Review: “Clerks III” is a Funny, But Heartfelt Swan Song
★★★
Clerks III opens and it is business as usual at the Quick Stop. Dante (Brian O’Halloran) arrives to work and finds gum on the lock, Randal (Jeff Anderson) slinks in a little late as usual and the two close down shop to have an impromptu hockey game on the roof while customers get angry. But as the pair settle into one of their uber-nerdy conversations about cryptocurrency and Crom from Conan the Barbarian with Elias, their dweeby co-worker from Clerks II, Randal loses his breath and collapses. Rushed to the ER, Randal soon finds out he is having a heart attack, and a bad one at that. It is called “the widowmaker” and as he is prepped for surgery, he is told there is only a 20% chance of survival. Thankfully, Randal lives, but he is struck by a spell of depression and a lack of purpose from living a life of customer service jobs and doing nothing but watching movies and making fun of them. His solution? To make a movie of his own.
Directed by Kevin Smith, Clerks III is a bittersweet comedy. It’s funny, emotional, even heartbreaking at times. At its heart, it’s about grief, reflection and how middle age is not too late to grow in life. (It also serves as, note to self, a gentle reminder to eat more vegetables and go for walks.) Sometimes it is funny when it should be serious, but the humor is true to the characters and besides, isn’t that also true to life?
Naturally, much of the story centers on Randal developing his autobiographical movie, which at first he calls “Convenience Story” (which later becomes “Inconvenience” and finally, according to Kevin Smith, “Clerk”). The main characters are Randy and Dan T., though he later caves and renames them Randal and Dante after he decides the Clerks will play themselves. Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), who now own a weed dispensary in the old video store next door, play themselves as well, while the latter also serves as the Director of Photography (which in the Making Of shown after the film, Smith claims is an in-joke as he himself admits to being no expert at cinematography).
This setup leads to a series of humorous callbacks as various gags from the first two Clerks films are restaged exactly as they were before with many of the same actors who played these roles before, including the Chewlies bubble gum rep (Scott Schiaffo) and the customer obsessed with eggs (Walt Flanagan). This is absolute madness when you think about it because, by the logic of the film, it means Dante and Randal have asked their least favorite customers to come back and immortalize their worst personality traits in front of a camera, presumably for the whole world to see, and they said yes.
As has become commonplace in Smith’s films, the audience is treated to a slew of cameos along the way. Most of which present them in a show-stopping audition scene, which features Ben Affleck, Danny Trejo, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Fred Armisen, to name a few. Amy Sedaris also steals the show as Randal’s heart surgeon who shows up dressed as a witch because she just came from a costume party.
Running parallel to Randal’s independent movie story is a subplot about Dante’s anguish towards the deaths of his wife, Becky (Rosario Dawson), and their child. Both of whom passed away in a car crash shortly after the events of Clerks II, but Dante stills mourns not only them, but the family life he should have had. This grief manifests in a series of visions in which Dante sees Becky as if she is really there. In at least two instances, Becky appears to comfort Dante and share advice. Whether Becky is really talking to Dante from beyond the grave or this is all just in his head is up to the audience to decide.
Admittedly, I grew worried after some negative responses appeared online, particularly when I found out about how Dawson’s character fits into the story. I am relieved to say, in the context of the film, it works, and the resulting payoff is both poignant and beautiful.
One thing missing from Clerks III is a genuine epilogue. Although Randal’s independent movie has a meaningful role in the film’s emotional final act, we are left wondering what happens with it and its first-time director. Was it finished? Did it get released? Did Randal leave behind the Quick Stop for a life similar to Kevin Smith’s? Or is he destined to live his future like his past, behind a register, poking fun at rude customers and consuming high amounts of cholesterol until the day he has another heart attack? I suppose we may get some closure in whatever Jay and Silent Bob film materializes next. But until then, we are left hanging, wondering what happened to the Ranger Danger fan and his eccentric cohorts.
Though I am not sure about every decision made in Clerks III and not all the jokes work, I am happy to report that overall, I enjoyed it. Maybe it’s because it came out during a period in my life when many of the events depicted in the film are extremely relevant and therefore hit a raw nerve. But this is the most real the characters and their struggles have felt since I saw the first Clerks in my teens while working at a supermarket. And this is the first time since the early 2000s that Kevin Smith has made a film that spoke directly to me, and probably one of the few of his that will continue to do so even as I get older. Though neither Clerks III nor Smith will be lauded for this, the way he balances distress and humor here, often in the very same scene, feels honest to the way many of us experience life and the many ups-and-downs it has to offer while we grow older. As someone in their late 30s and quickly approaching his 40s, I can relate. The more I’ve lived the more I’ve learned that finding little moments to laugh and/or make other people laugh during serious times of tribulation, while at first seems wrong, is very much a normal, every day thing. After all, life is both funny and tragic, often at the same time.
The best I can say to sum up Clerks III is it is really funny, surprisingly touching and while the opposite is no doubt true, if you enjoyed the other Clerks films, you’ll probably enjoy this one too.
