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ONLINE 23-MAR-01 DVD Reviews: Clerks Uncensored (episodes 3.5 stars, extras 3 stars) Dalton Tomlin Many Kevin Smith fans probably rolled their eyes when they heard that the master of vulgarity was doing a network animated series based on the characters from his cult hit Clerks. But despite not being able to resort to excessively bad language, he still manages to be offensive and funny. The show was made for ABC, which is owned Disney, which in turns owns Miramax, the distributor of Smith's films Clerks and Chasing Amy. ABC canceled the series after only two episodes due to low ratings. Not one to disappoint his fans, Smith has released everything he made for the series and then some. The episodes revolve around Clerks lead characters Dante Hicks and Randal Graves (voiced by Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson, respectively), with interjections by Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith). They get into zany situations you would expect from a sitcom, yet they make fun of them at the same time. In one episode, Jay slips and falls in the Quick Stop and sues the management and Dante for $10 million. Randal, of course, is Dante's lawyer and calls Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Woody Allen and, most notably, George Lucas to the stand demanding refunds for all their bad movies. His questioning of Lucas (voiced by animated "Batman" writer/producer Paul Dini) about the disappointing Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace is downright hilarious (Smith is a huge Star Wars aficionado). As always with his DVDs, Smith incorporates plenty of extras including a great commentary by himself, a few of the higher-up crew members and the other three lead actors. There are also some behind-the-scenes featurettes and commercials, but the real gems on the disc are the real-life introductions by Mewes and Smith. Smith, in character, doesn't say much, but Mewes lays on enough obscenities to warrant the two-disc set's R rating. Granted, the episodes don't have such extreme off-color humor, but they hold their own. - Dalton Tomlin - back - Search the Thresher pages: Enter your search terms: Copyright © 2000 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved. This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of: The Rice Thresher, Rice University MS-524, PO Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892, USA. The Thresher Online Project -- ethresh@listserv.rice.edu