Clerks III and The End of Kevin Smith
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- čas přidán 16. 06. 2024
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0:00 - Introduction
5:32 - Kevin Smith's Other Movies
6:45 - Jersey Girl
12:46 - Zack and Miri
20:23 - Cop Out
28:57 - Red State
35:21 - Tusk
39:02 - Yoga Hosers
41:49 - Jay and Silent Bob
46:28 - Dante and Randall
57:48 - Denoument
Six years ago, I thought I was done with Kevin Smith. Jay and Silent Bob had other plans.
Artwork by Brooke Spencer
Filmography: letterboxd.com/eyebrowcinema/...
Works Cited:
docs.google.com/document/d/1e...
Music Featured:
"Warmed Up" by Small Colin
"Dream Escape" by The Tides
"Running Waters" by Audionautix
"Outreach" by Ryan McCaffrey
"Love Him" by Loyalty Freak Music
"Sweet Math" by Mini Vandals
"Faultlines" by Asher Fulero
"Setup With An E" by Small Colin
"Poisoned Rose" by Aakash Gandhi
"Martian Cowboy" by Kevin MacLeod
"Apocalyptic Echoes" by Jimena Conteras
"Hello Reagan!" by Loyalty Freak Music
"Argonne" by Zachariah Hickman
"Alive Evil" by Hainbach
"AnalogueCabin" by Noir Et Blanc Vie
"Haunted Forest" by TrackTribe
"Escaping Like Indiana Jones" by Komiku
"Symphony No. 1: Hope?" by Steve Combs
"Knowpe" by Noir Et Blanc Vie
"Both Flanks" by Small Colin
"Northern Lights" by Chris Haugen
"No Indication" by TrackTribe
"Les-ly" by Mini Vandals
"Time Slips By" by Ryan McCaffrey
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Clerks the animated series is some of his best work.
Very fun show.
amen.
I think that suits him perfectly. He knows talking really well, but nothing much beyond that. Speaking of which, the podcast era is his perfect niche.
is it safe?
I had that entire series on VHS tape. I wished I kept it instead of donating it along with 700 other VHS tapes I collected.
I saw Kevin Smith speak in 2002 when he did that college Q&A tour. The place was packed and he answered questions for 5 hours. 5 straight hours of standing and speaking. Everything you can imagine someone asking him about, and some esoteric questions from superfans on topics I'd never even heard of. Deep cuts, and he was in for all of it. In the last hour or two he kept saying he'd stay until everyone had had enough and didn't want to leave anyone hanging, "Cause I was fat kid growing up" or something to that effect. At first everyone laughed but he repeated it a few times more, and I sensed his sincerity. Kind of like I'm not doing autographs today, but I'll talk so you don't feel left out - like empathy and maybe a vulnerability of still waiting people to like him, even with all the success he'd enjoyed. I didn't know it then, but I'd never actually watch another of his films after that. Watching this video I get the feeling he wanted to make movies because he had the same curiosity and ambition of any young film student, went all in, and struck gold. But he never honed his craft, never found his voice, and never came to believe in his own work. Just went from one thing to the next. In the face of diminishing returns, he retreated to what felt safe, the fans that will still embrace him. No the film fans but the geek culture fans. And he doubled down. Now he sounds like an aging rock star, someone who looks back with sadness of the good times behind him and bitterness about the fading crowds, the ticket sales, the album charts, the critics, whether he's "relevant", but just can't feel the music anymore. It was only the music, Kevin. It was only ever the music.
That early 2000s era is my favourite for just listening to Smith speak. He's funny but still feels authentic and less performative.
Did you perhaps consider the fact that he recently revealed he was repeatedly molested at a young age? I think that had a lot to do with his need to be liked.
@@superjumpchump7182yikes, I always thought it was super cool that all the profits from his Weinstein films go's to charities for s.a. survivors. Now it makes too much sense, and I'm sad for him.
@@superjumpchump7182 Yo Fvcc u Bruh. Change your thoughts because they are wrong. Very weird take. "Getting r4p3d made him needy" WTF.
I think rather than not finding his voice, he found it early, and sold it. Once he had the money to buy it back it was mostly shriveled and saddled with all his baggage of being a boring sentimental old guy. When the originals hit they were of the moment, he was of the moment, but now he's very old , and his movies are very old. Last i watched was J&SB:reboot or whatever its called, and while there were like 4 funny jokes out of 100, the vast majority of the scenes collapse under the weight of how badly he wants the audience to feel like him, to be proud of his daughter, to be interested in his thoughts about himself and his work. It just feels masturbatory.
Clerks The Animated Series was genuinely one of the best adult shows ever. There isn't an episode that I don't reference at least once a week. For Leonardo Leonardo alone, it's worth being remembered.
Objectively the best Clerks.
lol same! I think it's because you had be be into kevin smith and buy it to really watch the whole thing, people who just got it in the fits and starts they aired it in got it diluted. "who is driving car? BEAR is driving car!" is still something my friends and I use as shorthand for "this production is not going well"
Those were the first DVDs I ever bought and I also still reference them occasionally.
Let's not forget about Desmond Pfeifer.
I'm calling your bluff, you're just trying to come out of the closet as gay, and damnit, it's OKAY, MAN!
Clerks 3 was terribly depressing.Maybe Clerks 4 will be a 90 minute film where we watch Randall slowly killing himself
For some reason woke people love depression p*rn.
Clerks 4 has Randall really getting into auto erotic asphyxiation. The last shot will be of him slowly choking to death. Then Dante's cousin, Gil from Mallrats shows up and asks the all important question.
'Well? Did he cum or what?'
There's going to be a Clerks 4? God I hope not (unless it completely ignores the fever dream that was 3). He's destroyed the legacy of something that, as a young man growing up in the 90s, working in local convenience stores, meant more to me than you will ever know. Shameful.
It'll basically be a remake of Leaving Las Vegas
Clerks 2 was so inspiring for me. Clerks 3 felt like a slap in the face to all of that hope. It’s not a film I will ever watch again.
