Morning Party People,
I’m sitting here in the studio this morning trying to find the words to express how I feel about this movie. However the moment I start to find a thought, I venture back to an old memory of being in my 20’s in Arizona. I think about how hopeless I was when it came to anything that looked like emotional maturity and how lost I felt when it came to my future. Then I would think of an indie film that seemed so much like my own life that it instantly became a big part of my life. I’m speaking of course of Con Air. I’m kidding! Of course it was Clerks!
That movie was more than a comedy to me. It was life raft, it was a movie that said I wasn’t alone, that there were people out there like me who were dealing with the same issues I was. So many of us find a way to be safe with a job not knowing that the cost is more than just 8 hours a day, that safety comes with blinders. Projects, co-workers you can’t stand, workplace drama, all things that can keep you focused on that job but not on your true goals, at least not mine. Eventually you find yourself staring at a sunset wondering if there is another life that you missed out on.
It took awhile to get the reins back on my own existence but I did get there. I took charge of my own life and my own heart and I’ve been enjoying it ever since. I guess I felt that if Kevin Smith was able to get out, then it was possible for a shlub like me as well. That’s the great thing about art, it can show us the way but telling stories of what was/is.
So what about Clerks III? The short answer is I liked it, not love, liked. To me it feels like there are two movies that were made. The first was a comedy complete with all the dirty jokes one would expect from a Smith film. He also through in a lot of little easter eggs for fans of his. Anyone who was a fan or the animated series will appreciate it. The second part of the film was what moved me the most.
The whole film centers around the question of confronting one’s own mortality. Obviously this hits home to me ever since my cancer diagnosis as I have had to ask the same questions. To me it comes down to one question,”Did I do enough?”
Maybe to be more blunt, the question would be,”Did I fail?”
Too bad the answer to that question isn’t going to come till after I’m gone and I’m pretty sure I wont care by then. All that matters is whats infront of me. My family, my friends, and my next set.
Randall charges into his new lease on life with a reckless abandon, the main word being reckless. Much like in the previous films he drags Dante through a briarpatch of woes which results in Dante confronting Randell in one’s of Smiths most intense scenes that he’s ever written. I wont spoil the ending but it’s not a happy one. I will say that the answer to the film’s questions comes with a certain amount of acceptance, accepting that life isn’t in our control. That sometimes all we have are the people around us and the dreams in our hearts. That the best we can do is hold those close to us so we can watch them grow. Perhaps if we do that, when we get to the end, we can smile knowing that our time here wasn’t wasted.
Till next time Party People, keep on a chooglin’