Dante's Last
Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 3:59PM 
JA from MNPP here. Did you hear the news that the director Kevin Smith says he's retiring from movie-making after he makes a third Clerks film? I haven't seen the first Clerks in many a moon but it's the only film of Smith's I've ever actually liked (I simply cannot abide by Joey Lauren Adams, so there'll be no convincing me of the pleasures of Chasing Amy). And yet, even though his movies were often like nails on a chalkboard, he came off as such an amiable film-buff that he stayed on my good side all the same. There've been some nicks in that image over the past couple of years - a public fued with Bruce Willis and a rant againast critics was all a bit of a debacle. People seemed to either really love or really hate Red State, and that movie seemed to take a lot out of him. I'm curious where y'all stand on him, and whether he'll be missed at this point.
Kevin Smith
Reader Comments (12)
I can't believe that news item you link to on Dark Horizons compares the proposed "Clerks" movie to Linklater's "Before Sunrise" films. That's absurd.
Does that make Jesse and Celine the Jay and Silent Bob of romance? Or Jay and Silent Bob the Jesse and Celine of assholes? ;)
Kevin Smith is a better writer than he is a director. I do like "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy".
Smith made one good movie. Yes, "good." And nerds cling to him like an Iron Man costume.
Growing up, he was a god to me. Clerks was pure comedy gold, loved Mallrats and Chasing Amy was literally my favorite movie for a few years.
Now, I'm lukewarm. Haven't been a fan of many of his movies since then, and I'm working on a series of articles where I go through movies I loved as a kid-high school to figure out if I can enjoy them as anything more than nostalgia. Smith's movies will be done as one piece...I'm scared.
Will not be missed except, perhaps, by himself.
I'm a bit worried about Clerks 3. I loved Clerks 2 when it came out, but didn't watch it again until last year. I thought parts of it were still funny with clever writing, but overall, I thought it was subpar compared to the original Clerks or Chasing Amy. I'm still a fan of Kevin Smith, though, so I'll probably be at least curious to see Clerks 3 when it comes out. I loved Red State, also.
Dogma was his best movie. I'll always love him because of it. Any movie that makes Alanis Morissette play God is obviously going to be brilliant.
Have never liked him, not "Clerks" nor "Chasing Amy". Hated "Red State" so much that I almost tweeted him that not only did I get to see it for free, but that I would write a negative review of it. I decided to be the better man. He, however, remains a tool.
Nick McC: Notice they don't really do any quality comparison, mostly noting the similarity in production. Not THAT absurd.
Wow a lot of hate for Kevin Smith here. I'm a big fan in particular of Clerks 2 and Chasing Amy but he is definitely a better writer than he is a director. I think his movies will always be loved by new generations of teens and young adults which does say something about their quality.
Except for Clerks, I've only ever liked parts of his movies. I almost couldn't make it through Chasing Amy, and I haven't even bothered with his last couple of films.