Clerks 3 review

Kevin Smith's Clerks is a sacred text for me. It's in my top 10 films of all time and might be #1 for most referenced movie in my life. 

Clerks 2 came in 2006, and against all odds was a very worthy sequel, both really funny and a nice sprinkling of heart.

Those 2 Clerks flicks bookend one of my favorite runs from any filmmaker. I either really, really like or flat out love each of Smith's first 7 films. 

Thing is that since Clerks 2 Smith's movies have just been a mass of mediocrity, or worse. He reached his rock bottom with the appallingly bad Tusk, and at that point I figured it was just over. Then a few years ago he did go back to the View Askew well, and made Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. It wasn't all that good either, but it had parts that I liked and was the first movie of his in years I would say I enjoyed. 

Now he returns to the Clerks well for Clerks 3, and finally we have a Kevin Smith film post-2006 that I can say that I flat out liked, with no qualifications. Clerks 3, which certainly appears to be the final one, is a good movie. 

It's meta as hell. Smith almost died from a heart attack several years back, and in this film Randal has the near fatal attack. In response Randal decides he wants to make a movie about his life, which just so happens to be about working in a convenience store. Dante is the producer. Elias, Jay and Silent Bob play various roles.

The whole movie is references to the previous 2 movies, primarily the first one. Scenes are recreated. Many of the original bit actors come back. There are some very deep cut references. It's like member berries on steroids. It frankly takes up too much of the movie.

It is easily the most serious Clerks movie. Turns out that Rosario Dawson's character died basically right after #2, so Dante has been mourning her ever since, and she appears force ghost style in a couple scenes. The scenes are iffy but Dawson remains an irresistible presence ad always and makes them work.

And the last act is quite serious at times. Considering where the 2 leads started from, it's really something that they can pull off some of these dramatic moments.

What really gets this movie over some of its bumpy parts and across the finish line is that it really does have heart. Arguably Smith's biggest box office failure was Jersey Girl, which is actually a wonderfully sweet and heartfelt movie. But since it bombed it's like Smith was scared to really do anything that wasn't either immature comedy or dark.

But his heart is back in this one. The ending didn't make me cry, but it was very touching stuff, and it gives me hope that Smith still has greatness in him.