Clerks - 4 stars out of 10

Clerks - 4 stars out of 10

I was very frustrated with this film until the final 12 minutes, when suddenly everything came together.  It isn't one of those clever films where you are viewing random, seemingly unrelated events only to see how they all connect to each other in the very end; instead, the events ARE random (not to mention mundane and inherently boring), but necessary to an ending in which the characters transition from perpetually stupid to philosophical.  I'm torn on this, because I really did not enjoy the first 70 minutes of the film but understand their necessity to the proper ending.  I'm not going to give "Clerks" a high rating, but will still recommend it because of the entertainment provided by the final 12 minutes of dialogue.  In fact, I think that the annoyed feeling that you develop toward the stupidity of the characters is what makes their transition to a philosophical group so entertaining.  I have to compliment SOME of the dialogue of the film.  Although I was annoyed with more than 50% of the dialogue because they just talked about sex way too much for me to enjoy it, the other percentage felt like a very natural conversation.  The highlight of the film for me is Marilyn Ghigliotti's final monologue in the convenience store.  I just sat in astonishment.  She was my favorite character for the majority of the film, but she sealed her spot in my heart with the fire in her eyes.  She is basically unknown outside of this film but her performance simply blew my mind.  I did enjoy the chemistry between Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson though neither is a fantastic actor.  Still, O'Halloran deserves a prize for wearing a Penguin jersey during the roof hockey scene.  Although so much of this film is just dumb and pointless, one aspect of the script lends itself perfectly to dump and pointless: Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you with Jay and Silent Bob.  They are so entertaining and I'm glad that they became more of a focus as Kevin Smith's series progressed.  To be honest, now that I have seen the entire film and understand the endpoint of this film., I think that I might actually enjoy the first 3/4 of it the next time that I watch it.  Although much of this film is pointless (and should probably only be half-watched while doing something else), it is a great start to the "View Askewniverse" that has a unique place in the world of cinema.