Clerks III

I am a big fan of Kevin Smith, the person. In the early-mid 90's his underdog comedies were perfect to me. Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was a perfect blend of everything he had made up until that point. Then he started doing his speaking tours. The first Evening with Kevin Smith was hilarious! I watched the second one, and while not nearly as good as the first, it was still entertaining. Then Clerks 2 came out, and I heard a whole bit that he already did, almost verbatim, as an argument from one of the characters. Also, Jason Mewes getting sober, was a major plot point for his character as well.

I have heard Kevin talk about his heart attack, quite thoroughly. So it was kind of disappointing when his story played out almost exactly how it happened, in what was supposed to be something I hadn't seen. Also, most of the stories that went in to the movie, were also written almost verbatim, how he mentioned they happened when making Clerks, which he talked about in 2004's An Evening With Kevin Smith. It feels like Kevin is creatively bankrupt these days. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy hearing him talk about things. It just means that everything he talks about usually ends up in his next movie. Kevin is a humble, likable, friendly, intelligent guy. It just seems like if you've listened to his stories he's personally told on his, or other people's podcasts, you have heard everything he has to say, and seeing his latest movie will only be a rehash of what he has already said. It's hard to be critical of someone I like and respect, but his movies nowadays, are mostly autobiographical parts of his life, put in to his old IP. Sorry Kevin :(

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.

The Clerks franchise, being the one that launched Kevin Smith's whole career off, is clearly his most personal and dearest to his heart out of all of his IP. Therefore it's no stretch to assume each Clerks entry is an amalgamation of what Smith himself is feeling or reflecting on in his personal life at the time of creating it.

And this time around, with Kevin Smith fresh off of a heart attack in his real life, it's no accident that themes of mortality heavily seep into every pore of this film. And what happens when we're smacked in the face with our own mortality? Much like the trope of our "life flashing before our eyes", it's very commonplace to look backwards into the past at good times and view them under a different, more appreciative lens.

This film is exactly that: the artist looking back at Clerks 1 (mostly 1, but a little bit of 2 as well) through that nostalgic lens. Smith's reflection on his own mortality bleed through to the characters flashing back on their lives in the same manner. Smith called this film his "Jersey version of Cinema Paradiso", but I saw it more as his version of Fellini's 8 1/2, especially given that he is literally holding a camera in the film.

The trilogy is now thematically complete: Clerks 1 embodied youth, part II aging, part III dying. While Clerks III may be an interesting enough art piece for these reasons, it's just nowhere near as funny as the other 2. To be fair, it's not really trying to be most of the time with the heavy themes it's taking on. But still, it is a Clerks film and a comedy, therefore it does have humorous lines and moments all throughout, even in the more morose moments. And these were simply nowhere near as funny as the other 2 Clerks films.

Overall this film did an excellent job on the nostalgia & fan service if Clerks means a lot to you personally, but otherwise it is the weakest entry in the series in terms of comedic substance.

What happened to Kevin Smith? Seriously. It's been a long time since we've had anything from him that is really worth a watch. This one doesn't change that at all, sadly. It feels desperate to be honest. I had high hopes, but I was also more than a little cautious about getting my hopes up. After two fantastic entries in the Clerks series maybe a letdown was to be expected, but this one feels worse than that. First, the jokes fall flat most of the time. The ones that DO work are solid but there's just not enough of them. Second, the incredibly serious overtones feel out of place here, and that just gets more dire in the third act. Bottom line: it isn't as absolutely horrible as Yoga Hosers but it isn't in the same league as the first two films in the series. It isn't even half as good as Mallrats. My rating of 4 is given partly out of nostalgia for what it is. I can't say it earned it.

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.