Overacted comedy + forced sentiment ruins a heartfelt message about life and death
Clerks III, the ninth entry in Kevin Smith's View Askew universe, is a disappointing, upsetting mess that dangerously ruins the entire Clerks canon.
Inspired by Kevin Smith's own heart attack experience in 2018, Clerks III's haphazard tone of weed-fueled overacted wackiness mixed with forced sentimentality ruins Smith's own earnest message about life and death.
Whereas Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was a big inside joke movie servicing the most diehard View Askew fans, Kevin Smith has stepped into family video territory with Clerks III.
Kevin Smith's fan-service approach in his post-marijuana era has long run its course. From Yoga Hosers onwards, the self-referential inside jokes have become so inside that it's completely vacuum-sealed from being enjoyed by non-fans.
The only reason I could follow Clerks III was that I've seen all the View Askew films and listened to some of Kevin Smith's podcasts. The so-called "jokes", which either reference the previous Askew movies or a funny thing lifted verbatim from a Kevin Smith Q+A or podcast, are not funny. The comedy is not comedy, but rather a memory test.
The acting is quite poor and uneven; the actors are all directed to mug and ham it up to the nth degree for comedic effect. It's hard to buy any of the gags because people don't behave this way, high or not. When they shake it off and get serious for the dramatic scenes, it's incredibly jarring.
Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran struggle with an inferior script. The chemistry is still there but they have fewer interesting things to do than in the previous Clerks films. They both fared much better in the dramatic scenes when they didn't have to sell a gag. The running gags with Trevor Fuhrman's Elias were downright atrocious.
I could see what Kevin Smith was trying to convey drawing from his own heart attack. It's an endearing and heartfelt message. The way it was delivered completely ruined it all. Overall, I don't know why he needed to say it through the Clerks characters.
The truth is, I miss the old Kevin Smith, including witty dialogue and original stories through his independent film, Catholic, comic-book-lover voice. The rhythm of his dialogue from his early films felt musical and was exciting to listen to. Smith used to balance the raunchy humor with an emotional core that kept the characters grounded and relatable. He's lost that touch.
As a fan, I'd really like Kevin Smith to just tell stories that are challenging and edgy again as a filmmaker and stop this phrase as a podcaster that occasionally makes movies for his subscribers.
Inspired by Kevin Smith's own heart attack experience in 2018, Clerks III's haphazard tone of weed-fueled overacted wackiness mixed with forced sentimentality ruins Smith's own earnest message about life and death.
Whereas Jay and Silent Bob Reboot was a big inside joke movie servicing the most diehard View Askew fans, Kevin Smith has stepped into family video territory with Clerks III.
Kevin Smith's fan-service approach in his post-marijuana era has long run its course. From Yoga Hosers onwards, the self-referential inside jokes have become so inside that it's completely vacuum-sealed from being enjoyed by non-fans.
The only reason I could follow Clerks III was that I've seen all the View Askew films and listened to some of Kevin Smith's podcasts. The so-called "jokes", which either reference the previous Askew movies or a funny thing lifted verbatim from a Kevin Smith Q+A or podcast, are not funny. The comedy is not comedy, but rather a memory test.
The acting is quite poor and uneven; the actors are all directed to mug and ham it up to the nth degree for comedic effect. It's hard to buy any of the gags because people don't behave this way, high or not. When they shake it off and get serious for the dramatic scenes, it's incredibly jarring.
Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran struggle with an inferior script. The chemistry is still there but they have fewer interesting things to do than in the previous Clerks films. They both fared much better in the dramatic scenes when they didn't have to sell a gag. The running gags with Trevor Fuhrman's Elias were downright atrocious.
I could see what Kevin Smith was trying to convey drawing from his own heart attack. It's an endearing and heartfelt message. The way it was delivered completely ruined it all. Overall, I don't know why he needed to say it through the Clerks characters.
The truth is, I miss the old Kevin Smith, including witty dialogue and original stories through his independent film, Catholic, comic-book-lover voice. The rhythm of his dialogue from his early films felt musical and was exciting to listen to. Smith used to balance the raunchy humor with an emotional core that kept the characters grounded and relatable. He's lost that touch.
As a fan, I'd really like Kevin Smith to just tell stories that are challenging and edgy again as a filmmaker and stop this phrase as a podcaster that occasionally makes movies for his subscribers.
- ObsessiveCinemaDisorder
- Jan 16, 2023