The plot for Yoga Hosers sounds like something even Alan Patridge would dismiss as a stupid idea.
Ya pretty stupid honestly. Big smith fan, I like his better works no doubt a big mallrats fan, Jay and silent bob strike back, chasing Amy has its charm to me, ya and I think that’s it.
Monkey tennis
LOL!
cooking... in prison.
I liked Kevin Smith a lot when I was a teenager.
Unfortunately, after years and years of his constant self-deprecation,
bragging about how much his wife hates him,
getting bogged-down in a slough of same-y podcasts,
and posting pictures of himself sobbing after watching Superhero films,
I can safely say that I'm no longer a Kevin Smith fan- in spite of how much I enjoyed his films as a teenager.
I was a diehard Kevin Smith fan from the late 90's to the mid 2010's. For ten years I listened to nearly every podcast he put out religiously. Several years ago though I started losing interest and haven't engaged with any of his content since. Two big things happened in my life at that time, I hit my thirties, and I moved back to my home province and settled down and had a family. Closer to 40 now than 30, and I feel like I've grown and changed enough that I'm never going to be his target audience again. After listening to him speak for countless hours on his podcasts over the course of a decade though Kevin Smith kind of feels like an old friend that I was really close to in college but have drifted apart from since. I no longer share much in common with him anymore but I still hold fond memories of our times together.
Snooch to the booch old friend, I hope you live a long and happy life.
Feeling pressured to publicly state for years that "yea the movie which was a tribute to my late father and a personal reflection on fatherhood sucks ass lmao" in order to retain a cool and hip media persona is honestly insane
Never thought about that. And I liked Jersey Girl back when it first released. Sure it was different for his normal movies at the time and it had Bennifer in it but I never really understood all the hate.
For real I would have respected him more if he was like “fuck yall I know I made a good movie”
Cop out was fine. Red was good too. Just a quick movie to eat popcorn too
Rhats how all Canadians talk. That's why its so funny. Duhh
I remember mall rats coming out as a big hit?
Were you just reading old guys reviews at the time.? Maybe up in Canadian states. Sorry boot tat
45:27 - OMG YES! The editing in Clerks 3 is absolutely terrible. In one scene they are showing a montage of roller hockey on the roof and playing an up beat indie rock song, an injury occurs, a montage of ambulance, arrival at hospital, all the while that same song keeps playing its just at a lower volume. This keeps going all the way to them talking to a doctor in a exam room, with the song STILL playing at an even lower volume until it just stops in the middle of a scene like they forgot to push the slider all the way over and said, 'ah, whos gonna notice?'
Says alot that one Bruce Willis's final coherent thoughts was that Smith sucks as a director
I suggest you read the passage Smith wrote about Bruce Willis in one of his books. It's a 'Never meet your heroes' situation. He didn't want to work and ftrequently held up the entire production of the film. Made Tracey Morgan's life a living hell.
@@bees.857 I recommend you read the original post: Smith sucks as a director. But we don't need Bruce's word. We can just watch Kevin's movies and know he sucks.
@@mikesmith542 I've seen all his films except Cop Out and I disagree. Bruce Willis is a diva. Bruce talking about Smith is like a student who barely show up to class and won't do their work criticizing the teacher. The people who worked on Cop Out would say Bruce sucks as an actor bc he does.
Not gonna lie I never liked him as a director much but watching him on stage talking about ANYTHING is more entertaining than quite a lot of movies, and for that I'll forever be a fan
" We were known as Harvey's boys." Kevin.
That aged well.
failing upwards is a trend in the film industry it seems
It happens a lot with filmmakers that have a huge hit with their first movie. There's a lot of parallels between him and M. Night Shyamalan.
Let's be real, Kevin Smith's last good movie was Clerks 2. That was a long long time ago.
nah the first clerks was his ONLY decent movie. i was obsessed with rosario dawson until she appeared in that piece of shit, in fact i was a big kevin smith fan until then also. then as i go back i realized jay and silent bob was horrible despite m loving the characters. i didn't even know there WAS a clerks 3 lol
@@smokythecameraman cool
Clerks 2 is the best in the series period. You are so out of touch tool bag!
I wouldn't call Clerks 2 "good", but I might be willing to give his latest "good" movie to Tusk.
@@Dpad69 Tusk was definitely something. Memorable for sure.
I'm sure Kevin Smith's daughter was the best actress to audition for the part in his movies the same way Rob Zombie's wife was the best actress to audition for the lead in all of his movies.
Are you telling me you don't see the natural talent and skill of Sherri Moon Zombie? She has one whole character performance that she has repeated in every film, just like all the acting greats /s
Sheri Moon Zombie is annoying, and has little talent. H.Q. Smith's attitude and acting, is outright repulsive. She has no redeeming qualities, and drives me to actively avoid anything she is in.
Imagine wanting to make movies with family and friends...what a crime
@@beavisdoge237 Yup. its odd as Kevin in particular works with freinds and family (for the most part). If you could choose to only work with people you like and get on with, you would be insane not to.
Kevin stated countless times that he is a nepotist who would rather have fun making a low-budget movie with his friends and family than making a blockbuster with high-profile movie stars. Watching your kid from a two-year-old grow up to womanhood through your movies is one of the best albums a father can give to his child.
My biggest complaint with Clerks 3 is that Randall didn't knock the casket over at the end. It feels like the most obvious move in the world
That would have been classic
Hehehe, yeah that would have been fitting.
Her fucking body fell out!
Umm, thats WHY they didnt do it.
You clearly dont understand Kevin Smith.
@@Shorty_Lickens shaddap
I personally think Kevin Smith never recovered after Seth Rogen got him to start smoking pot after Zack and Miri.
Oi vey, smoking weed is so cool kids
(((Seth Rogen)))
that shithead ruins everything
what an original thought, how did you figure that out?
He always justified the weed smoking by being extremely productive (which he certainly was). But being productive doesn’t necessarily mean you’re making thoughtful art.
@@prele cancer?
