Posted by B. Buster at gateway.tpp.com on May 30, 2000 at 12:11:47:
Slackers, Now Animated, in Color and a
Wee Bit Cute
By DAVID DeWITT
If you know something about "The People's Court," Korean
animation, N.B.A. players or the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont
High," you might find something good for a giggle -- or at least a knowing
smile -- in the premiere of "Clerks," an animated series based on Kevin
Smith's 1994 film.
You might also shrug your shoulders, wondering how the film's
uncompromised slacker characters have gone from fresh and real to
cutesy and flat in their journey from a low-budget, black-and-white film
to a higher-budget network show.
Since ABC's "Clerks" can't really ape the movie -- which is a different
animal, after all -- it sensibly looks to "The Simpsons" (with its relaxed
zingers that scatter layers of subversive humor) and "South Park" (with its
strange little universe that skewers ours). "Clerks" is after similar territory,
but it seems desperate to be clever, with ideas from hither and yon and
whatever's nearby bearing down hard on the show's setting: a New
Jersey Quick Stop and its neighbor, RTV Video.
The show's blend of familiar elements is its most successful conceit. The
title characters, Dante and Randal, may be convenience store clerks, but
they also star in their own pop cartoon and thus mix with the pop culture
that swamps their town of Leonardo.
"Clerks" can be inventive, and its star voices, Brian O'Halloran and Jeff
Anderson (in reprises of their film roles), adjust well to the cartoon
universe. But the humor rarely feels organic, and its reach seems far less
successful in the remaining episodes that were made available for
preview. The jokes at the expense of gays and blacks aren't really
offensive; they're just dull. Well, a jokey look at the Challenger explosion
isn't dull; you can make your own decision about its merits.
This series could be more interesting if it trusted its potential. Think of it:
two cartoon clerks keep encountering the pop culture that overwhelms
their lives, with a biting, class-conscious interchange. Could be good.
Could be funny.
But not if Dante and Randal are going to battle the town's clichéd
billionaire and a bunch of unhealthy Arab children. In an analysis of funny,
such scenes have their own category: not.
So we have another show for adolescent males. Go for it, guys. This
one's all yours. CLERKS ABC, tomorrow night at 9:30 Kevin Smith,
Scott Mosier, David Mandel, Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein and
Billy Campbell, executive producers (premiere and series). For the
premiere: teleplay by Steve Lookner, Dave Mandel and Kevin Smith;
Steve Loter, director; Alan Bodner, art director; edited by John Royer;
main title music by James L. Venable; animation production by Saerom
Animation Inc. A production of Miramax Television in association with
Touchstone Television Productions. WITH THE VOICES OF: Brian
O'Halloran (Dante), Jeff Anderson (Randal), Jason Mewes (Jay), Kevin
Smith (Silent Bob), Judge Reinhold (Judge), Kenny Mayne (himself),
Dan Patrick (himself), Charles Barkley (himself), Grant Hill (himself),
Reggie Miller (himself) and Michael Buffer (Announcer).