Smith’s ‘Clerks’ (1994) the pinnacle of DIY filmmaking

If memory serves, I first heard about writer-director Kevin Smith’s “Clerks” (1994) from a blurb in Star Wars Insider magazine. The very concept was hard to grasp: This movie featured a whole scene where two characters discuss the construction of the second Death Star.

Mainstream geek culture’s Big Bang

Such things just weren’t done at the time. Movies (Woody Allen’s, for example) and TV shows (“Seinfeld,” for instance) had gleaned comedy from the minutiae of life, but not to this degree. If pop culture was discussed, it wasn’t geek stuff.

It’s not unreasonable to argue that “Clerks” marks the beginning of mainstream geek culture. Even by the time of “Mallrats” (1995) – laden with superhero and “Star Wars” references — it was a lot to wrap one’s mind around.

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If these two cool dudes – Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) – can casually talk about “the Wars,” times have indeed changed, I thought.

(In retrospect, I know the clerks are far from cool. They are irresponsible, deeply flawed and not admirable. Times, and my perspective, are still changing.)

It should be noted that O’Halloran and Anderson are excellent, even though Smith would bump them to supporting roles in his bigger-budget movies (except in “Clerks II,” naturally). While a lot of the supporting cast seems to be reading lines, Dante comes across as a put-upon clerk and Randal as an irrepressible shit-starter.

Starting the conversation

“Clerks” was groundbreaking in many ways. Although Smith gives thanks to other DIY indie filmmakers in the closing credits, his black-and-white effort was the first to speak to geeks, to clerks and to ’90s young people. It’s a conversation he’s still having today (through stage speeches in addition to films).

On this rewatch, it jumped out at me that “Clerks” has a substantial message, making it a deeper film than “Mallrats,” my favorite Smith effort.

Randall gives Dante’s girlfriend Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti, in the third of the three strong performances) information he shouldn’t have. Sprawled on the convenience store floor after brawling, Randal notes that Dante complains a lot but doesn’t do anything to change his lot.

Randal’s lecture evokes a twist at the end of a mystery.

Before that, Smith structures “Clerks” as a series of vignettes, complete with title cards. A single day on the job – Dante clerking at the New Jersey corner store, Randal at the video store next door – is progressing, along with Dante’s arc.

But you might not notice it if you get caught up in each comedic set piece, or in Dante’s obsession with getting in a 2 p.m. hockey game on the roof.

A long, but eventful, day

These vignettes are about minutiae, but not about nothing. To start it off, a gum pitchman graphically warns Dante’s customers against smoking. Other vignettes more precisely speak to Dante’s (or Randal’s) character and situation.

Dante’s arc peaks when he’s suddenly amid a love triangle at the end; his ex, Caitlin (Lisa Spoonauer), is back in town. If you’ve worked a counter job, you know the day can feel incredibly long – long enough for lots of stuff to happen. “Clerks’ ” pacing feels right.

The scenes late in the film are shot after dark, and they are starkly beautiful, like when Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) break out their dance moves from their usual perch outside the store.

An alternate ending (included on the DVD bonus features) finds Dante getting murdered by a thief. While it’s an inappropriate ending (as Smith admits when introducing it), it’s fascinating.

Followed by silent credits instead of Soul Asylum’s “Can’t Even Tell” (which closes the final cut), Dante’s murder forces us to reflect on the relative importance of all the problems he had been complaining about.

The film – with appropriate subtlety in its final form – says “Take a shot at doing what you love.” Smith’s “Clerks” is a case in point that sometimes it pays off.