Clerks 3 has really showcase how far Smith has fallen off as a writer.
🤡🤡🤡
Didn't realize Smith had become a little girl himself before making Jersey Girl. Interesting trivia.
Lmao I was wondering if someone was gonna make that comment.
I knew we had “lost” Kevin after the whole He-man fiasco and the filming himself crying afterward. I’m glad the guy survived that heart attack but he just wasn’t the same afterward. I personally think Clerks 2 and Zack and Miri were his last good films. This is coming from someone who watched his movies religiously in the 90’s and early 2000’s. I watched Mallrats so much when I was in high school. I’d go to the mall with my pals and try and recreate the hijinks TJ, broady, Jay and Silent Bob. I still stand beside his early work. Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy and the pinnacle of it all Dogma. It’s sad to see hm so reduced. Also I watched him do an interview with Stan Lee before he passed and it was painful to watch. Kevin all but bullies, interrupts and goes full “well actually” comic book geek on the poor man. I just ended up yelling at my screen for 20 min before I turned it off. You don’t talk to Stan Lee like that.
Former Smith fan here, technically he never finished his Canadian horror film trilogy. The never produced third film was supposed to be "Moose Jaws", which is exactly what it sounds like: Jaws with a Moose.
Yeah... Weed didn't help that guy at all...
He didn't end up making it because half the point of making it was to kill off Silent Bob, which since Jay & Silent Bob are the main threads that sew the Askewniverse together, effectively kills off the Askewniverse itself. I think I remember reading something about him wanting to do that for basically the same reasons Travis Barker got face tattoos. Apparently he came back to reality and realized that without the Askewniverse, he's a literal who in Hollywood
I am pretty sure the repeated mentioning of it and what it was about was the all the film and joke you were going to get and seriously intended.
52:43 - In Clerks there are two Star Wars conversations: the aforementioned private contractors and another about which was the better film Jedi or Empire and the conversation is about down endings - "Luke gets his hand cut off, Han gets frozen in carbonite." This is where he states that life is a series of down endings. Weidly, that ends up being Dantes arc for the trilogy, but originally Dante is shot at the end of Clerks because "im not even supposed to be here today!"
It was sad seeing Dante essentially getting a Luke 'The Last Jedi' ending.
Kevin Smith is like that drama club kid who doesn't want to learn any acting methods or a music kid who doesn't want to learn how to play in different keys. Or an art kid who doesn't want to learn anatomy or a fanfic writer who doesn't want to learn how to write anything that is not a fanfic.
A passionate kid who has a unique set if sensibilities and has his own voice, but doesn't have the tools to express it. And even if he gets to express it, he doesn't develop further as both a person and a creator, because this is how far a person can get with his raw talent. If the stars align, he would be able to create art - partly by his sheer passion, partly by accident. But without the proper discipline and studying he will never hone his voice into something more than one hit wonder. Or, even worse, he'll lose his voice. And I think that's the case - he lost his voice by trying to make mass appealing stuff, while never moving on from what he began with. He clearly tried to develop his voice and his craft, but I guess the reality of his situation is that he is too old and too successful to learn.
What about a grunge artist who wont learn scales on their guitar and gets by on a distortion pedal
@@Cosmicshambler exactly
@@MrFiremagnet oh shit thats me
There’s a truth to what you’re saying. I think you have to grow as an artist. It doesn’t always have to be technical growth but your art form needs to evolve. Some art can be low-fi and D.I.Y while still retaining a heart and communicating atmospheres emotions and ideas. I think it’s bad when artists stick with in their comfort zone and it helps to study and learn techniques from other artists so you can employ them creatively. Grunge is a good example with nirvana. There success comes from the band members being actually proficient musicians who drew influence and could play from a wide variety of music (Beatles, punk, pixies, even growls drumming came from some soul music). They used some of this technical knowledge and channelled it into a rougher more chaotic aesthetic. I think it’s important to not let your stylistic or preferences prevent you from advancing and taking new risks and making your work stagnant.
Acting method: Remember your lines, don't bump into the furniture
The thing that's SO tragic to me, as someone who is a massive fan of Smith's earlier work & was equally disappointed in Clerks III as you described here - I COULD feasibly see where the central concept of Clerks III could have kinda worked?
The big hurdle for me is how Smith insisted on a script where we watch these 50-60 year olds play THEMSELVES in a film about their lives (From seemingly the only 2 days in their entire times working that any notable events ever happened?), as a way for Smith to tap-into the meta-ness of how he created the first film - but it's all just very CREEPY & very SAD watching these 50+ year olds re-enact scenes of themselves while they were in their 20s?
What COULD have worked, and maybe have helped weave-in Smith's seeming concerns he had with the themes of "Reboot", is if Randall had to cast young, slacker-ish teens to play him & his buddies' roles in this story about his life - and in-turn, marking a passing-of-the-torch from both Randal AND Smith, an acceptance of the next generation ahead of them, while also showing in a bittersweet sort of snark that "nothing ever changes" - there will always be Dante's, there will always be Randall's, and there will ALWAYS be Kevin Smith's
But - instead, we got a 90 minute parade of Kevin Smith making a (badly made) movie with his famous friends that was all about him - and that's kinda sad, really?
Always gonna love him and his early work, though - he'll always make me a proud NJ film kid
ALSO shoutout to the incredible work on this vid and all of yours! Been a fan for a while now! Keep up the great film analysis work!~
He's reenacting scenes of working in the video store. Why? Video stores have been shut down for like twenty years
Great comment, I ully agree with your assessment. Would've loved to see that version of Clerks III to end it.
Id like to hear your review of clerks 3 when your in your late 40s and 50s, and your friends start to die off and you haven't done anything important in life. It hits different
Yikes. "Ye of little faith". Sincerely, - the kid on the damn escalator 💋🍀☘️💚
"I haven't seen the movie, but I absolutely see how that could make all the difference."
- 43 year old man commenting on a CZcams video about Kevin Smith at 3am
@Anxious_McStabby Clerks 3 wasn't very good. It was like Smith went though the motions, but didn't have anything left to say
@@danielc-s8056he got too successful, then never stopped talking.
