Former Fat Man,hopefully healthier now.

Chasing Amy, which currently has 100% of the vote.

Clerks still has one of the greatest lines of dialogue ever referring to Star Wars that will always get a laugh. And then the dead guy in the toilet.

I went for Mallrats. It's pretty terrible, but speaking as a fan, all of Smith's films are pretty terrible. Chasing Amy is probably the most defensible artistically, but I think his reach exceeded his grasp, and today it comes across as a bleat of self-satisfied tubby white guy mediocrity. Mallrats hit a sweet spot where Smith had just a little more budget than he needed, and before his commercial audience coalesced into a Venn circle with his MySpace friends list and he still had to try. It was a great intro to Jason Lee and Ben Affleck. I love ending project management meetings with, "And when that’s done, the stage is trashed and we go smoke a bowl." It's always good for a shocked, awkward laugh.

He knew the job was risky but he still offered it to his friend? Do you suppose he warned his "friend" even though it paid double the going rate, the job might get him killed?

Good point, though - the galaxy would virtually be without plumbers and contractors for quite a long time. But yeah, unless you're brain dead, you know who you're working for.

Although, knowing what the Empire was like, they probably were made an offer they couldn't refuse.

Can I say that I'm honestly not a fan?

Everything on that list that I've seen I've found disappointing - I could never figure out what the fuss was about with this guy. I saw Clerks and thought it was okay, but nothing special. It was somehow unsatisfying but I was willing to accept that I just wasn't part of the intended audience or something. Chasing Amy was odd and I didn't like it much. Mallrats was sort of fun but still seemed amateurish (not in a fun way). Dogma was silly but had a good cast...but it just sort of felt flat and ridiculous to me. Like he was out of his depth and didn't know it.

I've not seen all of those films, but based on the ones I have seen I think this guy is pretty much the Rob Liefeld of cinema - the right guy in the right place & time with the right attitude or...something. No actual talent, but...something. He was able to connect to some sort of zeitgeist or whatever without actually ever understanding his craft or ever developing as a storyteller. I think the people who comprised his audience in the Clerks era have all outgrown him and he's never going to be able to develop or improve. He's stuck in that moment and is sort of doomed to repeat it without ever growing or progressing beyond it.

In the early 90s there was a rush of indie writers and directors striking out on their own with rough, unpolished films that hinted at larger talent given time and opportunity. Tarantino, Rodriguez, Solondz, Van Sant....

Unfortunately, Smith was the one that turned out just to be the hint, and nothing deeper. He could have had a long career directing TV comedies (kind of like Jay Chandrasekhar after Super Troopers), but he wasn't willing to settle. He's got some talent and ability, but his instincts aren't sufficient to turn that into something greater.

I love his first four movies but after that they're terrible to mediocre, at best (with the exception of Clerks II).

JSBSB wasn't anything special or noteworthy and you could tell he wasn't trying to be Kevin Smith anymore and trying to appeal to a bigger audience. Jersey Girl was bashed harder than it deserved but it wasn't a great movie. After that I would not recommend any of his films.

He took to heart the old writer's adage: "Write what you know."

I went with Chasing Amy. Ultimately, all I remember from the first 2 were bits, not the movies themselves.

Easily CLERKS, one of my favorite comedies ever. Everything else is a guilty pleasure at best and "avoid at all costs" at worst.

I’m shocked that Clerks wasn’t an overwhelming favorite as it’s quite the cult movie. And it got “Comic Book Men” Kevin Smith his start. And I do miss the AMC tv show Comic Book Men.

I thought he did a pretty good job reinventing himself as a podcaster, but he kind of squandered it by praising any film made by a friend( and he has many...but not one has told him smoking weed isn't making him more creative ).

Clerks was his best to me.

clerks