(Flash Review)

This is pretty much a character (pointless) study of stubborn man who never had the gumption to take action on a great idea he had. The story revolves around a coupe other fellows who work at a camera store who are extremely cynical and quick to anger. The protagonist camera salesman had an idea for a 1 hour photo booth for several years and did nothing with it. Someone he knows (a slimy fellow) finally takes action on his idea and angers him. A few people try to help him achieve his vision yet he is too stubborn to accept help. Between that core story line are some weak side stories. Perhaps the story lacked focus because when it was all done, I didn't get the point to this film. Was it to observe a man struggling with his own self-pity? I couldn't find anything redeeming about it.

I forced myself to watch this whole movie, which felt like a mash up of 4 different stories, 4 planets revolving around John Larroquette, who was packed tighter than a stick of dynamite. The movie was odd and uncomfortable to watch, even though it had a stellar cast, the premise COULD have been GREAT, but the writers KILLED it by making everything so desperately awful by making it about people hopelessly in dead - end jobs that they can't get out of, but worse than that, they are oon Christmas Eve working in a tax write- off store being told to not sell because they don't want the numbers- AND THEY WORK ON COMMISSION!!! Plus their Christmas bonus is 1% of that nothing, and every year they don't get it until the last minute... BUT, THE WORST thing is that JL's old partner pulled something, stole the store pour from under him, THEN STOLE HIS WIFE!!! AND HE'S the boss doing this to them!!!

So this story MAINLY is about 2 older men selling cameras in a store where they're treated badly, knowing that everything's breaking down because digital cameras are taking over after 27 years in that store, their subsequent mental breakdowns...It just made me feel so SAD. That's NOT what movies should do.

This movie is set in 1994, the year Clerks was released. It takes place mostly in one location, and its characters swear a lot while working behind a cash register and experiencing major life changes over the course of a single day. That's about all it has in common with Kevin Smith's first feature, as it contains none of the charm, wit, or dramatic weight of the earlier film. It has more professional actors, camerawork, editing, and better filmmaking in general, sure -- but nothing all that interesting or important happens, and nothing these characters do makes any sense. They just talk and talk and talk without getting anywhere or learning anything. Nothing changes, no one evolves, and none of the characters relate to each other in a meaningful way...and some of them are super racist for no reason whatsoever! Its themes fall flat, and by the time it's over one is left wondering what the point was...turns out, there wasn't one.