*you're in
Oh God, the mugging. I just can't take the Silent Bob mugging.
Sometimes I think the best thing to come from Kevin Smith's career is Tell Em Steve Dave.
You're both banned
Tusk xD
Fuck! Yes!
100%
The last time Kevin did a podcast with TESD was painful, I’d mostly given up on him by then but that was the nail in the coffin. I’d take Git Em over Kevin at this point
Your hyoerbolic attempt into saying the most brutal obscure insult in the pursuit of feeling that small second of emotion you clearly are despite all denials your that empty and knowing of how worthless you are as a human is on full display.
It's not clever
It's not mean in the way that gives you any effectiveness for what your addiction needs
Certainly not funny
Says more about you then any additional highlight to saying how pathetic Kevin Smith is a nobody or whatever you thought you were saying.
Don't do better for Kevin. He's a big Boy.
However do it for comedy. I'm offended for the art if it. Your just assaulting it and harming people who love it. All because you know in life you don't matter. If you can't even try in making your joke in a modicum of anything other than your inner emptiness and lack of any wit or humor then please stop bothering comedy and it's fans.
Be more funny if your going to go down the low hanging hack POS douchbaggery kind of roasting you think your doing.
So sorry I know life must be hard. Try harder it dies get better and getting help is not a failure but a sign of great strength. Respectful one too.
Have a blessed day.
GfC
I remember Kevin Smith had a video talking about cutting off his dependence on weed and acceptance on social media. Hopefully things will be different with his next movie with his changed perspective in his life now.
Dude only cares about money now sadly
There are 3 Kevin Smiths:
Filmaker Kev/Hollywood Kev/ and Stoner Kev
Tik tok ruined that guy
Don't forget Blubbering Crying Kev. Guy can't watch anything anymore with posting a picture of how much it made him cry. Like dude, I'm sure TMNT 2 Secret of the Ooze is real sad, but you don't need to tell us everytime you break down.
Emo Kev
@@stellviahohenheimoh no, he’s a tik toker now? please NOOOOO
@@kazumahazeuzumakiNo kidding. He learned how to shed a tear for Dogma and now has to flex it whenever he can.
I walked out of the screening of Clerks 3 (with kevin smith present) after about 30 minutes of the film. I was SO disappointed by everything I was seeing. I was embarrassed to be sitting there among those laughing at what was happening on the screen.
I always wondered how his later career would have turned out without the constant weed consumption after Zack & Miri…his personality changed drastically…
I will NEVER forgive Seth Rogan for introducing Kevin to weed. Destroyed his creativity and gave us THIS shit.
@@Theomite Same! 💯%
I noticed his output getting worse after that, but never made that connection. It makes sense though!
I don’t think it’s only the weed. He’s totally lost all of his connection to working class people he lives in a bubble now and has nothing to draw inspiration from. He films were never really philosophically deep they were fun slice of life movies. His slice of life to draw inspiration from these days is arguing with nerds on the internet and living in a big empty hollywood mansion.
Has WAY WAY less to do with weed and all to do with his losing his touch with the working class and basic people. That’s WHO his Clerks spoke too…..his moves got worse worse and it had nothing to do with weed. So he gives up weed I can promise his movies will be/are just as bad cuz ALL of them suck to differing degrees after Clerks in 1991. I gave up on him after the early 200s.
Fellow Canadian here, I think i experienced what you did with Kevin Smith, with a Canadian Author named Douglas Coupland, the man who created the term Gen X, and wrote a pivotal novel by the same name in the early 90s. Much like Kevin did with Clerks, he just captured the ethos of the early 90s zeitgeist and the cultures and subcultures he was a part of it. It was a refreshing voice that felt distinct and necessary at the time. But Coupland came out with a book called Generation A some 20 years later...yeah it didn't hit the same, still my favorite author, sometimes creators and storytellers find that perfect time and place, and trying to recreate that or recapture that usually leaves us disappointed.
Lets all remember in the original ending of Clerks, Dante gets shot by the last customer that comes in the store. So in theory the Clerks Universe ended there.
Maybe the rest is Dante’s fever dreams as he is on his death bed and his body is pumped with DMt (I guess this happens before u die I dunno I’m not a scientist)
@@MRAIClassroom A Jacob's latter situation...
@@MRAIClassroom That's what happens to me every chance I get!
Yeah but that’s not the original theatrical cut. We got an official ending. Clerks III was mean spirited and horrible. It left beloved characters in a place no one that loved them would want them to be.
I think the most most frustrating part of Kevin Smith's career was that the Clerks trilogy really didn't have an arc. I could have seen Clerks being about what it's like to be a worker on the bottom of the totem pole, Clerks II about what it's like to supervisor/mid-career, and Clerks III about trying to put work on the backburner and trying to shift your focus to yourself and your family. I love the idea about Randal being a TLJ vlogger... and as a counter-point, Dante could be a family man who (mostly) lost touch with geek fandom, as he's too busy trying to support his family. Could've told an interesting story about those who settled down vs those who grew up by middle age. But we'll never know. I always hoped K Smith would treat those movies as sacrosanct, but if you look at his entire body of work (specifically when he wrote on Batman, and Daredevil) there really isn't a lot he treats as sacrosanct, and I feel like his work is a lot poorer for it.
He’s the man that made Batman piss himself, I can see were your coming from.
I like that even an hour-long video about Kevin Smith's worst movies doesn't cover Jay And Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie
Not titling this video "We need to talk about Kevin" is a missed oppor... well, ok, maybe that woulda been a bit cliché, but. Yknow, whatever.
I went through a half dozen titles and somehow this one never occured to me.
Kevin was punished *hard* every time he tried to put some sincerity in his films. To the point where he regressed back to childish infantile safety, geekdom, his lil safe space of comic books and star wars and smoking pot with his buddies.
It's still sincere in a way, but he's too afraid to venture out of the metaphorical mancave.
