Video Picks Archive

March 13, 2002
This Week's Video Picks
Back to Archive

Reviews by Matt Heffernan <matt@filmhead.com>

This week my picks are Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001 - ) and Clerks (1994 - ).

The first film this week wraps up the five-part "Jersey" series by writer/director Kevin Smith. All the characters and storylines from Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, and Dogma are brought together and resolved with a gargantuan slapstick road comedy. The two recurring characters from all five films, Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith), head for Hollywood to stop production on a film based on their comic-book alter-egos. Along the way, they run into characters from the other films, and some of those actors playing themselves. What could have been a disastrous mess pulls through thanks to Smith's incredible comic ability and a surprisingly stable performance from Mewes, who is not at all unlike his signature stoner character. However, most of the humor will be lost on anybody who has not seen all of the previous films, so you better get started...
Full review from August 24, 2001

...with Clerks, the no-budget black-and-white debut for Smith and his many characters in the "View Askewniverse" (named for his production company, View Askew). Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) has to show up to work at the Quickstop convenience store on his day off. His friend, Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), slacks off from his job at a second-rate video store to engage Dante and several of their friends into some wacky work-day hijinks. This is the feature film debut of everybody involved, and in fact the first acting experience for most of the cast. Through sheer will and ingenuity, Smith crafted a comedy that is funnier than most big-budget Hollywood fare. The pure joy of filmmaking comes through the grainy cinematography and stagnant direction (some may even think that it was filmed with the store's security system). Smith has come a long way as a filmmaker, but his first outing will always remain a sentimental favorite and an undeniable comic gem. Besides the four other "Jersey" films, Clerks continued in a series of comic books and an animated TV series (which, despite being cancelled after the first two episodes were aired, has been released to video and will see a feature-length episode in theatres by next year).

Here's some merchandise for sale at

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)	-- VHS
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)	-- DVD
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: Soundtrack	-- Compact Disc
Clerks (1994)	-- VHS
Clerks (1994)	-- DVD
Clerks and Chasing Amy: Two Screenplays, by Kevin Smith	-- Paperback
Clerks. (The Comic Books)	-- Paperback
Clerks: Music From The Motion Picture	-- Compact Disc

webmaster@filmhead.com