Clerks III and The End of Kevin Smith

Clerks the animated series is some of his best work.

I saw Kevin Smith speak in 2002 when he did that college Q&A tour. The place was packed and he answered questions for 5 hours. 5 straight hours of standing and speaking. Everything you can imagine someone asking him about, and some esoteric questions from superfans on topics I'd never even heard of. Deep cuts, and he was in for all of it. In the last hour or two he kept saying he'd stay until everyone had had enough and didn't want to leave anyone hanging, "Cause I was fat kid growing up" or something to that effect. At first everyone laughed but he repeated it a few times more, and I sensed his sincerity. Kind of like I'm not doing autographs today, but I'll talk so you don't feel left out - like empathy and maybe a vulnerability of still waiting people to like him, even with all the success he'd enjoyed. I didn't know it then, but I'd never actually watch another of his films after that. Watching this video I get the feeling he wanted to make movies because he had the same curiosity and ambition of any young film student, went all in, and struck gold. But he never honed his craft, never found his voice, and never came to believe in his own work. Just went from one thing to the next. In the face of diminishing returns, he retreated to what felt safe, the fans that will still embrace him. No the film fans but the geek culture fans. And he doubled down. Now he sounds like an aging rock star, someone who looks back with sadness of the good times behind him and bitterness about the fading crowds, the ticket sales, the album charts, the critics, whether he's "relevant", but just can't feel the music anymore. It was only the music, Kevin. It was only ever the music.

Clerks 3 was terribly depressing.Maybe Clerks 4 will be a 90 minute film where we watch Randall slowly killing himself

45:27 - OMG YES! The editing in Clerks 3 is absolutely terrible. In one scene they are showing a montage of roller hockey on the roof and playing an up beat indie rock song, an injury occurs, a montage of ambulance, arrival at hospital, all the while that same song keeps playing its just at a lower volume. This keeps going all the way to them talking to a doctor in a exam room, with the song STILL playing at an even lower volume until it just stops in the middle of a scene like they forgot to push the slider all the way over and said, 'ah, whos gonna notice?'

The plot for Yoga Hosers sounds like something even Alan Patridge would dismiss as a stupid idea.

Clerks The Animated Series was genuinely one of the best adult shows ever. There isn't an episode that I don't reference at least once a week. For Leonardo Leonardo alone, it's worth being remembered.

52:43 - In Clerks there are two Star Wars conversations: the aforementioned private contractors and another about which was the better film Jedi or Empire and the conversation is about down endings - "Luke gets his hand cut off, Han gets frozen in carbonite." This is where he states that life is a series of down endings. Weidly, that ends up being Dantes arc for the trilogy, but originally Dante is shot at the end of Clerks because "im not even supposed to be here today!"

I liked Kevin Smith a lot when I was a teenager. Unfortunately, after years and years of his constant self-deprecation, bragging about how much his wife hates him, getting bogged-down in a slough of same-y podcasts, and posting pictures of himself sobbing after watching Superhero films, I can safely say that I'm no longer a Kevin Smith fan- in spite of how much I enjoyed his films as a teenager.

Oh God, the mugging. I just can't take the Silent Bob mugging.

I personally think Kevin Smith never recovered after Seth Rogen got him to start smoking pot after Zack and Miri.

I was a diehard Kevin Smith fan from the late 90's to the mid 2010's. For ten years I listened to nearly every podcast he put out religiously. Several years ago though I started losing interest and haven't engaged with any of his content since. Two big things happened in my life at that time, I hit my thirties, and I moved back to my home province and settled down and had a family. Closer to 40 now than 30, and I feel like I've grown and changed enough that I'm never going to be his target audience again. After listening to him speak for countless hours on his podcasts over the course of a decade though Kevin Smith kind of feels like an old friend that I was really close to in college but have drifted apart from since. I no longer share much in common with him anymore but I still hold fond memories of our times together. Snooch to the booch old friend, I hope you live a long and happy life.

I think part of the reason also behind the decline in his movies was no longer having his longtime producer Scott Mosier involved in his films

I'm sure Kevin Smith's daughter was the best actress to audition for the part in his movies the same way Rob Zombie's wife was the best actress to audition for the lead in all of his movies.

My biggest complaint with Clerks 3 is that Randall didn't knock the casket over at the end. It feels like the most obvious move in the world

I knew we had “lost” Kevin after the whole He-man fiasco and the filming himself crying afterward. I’m glad the guy survived that heart attack but he just wasn’t the same afterward. I personally think Clerks 2 and Zack and Miri were his last good films. This is coming from someone who watched his movies religiously in the 90’s and early 2000’s. I watched Mallrats so much when I was in high school. I’d go to the mall with my pals and try and recreate the hijinks TJ, broady, Jay and Silent Bob. I still stand beside his early work. Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy and the pinnacle of it all Dogma. It’s sad to see hm so reduced. Also I watched him do an interview with Stan Lee before he passed and it was painful to watch. Kevin all but bullies, interrupts and goes full “well actually” comic book geek on the poor man. I just ended up yelling at my screen for 20 min before I turned it off. You don’t talk to Stan Lee like that.

Says alot that one Bruce Willis's final coherent thoughts was that Smith sucks as a director

" We were known as Harvey's boys." Kevin.

Kevin Smith is like that drama club kid who doesn't want to learn any acting methods or a music kid who doesn't want to learn how to play in different keys. Or an art kid who doesn't want to learn anatomy or a fanfic writer who doesn't want to learn how to write anything that is not a fanfic. A passionate kid who has a unique set if sensibilities and has his own voice, but doesn't have the tools to express it. And even if he gets to express it, he doesn't develop further as both a person and a creator, because this is how far a person can get with his raw talent. If the stars align, he would be able to create art - partly by his sheer passion, partly by accident. But without the proper discipline and studying he will never hone his voice into something more than one hit wonder. Or, even worse, he'll lose his voice. And I think that's the case - he lost his voice by trying to make mass appealing stuff, while never moving on from what he began with. He clearly tried to develop his voice and his craft, but I guess the reality of his situation is that he is too old and too successful to learn.

failing upwards is a trend in the film industry it seems

I remember Kevin Smith had a video talking about cutting off his dependence on weed and acceptance on social media. Hopefully things will be different with his next movie with his changed perspective in his life now.