10 Best Movies Like Clerks 3

Split image of Son of Rambow, Clerks 3 and Clerks

Fans of Kevin Smith are thrilled to see the filmmaker return to the movie that started his career with Clerks III. The new movie follows Randall and Dante who, faced with their own mortality, decide to make a movie based on their lives at the Quick Stop.

It is an interesting way to return to the franchise and the movie will surely deliver a lot of the things fans have come to expect with a Kevin Smith movie. However, some of the themes and the moviemaking aspect could also remind audiences of other movies they should check out after Clerks III.

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10 Clerks (1994)

Dante and Randal in the Quick Stop in Clerks

Anyone who is planning to check out Clerks III will likely want to return to the movie that started it all. Though some see Clerks as a plotless movie about people hanging out, it became a hugely influential indie movie with pop culture references and jokes that 90s audiences rarely heard in movies.

As the movie that introduced these characters to audiences, fans will have a lot of fun revisiting the movie. And seeing as Clerks III is basically about the characters remaking that original movie, it will be especially interesting to watch along with the sequel.

9 Clerks II (2006)

Elias wearing a Mooby's hat in Clerks 2

While the first movie is clearly the most important to welcome fans back into the world of Clerks, they should also not avoid going back to the second movie as well. Clerks II found Dante and Randall switching to the fast food industry when the Quick Stop burns down.

The movie is key for introducing some new characters that return in Clerks III, including Becky, played by Rosario Dawson. But like the third movie, Clerks II goes deeper with its characters, exploring the friendship between Randall and Dante specifically.

8 Jay And Silent Bob Reboot (2021)

Jay and Silent Bob looking shocked in Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

Even though Randall and Dante might be the leads, it wouldn’t be a Clerks movie without Jay and Silent Bob. They return to hanging out in front of the Quick Stop for Clerks III and offer the same funny presence they always do.

The iconic duo did get to return to the spotlight in their recent sequel adventure, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Much like Clerks III, Jay and Silent Bob Reboot is filled with in-jokes and meta-humor to please the hardcore fans of Smith’s filmmaking world.

7 The Disaster Artist (2017)

James Franco reenacting the Mark scene in The Disaster Artist

It is always interesting to see a movie about making a movie. It is even more entertaining when the characters are amateur filmmakers, trying to figure it out as they go. That is very much the position Randall and Dante find themselves in with their moviemaking endeavors, but they meet the challenge with enthusiasm and passion.

The Disaster Artist is another fun moviemaking comedy based on a true story. It follows Tommy Wiseau’s attempts to make his infamous movie The Room, regarded by many as a so-bad-it’s-good movie. Yet even with his eccentricities, it is hard not to be charmed by Wiseau’s passion.

6 Brigsby Bear (2017)

Mark Hamill standing next to Kyle Mooney in Brisgby Bear

There are a lot of themes at the center of Clerks III, but a lot of it is also just about the joy of making a movie. On top of that, it is seen as a healing process for Randall who uses it to get a new outlook on the life he has made.

Bigsby Bear is a quicky comedy starring Kyle Mooney as a young man who was held in an underground bunker as a kid, watching his favorite show, Bigsby Bear. When he is rescued and discovers the show wasn’t real, he sets out to make it himself. It is a hilarious and charming movie as well as a lesser-known role for Star Wars icon Mark Hamill.

5 Me, Earl And The Dying Girl (2015)

Rachel and Greg looking in the same direction in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Olivia Cooke as Rachel in ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’

Fans of the vulgar and pop culture humor of the original Clerks might be surprised by how much the new movie deals with death. Randall’s heart attack is a pivotal moment for him while Dante is dealing with his own brush with death while the movie about their lives plays a poignant role in the center of it all.

Another story that mixes amateur moviemaking and death is Me, Earl and the Dying Girl. The movie follows a high school boy who spends his time parodying classic movies when he invites a classmate who has been diagnosed with cancer to join his creative ventures.

4 Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Young boy looking at a film reel in Cinema Paradiso

Smith’s movies have always paid tribute to his love of the movies that shaped him in his youth. Clerks III examines this idea of how a life spent watching movies can have a fulfilling sense to it that some might not understand.

While Cinema Paradiso is certainly very different in its tone and style from Clerks III, it surprisingly touches on those same themes. The Italian movie follows a friendship between a young boy and a projectionist with a love of cinema at its center.

3 Son Of Rambow (2007)

Two kids with a video camera in Son of Rambow

The moviemaking aspect of Clerks III is a fun plot device in the movie, but it is also a clever way of exploring the friendship between Dante and Randall. It takes on new and touching meaning as they revisit their lives together while making this movie.

Son of Rambow looks at a younger friendship as it follows two boys from different backgrounds who get together to make a movie based on First Blood. First Blood holds up today as an action movie, but it is a hilarious choice to inspire these young boys. Yet their remake of it allows a charming friendship to grow between them.

2 Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Jack Black dirty and wearing glasses in Be Kind Rewind

With Clerks being a movie that so many fans know so well, it is a lot of fun seeing it basically remade in Clerks III by the characters. They do a shot-for-shot recreation of a lot of the most famous scenes which is a thrill to watch.

Be Kind Rewind also has a lot of fun remaking beloved movies in its clever comedy premise. It follows two video store clerks who accidentally erase all the tapes and are forced to recreate them, including Ghostbusters and Robocop, with their modest budgets.

1 Zack And Miri Make A Porno (2008)

Characters filming a scene in Zack and Miri Make a Porno

The ragtag group of friends getting together to make this movie and bringing some joy to their mundane lives is where a lot of the movie’s charm comes from. And fans of Kevin Smith will be pleased to have more of the filmmaker’s classic dialogue at play.

Though it exists outside the View Askewniverse, Zack and Miri Make a Porno is another Smith movie that shares similarities to Clerks III. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks star down-and-out friends who decide to make money by shooting their own porno parody of Star Wars along with a group of eccentric characters.

NEXT: Every Kevin Smith Movie, Ranked By Rewatchability

Author: Deann Hawkins