I really wish he'd not given up on those glimpses of pure human soul he put into Jersey Girl and Zach & Miri. He might be a vastly different filmmaker and person today.
I'm ashamed to say that Jersey Girl and Zach and Miri are the only two Kevin Smith films I haven't watched - prior to 2010 or so (the last one I saw was Red State). As far as what I have seen, those films would have been better if they hadn't tried to "go deep." Dogma, for instance, was laughably stupid when it tried to get serious. It's like he doesn't understand that just because you're taking on a serious topic doesn't mean you have anything intelligent to say about it.
Zach and Mari is funny as hell flat out jersey girl is a decent movie give them both a try yogi hosers is pure garbage
I didn’t bother to spell check
This is so well stated. I feel it's honestly insane that higher ups in the film industry, music, visual art, any form of entertainment feel like they need their flowers just because they're tackling sensitive issues. There's a lot that goes into making art great. If it's not there, it's not there. Ironically these people think they're taking a big chance. I just see it as being campy and lazy
Harvey Weinstein made him......
Ben Affleck was the bomb in Jersey Girl yo
🤔 I thought Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms, yo?
My wife made me watch Phantoms last week. I'm still kind of mad.
Never saw Red State, but to me it sounds like what someone who's never visited a red state fantasizes about.
That was kinda my thought too.
And many of his fans loved it.
😬
That was kind of the point. If you actually watch the movie, it becomes apparent that he's attempting to lampoon both sides of the political spectrum. It doesn't always hit the mark, but it's more admirable than it seems at first glance.
Think it was a comic book
It was awful. Don't watch it. Was expecting some thrills. Got nothing.
"you shut your mouth before I fuck it" is something I've been saying to people since I was a teenager
I got to meet Brian O'Halloran and Jason Mewes at Mighty Con near St. Louis. It was surreal because you feel like you know these men but you really can only know their characters. I told them how I showed my VHS copy of Clerks to all of my friends and was inspired to make my own independent film.
What I didn't say was the truth that Clerks III never should have been made...
I literally thought Zach and miri was a judd apatow flick until a few years ago
Kevin Smith peaked early in his career. He made 5 awesome hilarious comedies the final one being Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). After 2001 he made some absolute trash and seemed to redeem himself with Clerks 2 (2006). While not as good as the original it did capture that Kevin Smith Clerks magic. I was a Kevin Smith Superfan I even owned "Clerks the Animated Series" on VHS tape. I think the heart attack changed Kevin Smith to his core and with that change lost the ability to make these care free comedies. It's been 18 years since Clerks II. I've lost all hope for Kevin Smith as a director a long time ago but I wish him the best in his personal life.
I certainly wouldn't say jersey girl is trash. He seemed to evolve some with that movie. Criticism of the movie made him retreat back to his safe space to make Clerks 2
Clerks 2 is the last one I enjoyed. After that...
I don't think it was the heart attack that changed him.
I think that as he got more successful, it damaged that "hungry", "fire in the belly" part that drives creativity. Complacency, basically.
People often forget that success can test you, just like adversity can.
To paraphrase Nolan's The Dark Knight:
"You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
And that's where Mr. Smith is, and has been, for at least a decade.
🤔
I'd say he fell off as early as 2006. Clerks 2 sucked. The animated series was the Goat though.
He's a crying man baby nowadays. His awkward conversion to christanity AND his weed smoking destroyed him. He's the worst christain.
I don't know if I would call Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back "hilarious"
No,.. clerks 2 is definitely where he lost sight of things. He took shit too far,.. and it comes off badly at points
It makes absolutely no sense that Dante dies of a massive heart attack right after Randall almost dies of a massive heart attack. The odds of having a catastrophic heart attack at their age is pretty small
Edit: subbed
It also makes no sense that Randal would be the one who makes a movie since Kevin based Brian Johnson as Randal and Dante as himself. Dante should have been the one to have a Heart Attack and Make a movie...
Both of the actors were about 52 when the movie came out. Kevin Smith was 48 when he had his.
The odds that they both have heart attacks so close together are small. But the odds at their age are not small, and the odds of them both having one somewhat close are not small either.
I had one three months ago at 46, and a friend I've known since high school had one a few years before me. Same kind of deal as Randall and Dante. We live the same kind of lives, eat the same food, both smoke, etc.. All the same risk factors and we both had one aged 46 or under. Just not months apart. But for the sake of plot pacing sometimes you have to accept coincidence.
@@simpleanswer8954 Fair point
@@simpleanswer8954 Kevin was very obese when he had his heart attack.
To be fair to Willis, if i had to look a the script and say random movie titles while my co star mugs embarrassingly, id be a bit pissy too. That's how you not introduce a film to its leads. That's anti comedy or laziness to the max.
I despised clerks 3. I felt like they tricked me into watching something that would make me depressed. I don't need that in my life I have enough to worry about
thank you I felt the same way it came out in a dark time for the world and KS just added more on top with this awful movie and I loved jersey girl
What was so bad about it ?
@@srb2591 When you think of clerks, what genre do you put it into?
@@HarryToeface I've only seen the first and I say comedy
@@srb2591 that's what's so bad about it, it's supposed to be a comedy but there's very little that is funny.
Man, thank you so much. I really wanted something to watch and this being two hours old is unbelievable timing. Loving it. 🙏🏻
Snoogans is right. Great work.
I havent seen clerks three, but it gives me this " what if i just died, how would they all feel then" vibe.
You also left out how he massacred he-man seemingly to spite it’s nostalgic audience
I think this guy is as hopelessly woke as Smith. A love letter from one utterly emasculated man to another.
Exactly
Nostalgic audience. There are dozens of you! Dozens!
🙄🙄
@@alaricgoldkuhl155*Jesus christ in DP*
Yeah figures
Tusk was legit. That was bizarre as hell and pretty spooky and hilarious. But the whole Johnny Depp character could go completely
Agreed!
Yeah, 100%
Tusk was a low key masterpiece for me.
