9. Clerks (1994)

In some circles this film would be considered nothing but utter smut, a film littered with bad language and unlikeable characters whom particpate in activities that hold absoloutely no interest to any audience. Well apart from the fact these naysayers have to loosen the fuck up they also need to appreciate Clerks for what is: a very honest account of a day in the life of conveniance store clerks who must particpate in a large array of bizzare conversation topics and even more bizzare physical activities just to get through the day.

Clerks really makes you wonder about the kind of conversations real people have in these kinds of jobs when they're doing those long shifts and quite obviously want to be somewhere else. The film works so well because the two main characters, Dante and Randall, have two very different opinions on any given subject and this gives director Kevin Smith the opportunity to construct many interesting arguments between the two. To the casual viewer this may seem trivial and stupid but to anyone else who appreciates truly inspired dialogue they will savour every last one of Dante and Randall's seamingly meaningless conversations. This is a heavily quotable film and has some classic scenes that have been remembered over time by film buffs. Everything from contractors on the death star to man's lifelong mission to suck himself off are topics discussed in length during Clerks and they are utterly hilarious.

This is of course the first film in which the well known characters Jay and Silent Bob appeared, one of which is director Kevin Smith, and even though they provide some genuine laughs in between Dante and Randall's rants they are heavily toned down compared to what they would eventually become. These two would appear in 5 more of Smith's films but Clerks remains his crowning achievement not only because its his funniest but also because it has the most heart. I fell in love with Clerks because it disguised mundane subjects as great philosophical studies and this is the way I talk with friends when I'm as bored as Dante and Randall are. I would pick these guys as my film heroes over any other supposed action stars.

Here's a scene from Clerks...