Imagine you have a menial job as a convenience store clerk. It's your day off and you're trying to get some sleep before a big hockey game you're playing in when the phone rings early in the morning. You fall out of the closet you were sleeping in and answer the phone only to find out you have to open the store today. Not to worry though, because the boss will be in at noon and your hockey game's not till two o'clock. So things should work out, right? Not if you're Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran), the main character in writer-director Kevin Smith's Clerks.

Dante pretty much has the day from hell from the moment he arrives at work. He discovers someone put gum in the locks so he can't open the store shutters, but he comes up with the reasonable solution of writing a sign in shoe polish that says "I assure you we're open!" He also has to deal with some ridiculous customers, including a man who spends hours trying to find a perfect carton of eggs and a gum salesman who tries to encourage people to stop smoking and buy gum instead by showing them dead and cancer-ridden lungs. Sometimes Dante just doesn't bother with the customers at all, opting instead to put up signs advising customers to take the appropriate change and asking shoplifters to please inform management before stealing.

Finally, Dante's buddy Randal (Jeff Anderson) shows up for his job at the video store next door. Randal is the complete opposite of Dante, who tries his best to deal with his customers in a civil manner. Randal insults his customers, sells cigarettes to a four-year-old, and closes the video store whenever he feels like it. The film is basically a day in the life of these two guys, and that's it. But there's just something about it that makes it one of my favourite movies.

The story of how Clerks came into being is by now kind of legendary. Smith shot the film in black-and-white on a shoestring budget of $27,000 while working at a convenience store himself. It doesn't star anyone famous, and you can tell the film is low budget from the general roughness of it. As I said, there's really no plot, and the film is just broken up into seemingly random segments with titles like "Syntax," "Perspicacity," and "Quandary."

So what has made this film such a critical success and worth the deluxe three DVD 10th anniversary edition Miramax has just released? Even though the actors aren't professionals, they are engaging and believable as their characters. The situations the characters find themselves in are often hilarious, from the shocking revelation Dante receives from his girlfriend to a hockey game on the roof to a wake where the casket is tipped over and the body falls out. Some important points are raised, like were the contractors who worked on the Death Star in Return of the Jedi innocent victims killed in a battle they had no interest in? And this film marks the first appearance of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), two slacker types who would be staples in Smith's future movies.

I mentioned the deluxe 10th anniversary edition of this film, which was just released this September. So what do you get with this set? First, there's the booklet, with behind the scenes pictures, posters, and a note from Kevin Smith, among other things. The first disc is the theatrical version of the movie, plus some special features, including "Classic Commentary" from 1995, the theatrical trailer, a music video, auditions, MTV spots, and information about the restoration of the film.

Disc two is the "First Cut" of the film, featuring an alternate ending I'm glad they didn't use and new commentary with the film's principal actors and producer Scott Mosier. Disc three is packed with enough features to satisfy any fan. There's a 90-minute documentary (about a film that is only 92 minutes), outtakes from said documentary, a still gallery, Kevin Smith journals, and articles about and reviews of the movie. I'd recommend this version if you're already a fan of the film, as the list price is $34.99, probably more than someone who hasn't seen the movie would want to pay. The standard edition goes for around $15 or $20, which is more reasonable, but keep in mind you only get one disc.

Before I end this review, there's one other thing about Clerks I should mention. This film is absolutely full of adult language and sexual dialogue, which will undoubtedly offend some people. When I first decided to watch the movie, I made the mistake of watching it with my mother, who promptly turned it off and forbade me from seeing it in its entirety (obviously I watched it anyway later). If you're not offended by adult language, though, give Clerks a try. After all, as it says in the booklet, it's "not quite a reason to live, but damned amusing."

Rated R for extensive use of extremely explicit sex-related dialogue.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age