#jay and silent bob

berkeleygirl360:

Snoochie Boochies

yeahiwasintheshit:

Starring Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, and Jason Mewes.

Directed by Kevin Smith

Dante Hicks (O'Halloran) is woken by a call from his boss, asking him to come in to work at the convenience store that day. Despite not being supposed to come in that day, Dante agrees, believing his boss’ promise to come in at noon. The film follows Dante’s day at the shop. We see his visits from lovers past and present, unruly customers, a hockey team, a coroner, and his best friend Randal (Anderson). We see his daily woes as well as some extraordinary occurrences. 

It’s evident that Randal and Dante aren’t the best people. This is established early on when Dante steals a stack of newspapers to stock up his store. Randal has no regard for the well-being of his customers, often harassing or ignoring them. He lists pornographic film titles in front of a child and sells cigarettes to a four-year-old. The two friends also appear to have no regard for women. They talk about women in a crude, sexual way behind their backs. When Dante tells Veronica (Ghigliotti) that she “can’t get enough of” him, she reminds him this is a “typical male point of view,” illustrating his disregard for the way she actually thinks of him. Randal jokes that he’ll sleep with whatever woman “puts up the least amount of struggle,” implying consent isn’t a priority. Also, Dante selfishly cheats on his dedicated girlfriend. The two are, on the surface, lazy, self-interested jerks.

At the same time, Smith (dir) illustrates how they’re really not as bad as people think they are. The nicotine gum salesman dramatically compares Dante to the Nazi party, which the viewer can discern as an overreaction, highlighting how people misjudge him. Similarly, the customers grow disgusted by Dante when he is fined for selling cigarettes to a child, which the viewer knows isn’t his fault. We also see that many of the bad things Dante does are things he’s pressured into. He lets Randal push him around and convince him to do stupid things, the old man steal toilet paper and magazines, and his team mates take gatorade after these characters push him around a bit, revealing how his bad actions have good intentions. Randal, who comes off as a careless and apathetic friend, warns Caitlin that he’ll hurt her if she breaks Dante’s heart, showing off his love for his buddy. In reality, the pair aren’t the jerks they appear to be.

The idea of wasted potential comes up throughout the film. Just like in many other films of this type (see my post on Trainspotting), the guys talk very analytically and in depth, revealing their true intelligence. When Veronica comes to visit Dante, his explanation of gender and sexuality highlight his critical thinking capabilities. Randal and Dante’s discussion of the carpenters on the Death Star is admittedly pointless but indicative of their intelligence. Both men successfully articulate themselves with impressive vocabularies. Randal’s comments on the “title dictates behavior” phenomenon illustrate his philosophical critical thinking. While evidently intelligent, neither use their smarts for anything productive. To no avail, Veronica is always encouraging Dante to return to school. In the chapter “Lamentation,” Randal confronts his friend on his restlessness in his position in life, encouraging him to shoot for his actual potential. When Dante rejects Jay and silent Bob’s invitation to a druggie party, he is rejecting the “loser” lifestyle he has set forth for himself, and committing himself to a better future.

Clerks is a cult sleeper hit. Some people love it. Some hate it. Knowing this, I went into this one without expectations. I generally liked it, but took issue with the dialogue and acting. The conversations weren’t believable (though this was kinda the point), and the actors’ performances were straight up disappointing.

16/20

uglykidsophie:

I just wanna be someone’s Boo Boo Kitty Fuck why is that so much to ask