An askew view - John Kenneth Muir

When CLERKS opened at cinemas across the country in 1994
it took everyone
especially the film industry
by surprise. Filmed on a shoestring budget after hours at a convenience store
it was crude (in technique and language)
realistic and
above all
hilarious. The movie's nationwide success helped launch the indepedent film boom of the 1990s and catapulted its director
Kevin Smith
to full-fledged stardom. Smith's work is explored in AN ASKEW VIEW
the first ever study of his films. John Kenneth Muir examines all of Smith's movies. including MALLRATS
CHASING AMY
and the hugely controversial and variously interpreted DOGMA. Muir discusses Smith's themes and obsessions in depth: his New Jersey boosterism
the cast of characters that pop in and out of all of his films
and the references to STAR WARS and other icons of pop culture. AN ASKEW VIEW is a fascinating and detailed history of the art of this visionary filmmaker
New Jersey's favorite local-boy-makes-good since Bruce Springsteen.