Clerks (1994)
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Two convenience store clerks navigate a day of mundane interactions and personal conflicts while dealing with demanding customers.
The story
The film follows the daily lives of Dante Hicks and Randal Graves, two employees working at a convenience store and a neighboring video store. On a day when Dante is forced to cover an extra shift, he must navigate the frustrations of his job, the antics of his friends, and the complexities of his personal relationships. The narrative captures the mundane yet often absurd interactions between the clerks and the various customers who enter their shops, highlighting the humor found in their shared predicament of being stuck in repetitive, low-wage work.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Dante Hicks works at the Quick Stop Groceries while his friend Randal Graves works at the neighboring RST Video. During a shift where Dante is forced to cover for another employee, he deals with a variety of customers, including a representative for a gum company and a group of drug dealers, Jay and Silent Bob. The plot weaves through their personal lives: Dante deals with his girlfriend Veronica's past, and Randal discovers that Dante's ex-girlfriend, Caitlin, is engaged. A series of events, including a failed attempt to play hockey on a roof and a confrontation with a health department representative, leads to a physical brawl between Dante and Randal. The film concludes with the two men reconciling their shared status as 'not advanced' workers. A deleted 'original ending' featured Dante being shot by a robber, a sequence that was removed to avoid a 'down note' and to ensure the production of future films in the View Askewniverse.
- First release year
- 1994
- Runtime (minutes)
- 92
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kevin Smith
- Writers
- Kevin Smith · writer
- Cast and characters
- Brian O'Halloran · Dante Hicks; Jeff Anderson · Randal Graves; Marilyn Ghigliotti · Veronica Loughran; Jason Mewes · Jay; Lisa Spoonauer · Caitlin Bree; Kevin Smith · Silent Bob
- Genres
- comedy; black comedy; buddy comedy
- Themes
- workplace life; friendship; slacker culture
- Tone and mood
- comedy; deadpan
- Premise and plot tags
- independent film; black-and-white; ensemble cast
- Franchise connections
- View Askewniverse
- Content notes
- explicit dialogue
- Reception
- The film was well received by critics and developed a cult following, becoming a landmark in independent filmmaking and being selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 90% · scale: percentage · review count: 61; Metacritic · score: 70 · scale: 100 · review count: 17
- Awards and nominations
- Award of the Youth · Award · Win; Mercedes-Benz Award · Award · Win; Filmmakers Trophy · Award · Win; Independent Spirit Award · Best First Feature · Nomination; Independent Spirit Award · Best First Screenplay · Nomination; Independent Spirit Award · Best Debut Performance · Nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was shot in the actual locations where the director worked.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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