Kevin Smith says 'Clerks 3' is universal because it's 'a movie about how much people hate working'
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Kevin Smith returns to his personal and professional roots with âClerks III.â
His latest movie (in select theaters through Sept. 25, with roadshow screenings through November) continues the story that made Smith an independent film sensation nearly 30 years ago, when 1994's original âClerksâ introduced the world to jaded Quick Stop convenience store employees Dante Hicks (Brian OâHalloran) and Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), along with their friendly neighborhood drug dealers Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith himself).
Back in 2006, Smith offered a poignant and satisfying full-circle conclusion with âClerks II,â which found Dante and Randall taking charge of their place of employment.
But Smith always knew there was more to the story.
âIâve been trying to make âClerks IIIâ almost since we wrapped âClerks II,ââ says Smith, noting he wanted to return to the sentiment of a now-classic jail cell scene in âClerks IIâ where Randal cracks his veneer of snark. Smith called it âone of my favorite things Iâve ever done in a movie.â
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âRandal shows his true heart for the first time, instead of just being acerbic or esoteric or a wisecracker, he kind of lets it out,â Smith says. âHeâs like, âIâd buy the Quick Stop and re-open it myself.â Itâs just a big moment for the character, itâs a big moment for Jeff, and I was like, âI would love to spend a whole movie with that moment, that guy now.â â
After an earlier and far darker iteration of the screenplay featured Randal experiencing a post-superstorm Sandy nervous breakdown, this version of âClerks IIIâ was informed by the massive heart attack Smith suffered in 2008.
"Clerks III" finds Randal, after experiencing a near-fatal heart attack, at work on an independent film about the quirks of life as a convenience store clerk. Smith famously created the original âClerksâ while working at the Quick Stop, and he decided to return to the View Askewniverse for âJay and Silent Bob Rebootâ after his own heart attack.
Smith and Randal both experienced the sort of dangerous heart attack doctors refer to as the âwidow-maker,â and both of their life-saving doctors share the last name Ladenheim (Randalâs is played by Amy Sedaris of âBoJack Horsemanâ and âThe Mandalorianâ). Itâs all a continuation of the bond between Smith and Randal, a character he had originally written for himself to play.
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âI was like, âI canât memorize all this dialogue,â so I went for the role with no dialogue whatsoever, Silent Bob,â Smith says. âBut thatâs why Randal has all the best jokes, because I wanted to be Randal. Thank God there was Jeff, and Jeff defines that character. So in a weird, small way Iâll never get to be Randal but now because of the story personally I did finally get to be the guy that I always wanted to be.â
While the film â Smithâs âClerks III,â not Randalâs movie-within-the-movie â is rich with references to both View Askewniverse lore and Smithâs own life, the material remains broadly resonant.
âYou can enjoy âClerksâ just because itâs a workplace comedy, something that took me nearly 30 years to figure out. Thatâs why people connect with it,â Smith said. âI was always like, âHow can this play outside of New Jersey?â
âI didnât realize that âClerksâ is a movie about how much people hate working, and thatâs universal. You donât even have to do a retail job or work at a convenience store specifically to identify with two people, or anybody, trying to do anything but the job.â
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âClerks IIIâ is Smithâs first film since his debut to be entirely shot entirely in New Jersey, he says. By pulling up the original film on the HBO Max app on his phone for reference, Smith found himself composing shots to match those heâd filmed nearly three decades earlier, in the same locations and with the same actors. It was an experience that Smith compared to fantasy camp.
âWithin the movie, when they make their movie, it is unmistakably âClerks,â â Smith says. âPart of the fun is you know their history by way of two movies, and the history that (Randal) decides to tell is literally the history from everything youâve seen. So itâs a real best-of compilation, you get to see everybody.â
That âeverybodyâ includes both famous View Askewniverse players returning for cameos â Ben Affleck, Justin Long and Rosario Dawson among them â as well as friends, family and former neighbors of Smithâs, including the cast of his AMC reality series âComic Book Menâ and three generations of his family.
Thatâs not to say that âClerks IIIâ is all cameos and in-jokes. Itâs a story of aging, reflection and community that finds Smith trafficking in snarky-yet-wounded humanism.
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