What 1994 independent comedy directed by Kevin Smith is set in a convenience store? Clerks is the answer. The black-and-white film follows Dante Hicks and Randal Graves during an unusually chaotic day working at the Quick Stop and neighboring video store in New Jersey. Its conversational humor, pop-culture arguments, and deliberately ordinary setting became hallmarks of 1990s independent cinema.
Kevin Smith wrote and directed Clerks as his feature-film debut, drawing heavily on his own job at the Quick Stop in Leonardo, New Jersey. Because the store remained open during the day, filming took place overnight, and the production used the real convenience and video stores where Smith worked.
The film was made for roughly $27,575 and shot in black and white on 16mm film. Its Sundance success led Miramax to acquire distribution rights and helped launch Smith's career. Clerks also introduced Jay and Silent Bob, recurring characters who became central to Smith's interconnected View Askewniverse. A sequel arrived in 2006, followed by Clerks III in 2022.