Shot in black and white in and around his own workplace, the film's mix of profanities, pop-culture references and post-pubescent ponderings found a ready audience because of, rather than in spite of, its R-rating.

Originally entitled Inconvenience, the misadventures of counter-jockeys Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) became an even bigger hit on video.

Four similarly themed Smithmovies followed: Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as well as a disastrous laugh-free TV pilot and short-lived animated series.

Smith has long resisted the temptation to revisit Clerks, claiming Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back would be the closest he ever came to revisiting the Quick Stop, but his unfortunate experience on his grown-up movie Jersey Girl may well have compelled him to return to where it all began.

After a coffee-pot-instigated fire ends a decade of employment at the Quick Stop Grocery store and RST Video, Dante and Randal have found new McJobs at fast-food restaurant Mooby's home of the Cow Tipper and Freedom Toast.

But while Randal continues to be 'chaos incarnate', his best buddy appears to have found his golden ticket to change his life and move out of New Jersey.

While production values have increased markedly, writer-director Smith still manages to give the film an intimate, insanitary fly-on-the-wall feel with hand-held cameras and long-takes used extensively.

There are still the hilarious debates Star Wars versus the Rings trilogy, teenagers versus older women, and are the Transformers a gift from god or the devil's toys?

There are inventive insults ('you are a nerd of Potsy-like proportions') and strange theories (mouth trolls, anyone?), but it is tempered with a sweet meditation on the nature of love and friendship (Randal and Dante's Butch Cassidy-inspired kart race is a heart-tugger).

Avoiding the excess of characters that blighted his last few films, Smith's focus on Dante, Randal and the small Mooby's crew pays huge dividends with their personalities shining through.

Sticking with a virtual no-name cast (save cameos from Jason Lee and Ben Affleck) also helps, with O'Hallaran and Anderson's lack of other acting opportunities meaning they are Dante and Randal to us, and the effervescent Dawson (Sin City) showing previously untapped comedic talent.

Music is also once again a significant part of the film's charm, with tracks from TalkingHeads, Alanis Morissette, Soul Asylum, Smashing Pumpkins and The Jackson Five.

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