Maybe Dante is Dante trapped in hell, but then finally gets to accend to heaven with Beatrice for admitting his sin and losing his cynicism, and Randall is virgil, destined to sheaperd the next Dante through the 9 levels. 😊
Whoa, dog. That's probably more thought than smith ever put into his whole body of work.
There's so much movie-related slop on CZcams lately, and so much of it feels either lazily written or borderline AI-generated. I'm just thankful videos like this still exist. The writing and editing on this channel are always top-notch, all the while tons of movie-related commentary on CZcams isn't even worthy of being background noise.
You’re looking in the wrong places then ….there’s tons still out there. Perhaps you like crap lowbrow movies for all I know and that’s why you can’t find awesome videos on it 😂🤷🏼♀️
@@6Haunted-Days You can make good commentary videos about crap lowbrow movies though.
I just personally feel like the quality of commentary overall has been going down lately. Or, more likely, there's been an overall increase of lazy content that can drown out the good stuff.
If there are tons of channels like this one and you have some recommendations, I'm all ears.
@@Jezzascmezza they letting anyone in now and a lot the people they letting in are really lame. simple as that. people be having pretentious commentary with terrible jokes and no sense of personality. generating massive amounts of views tho.
which is okay because most viewers of those videos are passive and anyone who watches this video aint putting it on for background noise I guarantee that.
I'd assume any short is gonna be AI trash.
It's sad how easy and profitable it is to take 2 quotes from an actors interview, write up a title with hardly any relevance to the actual discussion(and grossly exaggerating the actual impact of the interview) and have a trashy voice describe the soundbite you're halfway through listening to.
Shorts/tik tok and AI are looking to be the perfect trifecta to turn all of youtube into "kids/elsagate" youtube.
This website started going downhill fast around 2013 until we hit bedrock, and then AI and short form content came along like a truck full of dynamite and showed us we still have a LLLLOOONNNGGGG way to go before we hit the bottom.
@@6Haunted-Days cry-laughing your own comment? BIG L!
Great video man. Old school View Askew films will always hold a special place in my heart. Gotta agree on a lot of the points about Clerks III. I saw it in the theatre the day it was released with my best friend who is also a big View Askew fan. When the movie ended we had a lot of good to say about it no doubt with the nostalgia glasses firmly on our faces but overall it was only passable for me as a good KS film. Your channel inspired me to start doing video editing and video essays myself on my channel. Fellow Canadian too. You do fine work my friend.
Thanks for commenting. And cheers to a fellow Canadian!
I recently re-watched Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back.
It works really well if - while you're watching it - you pretend its a cartoon.
You forgot his disaster with the Masters of the Universe animated series reboot that forgot to include the main character, He Man, as important to the story.
Here's an idea: What if Clerks III was about two best friends who took opposite career paths?
Dante is still married to Becky, and is a multi-millionaire after he agreed to franchise the Quick Stop. Randal, being Randal, takes his half of the payout and attempts to keep RST Video up and running in an era of streaming and VOD.
The stress of having a family and owning a franchise vs the stress of being in over your head operating a failing business. You can still use the heart attack storyline. Just a better way of getting there?
Idk. Maybe that wouldn't work either.
It would be interesting to see the ideas he had for the movie before the heart attack. Jeff Anderson refused to do another movie for years which makes me think the ideas weren't great and he only did 3 out of pity for Smiths heart attack.
The reason why 'father racing to get his child's performance' is such a popular 'cliche' is because it's relatable to any real parent who has to balance work and home schedules. I mean, you work a job to support your family and the schedules are often tricky to balance but then there's this one occasion that's out of step with the usual schedule and it's something that your child has worked hard on and it's really important to them and they're at an age where that one occasion might permanently define their outlook on life, but for your employer it's just another 'personal issue' and the idea of missing work for something like that almost feels silly the day after but it isn't.
(Apologies for the long comment) I too, enjoyed Jersey Girl as a kid, and rewatched it recently to still find a lot of positives. Like you mentioned, the film has a lot of heart, and although filled with cliches, the relationship between Ollie and his daughter was super sweet and well executed in my opinion, from the tense fight scene they have midway, leading up to the final Sweeney Todd number, which was quite heartwarming. The relationship with George Carlin was great too, and I found Ben Affleck to be quite charming in this film.
The biggest issue I had with this film was what I consider to be extremely lazy writing with one of its main plot points. After having lost his flashy career for a few years, Ollie gives an amazing speech at a council meeting, which reignites his love for public relations and is a macguffin that incites the main conflict of the film, where Ollie has to choose between his chance to be successful in his industry again, or being a father. The problem is, literally the moment Ollie starts speaking, it cuts to music and we don't hear a single word of the actual speech. Even if they only showed a few sentences of the speech and then cut to music, I would still consider it lazy, but at least then, we would have some remnants of what made this speech so great, and its importance in highlighting Ollie's talents. But no, we get absolutely nothing and it feels so cheap and lazy. You might say, "Hey, maybe it's not that important to the rest of the film", but they literally have all the characters discussing the speech and its impact in the next few scenes, and the remaining conflict of the film stems from this pivotal scene.
It reminded me of your Inglorious Basterds/Lady In The Water video, when you talked about how crucial the content of the book that Shymalan's character writes is to the world in the movie, yet they don't give any thought or even a hint to what the contents could be. It's like Kevin Smith said "Hey, we need a scene where the protagonist is reminded of his wasted potential and talent, to drive the main conflict of the movie, but there's too much pressure, because the speech has to be really good, so I'm just not going to show it at all".
There are other things that bothered me too, e.g. the Liv Tyler relationship feeling a bit forced, and me not buying her crying over a guy she's just starting to get to know.
P.S. I'm subscribed to a whole bunch of channels which do film essays, and yours is by far, my favorite. I'm super excited every time you upload a video. Keep up the great work!
There's two Kevin Smiths, the Kevin Smith who was our 'Nerd on the Inside' who mocked Hollywood and came across as a normal guy making fringe cult movies and Kevin Smith who became a Hollywood shil who believed his own hype and fame went to his head!
