a pretty big failing for what is essentially a comedy. The religious aspect, with Trevor Fehrman's Elias denouncing God for Satan in light of Randall's heart attack feels forced, indeed most of the lines attempting comedy, from Randall or Jay feel like (or in fact are) call backs to previous movies. The use of NFT's as a plot point feels hilariously out of date, for a movie that was only released last year.

"Reboot" was just a cavalcade of "remember this character, here they are" and though "Clerks 3" has some of that, it's written into a comedy drama that has a more interesting and complete plot. It's pretty far from perfect, it's pretty far from good, even.... But I came away feeling positive about it, despite its flaws.

This is a film in three parts. The first reacquaints us with Quick Stop crowd and is quite funny although depressing that these guys haven't moved on at all in the last thirty years.

The second is a boring mid section that drags on while the two main characters make/ or remake the first Clerks movie.

The third is a well made emotional journey that, hopefully, says goodbye to the franchise forever.

Considering the awful Silent Bob and Jay movie as well, this whole set of characters are totally played out. Finished. Over-cooked.

I hope that Kevin Smith now moves to something a little more original.

I like all of Kevin smiths movies. Some more than some and this would rank toward the bottom, but it's not that its bad, it's just that his other movies are that good. If you go into this movie with zero expectation of it being his best yet, you'll enjoy it along with the homage from the previous clerk movies.

As my title says, it's not a 10, but it's definitely not a 3. Some of the reviews (both 10's and 3's) have missed the mark of what this movie is supposed to be. A closing film of the clerks franchise.

Granted the first 45 minutes or so weren't that great, which is why my rating is only a 7, but the second half makes up for it in a big way.

I recommend watching it, just make sure you know clerks 1&2 inside and out or watch them both, in succession, prior to watching 3 so you have everything fresh in your mind.

I did not expect 'Clerks 3' to be one of the heaviest movies I watched in 2022. I love the 'Clerks' movies and consider the second one to be one of the all-time great comedies. It feels crazy to think that was 16 years ago. We finally got the third one and it was a very different experience to what I was expecting.

I would describe this movie as a love letter to nostalgia. It isn't always subtle about it, but it is hilarious about it. If you know the back story behind 'Clerks' then you are going to get a lot more of the jokes and references this movie is making.

I knew I'd laugh in this movie, however I didn't realise how upsetting it was going to be. I feel like Kevin Smith hit me with a sledge hammer - in the best (and worst) way possible.

The opening sequence in this movie is amazing. So much so that I had to go back and watch it again after the film was finished. I don't think 'Clerks 3' will be as rewatchable as the first two (I'm not even sure I'll be able to work up the courage to watch it again) but it may just be that little bit more memorable. 9/10.