"In terms of moviemaking . . . Clerks falls short on every count: the sound is bad, the camera setups ugly, the line-readings flat and grating, and the humour pubescent. Worse, an arrogant mood of posturing self-congratulation pervades everything—the movie is never more obnoxiously pleased with itself than during a clumsy bit of business pertaining to a woman having sex with a corpse."

—The Rough Guide to American Independent Film

Bill Chinaski: "How did you like Clerks?"

Jim Foley: "I was not impressed with Kevin Smith's initial effort."

Bill Chinaski: "Hahahahahahaha!"

Jim Foley: "I like that he gave props to Jarmusch."

Bill Chinaski: "I've got to admit that the guy is overrated."

Jim Foley: "The characters were caricatures."

Bill Chinaski: "Yeah, I haven't seen it in a couple of years but thought it was just okay."

Jim Foley: "The store customers reminded me of bit players in a Woody Allen movie. Honestly, Jay and Silent Bob were the best characters in the movie. No wonder you hear nothing about the other actors."

Bill Chinaski: "Don't watch Mallrats then. It was even worse than Clerks."

Jim Foley: "I thought An Evening with Kevin Smith was good . . . nice rapport with the audience and crazy Hollywood antics . . . better than his scripts anyway!"

Bill Chinaski: "He's got such a cult following, it's almost amazing because when you watch the films you're like, 'that's it?' He must have tapped into some type of teen/twenties angst in the '90s and he's been riding the wave ever since."

Jim Foley: "Yeah . . . I guess Mary Jane helps a whole lot."

Bill Chinaski: "Huge blocks of his films are just amateurish, like if you gave some guy off the street a camera and sent him into a mall to get some footage."

Jim Foley: "Yeah, the dialogue was just so stilted . . . at least it is now . . . nearly 20 years later."

Bill Chinaski: "I agree that Jay and Silent Bob are the only good aspects of the film but actually would reduce that to 'Jay.' I think he's kind of funny. I mean the Harpo Marx routine wears thin after awhile."

Jim Foley: "He is in the movie so sparingly, I don't mind him not talking. But Jay is funny as shit."

Bill Chinaski: "Wait till you see Mallrats! Silent Bob has a bigger role and that does not help the movie at all. The Batman antics in the shopping mall seriously lack humor and are actually annoying at times . . ."