The algorithm brought me here: and as an avid consumer of cinema as well as video essays from a wide variety of the greats, I thought that this was a really thoughtful and detailed video essay. i would have adored it if a student had handed it in. You’re doing a great job - i’m off to donate to your patreon :) hope you blow up soon!!
Very grateful for your kind words and support. Thank you.
i think that dante dying before his "living life again" arc is a great creative choice. there are a lot of people who don't get a phase 2 in life and you never know who's going to be one of them. and that hits very hard
It's funny back in the 90's seeing movies about people in their early 20's slacking off and hanging out dealing weed in front of a Quick Stop/mall. Seeing a movie about the same characters doing it 30 years later and middle age isn't funny anymore.
I can't disagree on much with Clerks 3 but...
If the speech at your best friends eulogy contains a reference to something you both loved and appreciated, it's generally considered a good speech.
True, we are what we love and when you share that love with another person and it forms a bond of friendship, it goes beyond "silly Star Wars references".
I’m just three years younger than Smith, even had a heart attack (and stroke) the same year he had his. I was a young man when Clerks came out and was in the crowd that immediately took to it. I even loved Mallrats and saw it in a downtown Toronto tiny theatre on the day it came out with only about four other people in the room. Similar to seeing Chasing Amy and Dogma.
In the late 90’s as the internet was blossoming I began to see Smith for who he really was, a money and clout hungry man who would sell his grandmother for a dollar or a leg up. I remember likening him to Disney, in that they would both sell you anything and everything they could even slightly brand with their trademark. Between trying to sell anything for an extra dollar and pushing his untalented and extremely mid daughter into everything this is how I now view his legacy.
jersey girl section ended, i moved my mouse and saw how much time was left and audibly said "holy sht"
No one was more shocked at how long this turned out than I was lmao.
Just thought the same thing. Do I dare go on?
@@gregoryruff77 I'd certainly appreciate it.
Very appropriate for a Kevin Smith doc.
"Shit, he's STILL talking?!?!"
I actually went to see Clerks III in theaters the week it came out. I didn't hate the movie, but it never sat right with me how abruptly he killed off Becky. I completely understand Rosario Dawson is busy and expensive, but that's not a reason to kill off such a great character like that.
Reminds me of how Smith originally had Dante dead at the end of the original Clerks. Like in that ending, he kills her off for no other reason than he doesn't know what to do with them anymore. Just my opinion at least.
You could've had Becky in a small role where she's giving encouragement to Dante as he's helping Randall make his movie, while maybe even integrating their daughter into the story.
I cant remember who it was but as a youtuber once said “Kevin Smiths suffers a fate worse than anyone else, being Kevin Smith”
14:20 Zack and Miri was *NUKED* because of it's title and premise. As soon as it attempted to market, that angry mom group sent thousands of letters and calls requesting a formal change because "I don't want my children reading the word porno when seeing commercials or walking through the mall". I love the movie, but I understand it may be a more niche, or adult-specific enjoyment.
Miramax should have pushed back on that title. Maybe they thought it would get the kind of protests which would draw audiences, like the Exorcist did?
I was listening to his podcasts back when Zack & Miri failed, and I distinctly remember him taking some of the marketing blame; specifically refusing to change the name (and remove the "porno").
I wonder why Kevin Smith doesn't write scripts that other (more competent) people then direct.
He did one for Superman but it was rejected
As someone who was at point inspired to get into film after watching Clerks, this was a really cathartic piece. It really put all his films into context and somehow made me feel equal amounts of dread and hope for his future output.
Kevin Smith has definitely had his ups and lows with me, but I do always wish the best for him, out of nostalgia, and him seem like I genuinely nice person… Here’s hoping for the best
legend says he's still wearing the same hockey jersey to this day
He stopped wearing hockey jerseys years ago when he lost the weight.
I liked Tusk from the villain's POV - A redemption arc where he truly wanted to be killed by his victims. Every walrus he killed only worsened his guilt, Justin Long finally goring him to death was a welcome release. Without the guy also donning a walrus suit, movie is not good. With the back story and walrus fight, good and unique movie!
I appreciate the time and effort you put into this video, it was very informative and very moving(as i have lost my own father and can relate to the jersey girl situation) and i am looking forward to exploring your channel more. If i find more videos that capture me like this one did, then i will be more than happy to give a little on patreon.
I just don't get how the later sequels suck this much.
Clerks 3, regardless of how personal it might be to Smith, was a giant middle finger to the audience who loved his movies growing up, destroyed everything built up in Clerks 2, and totally shit on everything that Dante and Randall had become by the end there of.
If Smith lost everything tomorrow, I wouldn't shed a tear.
Affleck was the Bomb in Jersey Girl!
I'm a vaguely nerdy Gen X guy . Just vaguely . I never really liked Star Wars but i liked Kevin s . When Clerks came out we worshiped it . Kevin Smith was our voice and I got to hear that voice getting more and more quiet over the decades . This is a good video . I had fun . Thanks
Great video, man. Flattered that you went our of your way to give my name a shout out over a dozen times.
Its so sad self doubt crushed this man... He was louded as hollywoods next greates director and then after retiring had the worlds best podcast
Now neither his podcast or his films are worth anyones time
*lauded
totally agree with you though, just a correction.
@@matturner6890 lol thank you I actually didn't know how to spell it
@@matturner6890 you ever listen to old Fatman on batman? Some of the best interviews I've ever heard and I even cried a few times. He interviewed everyone from stan Lee to Kevin conroy. Very impressive stuff
Now it's just basically him talking to his buddies about movies that are coming out
Very sad...
I would however highly recommend tusk but even that was 10 years ago
@@aroccoification no problem
I think the final shot in Clerks 3 means Randall is in hell and Elias is the devil.
I think part of the reason also behind the decline in his movies was no longer having his longtime producer Scott Mosier involved in his films
ding ding ding this is the answer here.
Tbh, i think smith should write a play. His dialogue-laden, camera-forgetting style feels like it would work better in the theater.
