Clerk (2021)

Clerk is special because it treats Kevin Smith’s story not as a victory lap, but as a surprisingly heartfelt portrait of how a loud, funny kid from New Jersey willed himself into the movies and brought a whole corner of indie comedy along with him. It’s smartly assembled and genuinely charming, letting friends and famous admirers testify without turning the film into empty praise, and it lands with the warmth of someone finally getting to take stock of what the work meant. The vibe is affectionate, lively, and occasionally moving, the kind of documentary that makes you want to revisit his films—or discover why they mattered in the first place. If you’re not interested in Smith or the world he helped shape, it may feel fan-forward, but for anyone even mildly curious, it’s an essential, touching watch.

Clerk wants to be a warm, celebratory victory lap for Kevin Smith, tracing his Jersey roots to Hollywood validation with a chorus of famous friends backing him up. The problem is it often plays like a polished highlight reel—heavy on admiration and fan-service, light on hard questions, conflict, or genuinely fresh insight. If you’re hoping for a probing, warts-and-all documentary, this can feel puffy and self-congratulatory. But if you already like Smith and just want an easy, feel-good recap of the milestones, it delivers that comfort food pretty reliably.