Clerks III

Kevin Smith returns to Quick Stop, New Jersey, to make a film about making a movie there in the 1990s. While the meta elements aren't as wild as one might expect from the plot, it's still mostly a film for people who like this director's early work. It's just that the new Smith doesn't have much in common with the old one. The dialogue lacks the inventiveness and believability of those earlier films, and the actors sometimes downright suffer in scenes for which their skills are not up to the task. It's not until somewhere around the halfway point that Clerks III starts to feel like a confident film, rather than a nostalgia bet that works only halfway because Smith simply can no longer offer what he once won fans over with. It still works, give or take, but it's questionable whether that's thanks to the director-screenwriter, or instead in spite of his efforts. (2022.10.18)

A difficult spectacle to rate or laugh at. The first Clerks commented so bitterly on everyday life that its sequels should be more positive, enthusiastic, and enjoyable as a new lease on life. The third installment has the exact opposite effect. The only joy is found in reminiscences, and Dante and Randy clearly indicate that things were better before, though for the latter they were never really that great anyway. It's just that ordinariness, the 1990s and the 2000s, the carefree attitude, all of that feels a lot more fresh and original, while it makes the mundane present that much more burdensome. For many, Kevin Smith is just a shadow of a man who managed to speak to an entire generation. At some points during Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back I wasn't exactly thrilled and I couldn't figure out where it was going, why it was repeating that flood of craziness that sometimes entertains but more often feels like just a variation on what has been seen before. I get that with the return to the convenience store there is once again a need to communicate much more. That's because it's more about life decisions, inescapable crossroads, and the responsibility that ordinary adult life brings with it. And of course it bums me out that this is the direction it's taking and that Smith is voluntarily robbing the previous installment of that great mood, which won't create such a cheery impression again. May he be forgiven by virtue of his definitive reorientation on friendly relationships rather than romantic ones. The reborn Smith doesn't seek to entertain, doesn't want to laze around, doesn't need to be a young or old man behind the counter. He just wants to share a few last life tips in the role of a reasonable and experienced uncle to everyone who has found their way here. I'm happy to listen; after that, the decision is up to each of us as to whether we are more interested in celebrity cameos and gags or the possibility of coming away with something more. (2023.01.02)