(clerks is a independant comedy movie, and so is linked to Little Miss Sunshine, which is also an independant comedy movie. I relise that this is a very poor connection, but it was really difficult to find anything else linked to LMS, except for Bruce Almighty, and I'm NOT watching that again)/

clerks (Miramax, 1994) is the first movie in Kevin Smith's classic cult comedy saga, the viewaskewniverse. The series is made up of 6 movies as well as numerous comic book and television spinoffs, all linked by the miscreient duo Jay and Silent Bob (as well as an endless list of character relationships, locations and other background items).

In clerks, we view a day in the life of Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran), a college dropout and loser working in a 'Quickstop' newsagents. Dante typically spends his day with his best friend Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), lounging around swearing at customers and debating the morallity of Return of the Jedi. This particular day happens to be one of the most eventful and chaotic of Dante's life, as he is set upon by a mob of angry smokers, customers dying in his bathroom, a hockey game on the roof and his old flame Caitlyn (Lisa Spoonhauer) moving back into town, all the while being annoyed by Randal and the drug dealers Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith).

clerks is a maginficant piece of comedy genius. Smith's script is bursting with memorable characters, with some only being featured for a single scene, but leaving as lasting an impression as any of the main players do. The script is full of fantasticly foul one liners and conversations, that will stick in the minds of the viewer for years after the credits role. The unique pacing of the movie, of it being split up into around 20 seperate segments works very well, allowing the viewer to drift in and out without losing any of the narrative strand. The unsual usuage of black & white film (a side effect of the miniscure budget at Smith's disposal)also works in the films favor, as it simulates the image of a CTV camera, and somehow makes the movie seem much more realistic despite the near impossible events going on.

The highlight of the movie is its final reel. With all the fantastic comedy moments behind it, the crazy and maddening events intertwine into an intense emotional climax, which leaves the film with an equal level of drama and comedy.

clerks is a masterpiece of amatur independant movie making, and deserves to be held in the minds of moviegoers for all time.