This is one movie that was difficult to review. If I had to describe it shortly, I'd refer to an episode of Seinfeld: George and Jerry come up with an idea for a TV show. What is it about? Nothing! That's right, nothing. That's how this movie felt: we just follow the characters through a day in their lives and see what happens to them, no matter how unbelievable things might sound sometimes.
Premise
Dante is a convenience store clerk and also bored with his life. Randal, his friend, works at the video rental store right near Dante's store. Together, these two spend a day discussing (and dissing) annoying customers, going to a wake, playing hockey on the store's roof and sorting out Dante's complicated romantic life.
Dante is unhappy with his current life but too hard-headed to admit it.
The Good
I liked seeing Jay and Silent Bob again, for once, even though they were significantly less funny than in the other two movies I saw them in, Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. They delivered most of the movie's funny moments, mostly through Jay's caustic and rude behavior and Silent Bob's silent approval of his friend.
And speaking from an artistic point of view, having the film shot in black and white was a great way to capture the boredom and monotony Dante goes through day after day. The filming is done well, although the rapid switch from one to another in the car ride to the wake could have been done better (as it can lead to dizziness and confusion after a while).
How Randal handled the customers (both his and Dante's) was the main theme and I liked seeing him act like a smartass to genuinely annoying people. I admit some of them deserved it. In addition, seeing Dante change his way of handling said customers under the influence of Randal was an interesting character development.
The Bad
The pacing is a problem. It ranges from snail to hyper and I often found myself waiting for anything at all to happen. Most of the slower scenes consist of discussions between Dante and Randal; these are kind of hard to swallow since they seem too out of place and drawn out (for example, Randal and Dante debating the cause of the high body count in two Star Wars movies). I don't doubt these are interesting to fans, but others may lose their patience waiting for them to end - it's almost like being involved in a group conversation and knowing almost nothing about the topic.
Also, certain discussions have a tendency to repeat themselves, such as Randal accusing Dante of not wanting to change his life for the better. This gets tiresome and boring after a while, so I would have liked a bit more variation since I honestly think they had a lot of material to work with.
The Plain WTF (warning: accidental necrophilia ahoy!)
I guess I'd have to include the movie's funniest (and most macabre) moment here: Dante's ex-girlfriend, Caitlin, goes to the bathroom in the convenience store and accidentally has sex with an old man, mistaking him for Dante (as the lights were out). Later it is revealed the old man had been in there for hours and, furthermore, that he was dead when Caitlin got to him.
The Quotes
Coroner: My question is, how did she come to have sex with a dead man?
Dante Hicks: She thought it was me.
Coroner: What kind of convenience store do you run here?
Verdict and recommendations
All in all, this movie is better kept for when you feel like you have some time to waste. It's most probably not something that will linger in your mind and that you will think about with nostalgia "how awesome was that?". My opinion of it shifted constantly when I was watching it, and in the end I didn't get the feeling I had watched something amazing or out of the ordinary. It's not made-for-TV quality, but it isn't a blockbuster either. It won't appeal to many; maybe that's how it was made: a small film, with a niche fanbase.
My rating: 
(5 out of 10)
Clerks (1994) on IMDb.com