Let him forget about the stuff hes bad at and indulge in where his talents always were
Cop Out is like an inside joke among some of my friends to refer to a specific kind of failure.
The only part in the Jay and Silent Bob reboot I laughed at was the Val Kilmer cameo.
You are just spot on about Clerks 3 the film was actually just spiritually offensive. What’s the takeaway or point of the film? “Lol Randall and Dante are fucking losers and they are DYING!! Oh you want Clerks!! Here are your clerks nerd!!”
Any commentary on how he handled the masters of the universe netflix cartoon?
'At one point, you've got it. And then you lose it, and it's gone forever'
I completely agree with Kevin Smith's assertion that some movies work better in theaters than at home. Action blockbusters do completely work better in a theater than at home. Dialogue driven movies absolutely work better at home. Action blockbusters are "events" that take way more advantage of the sound and giant screen. Dialogue driven movies always suffer in theaters because there's less intimacy that enhances dialogue-driven movies. The sound systems in theaters do not prioritize voices and dialogue nearly as well as home watching does. At home, you can add subtitles to even further enhance a dialogue-driven movie. You can pay closer attention. You can be comfortable. You can be alone. You can pause the movie in case of distractions. Of all of Kevin Smith's movies I saw in the theater, watching Clerks and Chasing Amy at home enhanced the experience in those films for me exponentially. I was able to better absorb the subtleties in those movies MUCH better and easier than in a theater. So, no. I don't agree that "big screen + loud" is always a better experience. In Oppenheimer, the theater experience was dreadful because of the random ambient bass notes that would distort the dialogue. There was only one scene worth sitting in the cinema to see (the bomb going off), and that was it. Watching Oppenheimer at home was definitely better.
It's insane with the prestige and resources that must be at his disposal that Nolans movies still have piss poor audio mixes for dialogue. And he claims he doesn't do ADR in post "out of respect for the audience". How is unintelligible dialogue respecting the audience?
Dont' forget Jersey Girl was not only hampered by Jennifer Lopex and Ben Affleck's relationship. I remember Gili came out about the same time too, which didn't help his cause. I saw Jersey Girl when it came out on DVD and thought it was good...
I am so sorry you had to go through this. Not really.
Thank you for your half-hearted condolences Grand Arch Priest.
Around the time of working on Red State, Smith developed a new writing style that I think he relied on too heavily (I think he talked about it at the same time he talked about the original ending for it). He said that as he was writing, once he knew where the story was going, that the viewers would know so he'd suddenly shift the plot. That's why a lot of movies he made after that felt completely random with a disjointed plot; as you said, Red State went from a teen sex thing to a torture thing, to an action thing and random things would happen like a character we'd been following would die out of no where. Ever since he said that, it just struck a cord that Smith had no idea what to do anymore and why his non viewaskewniverse movies feel like there inspired by improv skits with a funny name and he'll figure out what happens as he's writing. He has a movie coming out called Moose Jaws with the tagline "Like Jaws but with a moose". I'll see the new Mallrats movie but I'm holding off on the 4:30 Movie until reviews come in or it's on streaming, Smith has exhausted his good will.
I wish Kevin Smith would just stop and go away.
For a time Smith had the lowest grossing Seth Rogan and Will Smith films.
Jersey Girl was the first Kevin Smith movie I ever saw. I was a teen at the time too. I liked the movie then, and still enjoy it now. I'd put it in my top 3 of his.
I didn't see Clerks 3 but it seems like a good, uplifting movie is right there - Dante 's family responsibilities get in the way of his friendships with the ppl he's known forever, and how he learns to balance the adult he must be with the immature guy he wants to be.
Right? And it seems like a natural progression of the themes from Clerks II. I waited a long time to watch Clerks III until it was like 3 bucks on streaming sites, and I'm glad I did. It just didn't feel right at all.
One of my major complaints of clerks 3 was with its editing, you are the first person I've listened to/read who seems to have noticed it. Great video, well thought out!
For me, it was the coverage that drove me nuts. I know they only had like 2 weeks in the convenience store, but no matter how strapped on time you are, why would you put the camera in the exact same place and shoot the exact same flatly lit straight on medium wide setup for almost every single conversation in the shop? And why is the recreated footage knowingly leaning into the original’s amateur blocking more pleasant and interesting to look at than the professionally shot stuff framed around it?
For me, Kevin Smith died after Clerks II. It's my personal favorite of View Askew Universe. It's one of the very few sequels that surpasses the original, in my book. It was audacious and unapologetic in terms of dialogue and character development. Granted, it was made in a time when the term "woke" wasn't even in the public's lexicon. But for me, the View Askew Universe ended there, and I accepted it.
You brought up a good point for my Two Kevin Smiths theory too: Weinstein. The media and even Kevin himself credits his cardiac event as a turning point in his cinematic career. But it was actually Harvey's downfall that was the catalyst. Kevin succumbed to this current sterile, socially conscious era in film and it obviously shows considering the most disappointing conclusion known as Clerks 3. Like Smith got neutered along with the weight loss and it's so apparent. What is just as sad and pathetic is that he has like Chris Stuckmann gig as an industry cheerleader on IMDB nowadays too.
Exactly. It's his pandering that I can't stomach now and his run on He-Man was the last straw for me. He is a shadow of what he once was.
What's Been happening with Stuckmann, lost interest in him before the pandemic?
I can't remember which movie he was talking about, but I remember on a Smodcast, Kevin was talking about editing one of his 2010s movies. He was saying that having the movie shot in digital gave him a level of freedom in editing to the point where he was editing between takes. Editing out seconds, minutes, excising entire shots on the fly. And it was at this time, I realized that Kevin was no longer making movies with weight, with thought. He no longer cared about performances, shots, or purpose. He was merely fulfilling runtime obligations. Outside of a few scenes with Michael Parks, and one scene with Affleck, it's clear that Kevin is only moving chess pieces around the set. The performances don't matter anymore.
35:23 What is the name of this background music?
Even worse, 'No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn' plays while the camera pans over QUEENS!