Clerks is a 1994 comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also appears in the film as Silent Bob. Starring Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two store clerks and their acquaintances. Clerks was the first of Smith's View Askewniverse films and the only one to date to be shot entirely in black and white. It introduces several characters, notably Jay and Silent Bob, who reappear in his later works, including Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Clerks II.
Clerks, which was shot for US$27,575 in the convenience store where director Kevin Smith worked in real life, grossed over US$3 million in theaters, launching Smith's career.