Collecting Rooftops

If you saw "Clerks", and wanted a movie with the same plot, the same pacing, the same characters, and slightly better jokes, then what you actually want is "Collecting Rooftops". There are two bored twenty-somethings sitting behind a counter (this time in a movie theater instead of a convenience/video store). One of them's a misogynist, and one of them's not. There's a strange "silent" character who does a lot of goofy stuff (albeit, thankfully, WITHOUT a "Jay" sidekick). There's a montage of stupid customers. There's a psycho girlfriend. There are a gazillion Star Wars references, and some time spent being manly on the roof. There's a "Chasing Amy"-style love story thrown in for good measure. Sounding familiar? To the fairly bland (and shamelessly borrowed) plot of "Clerks", however, the makers of "Collecting Rooftops" have added their own unique blend of herbs and spices: a third friend named Max who has the two best original scenes, one in which he simultaneously barks commands at the girl he's having sex with and the Nintendo game he's playing, and another in which he plays Godzilla in his living room; a choreographed lip-sync by the macho leads to "Leader of the Pack"; and minor improvements to everything carried over from "the original".

If "Collecting Rooftops" had come before "Clerks", then Billy Garberina would be the one making multi-million-dollar movies of his in-jokes and amateur theology, and Kevin Smith would still be ringing up Slim Jims. On the other hand, without "Clerks" to inspire it, "Collecting Rooftops" would've undoubtedly never have been made at all.