Going back to the well for the third time, Kevin Smith's Clerks III was released on September 13, 2022, and earned the writer/director the best reviews of the last decade. The story continues the dead-end saga of Dante Hicks (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson) nearly 30 after being introduced in Clerks as everybody's favorite slacker Quick Stop convenience store employees and how they've adjusted to middle age.

As fans of the original movie know, Clerks is loaded with hilarious quotes, quips, and long-winded diatribes that reveal a lot about the characters underlying nature. Before witnessing how Dante, Randal, and the others have evolved in Clerks III, it's worth reliving each main character's most pertinent lines to see how the past will inform the present.

"I'm Not Even Supposed To Be Here Today!"

Dante Hicks

Dante holds his face in misery at the store counter in Clerks

A comedic refrain uttered time and again to relay the abject pain of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Dante Hicks constantly laments how he isn't even scheduled to work on what essentially becomes the worst day in convenience store history. The window shutters won't open, the boss won't come in to relieve his duties, his ex-girlfriend sleeps with a corpse in the bathroom, and he learns his current girlfriend has a longer sexual history than he expected. How can this happen, he thinks, "I'm not even supposed to be here today!"

It'd be one thing if the line was said once, but the verbal motif becomes a telling sign of how the defeatist Dante is unwilling to take responsibility for his stagnant lot in life. He's quick to place blame elsewhere, and even though he is correct in that he should not be in the store in the first place, the excuse can only be taken so far. Luckily, Randal recognizes such and gives his best friend the hard advice he needs to hear. It's repeated callbacks like these lines that make Kevin Smith's movie so rewatchable.

"You Should S*** Or Get Off The Pot"

Randal Graves

Dante holds a jar of salsa while Dante lays on the freezer in Clerks

Every Clerks fan knows that Randall has the funniest quotes, the best rants, and the most colorfully profane lines in the movie. Yet, when it comes to revealing his true nature, the honest conversation he and Dante have after their fistfight in the store crystallizes the difference between how they see their stations in life.

Once Dante expresses the crushing indignities of his current situation in life, Randal urges him to "s*** or get off the pot," essentially meaning make a decision and act on it with or stop complaining. Dante is passive and unwilling to make change while Randal is aggressive and self-actuating. It's why they make such a great partnership as best friends, and why the advice is so salient. True friends tell their friends what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Randal does just that, with Smith having him repeat the line twice to hammer the point home.

"But They Don't All Bring You Lasagna At Work."

Silent Bob

Silent Bob gives Dante advice at the check-out counter in Clerks

Clerks introduced Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) to the world, the lovable stoner duo defined by Jay's motor mouth and Bob's incessant quietude. However, the constant motif through Kevin Smith's movies is that whenever Silent Bob does open his mouth, a wealth of wisdom inevitably spews forth as the other characters look on in shock. As such, he's arguably the smartest character in many Kevin Smith movies.

At the end of Clerks, just as Dante is feeling deflated before locking up the store for the night, Bob finally breaks his silence and gives sage advice regarding his relationship with Veronica (Marilyn Ghigliotti). Bob senses Dante at his lowest and offers, "You know, there's a million fine-looking women in the world, dude. But they don't all bring you lasagna at work. Most of 'em just cheat on you," before slowly sauntering out of Quick Stop. Dante immediately admits "He's right. I love her," referring to Veronica, who indeed brought him to lasagna for lunch despite their heated row earlier in the film. Silent Bob as the profound philosopher is indeed a recurring personality motif in all of Smith's movies, not just Clerks.

"Time To Kick Back, Drink Some Beers, Smoke Some Weed."

Jay

Jay and Silent Bob stand at the counter in Clerks

The truth is, most of the memorable quotes in Clerks are too profane and X-rated to repeat. This is most notable with Jay, the foul-mouthed drug dealer who spends hours in front of Quick Stop poaching customers and peddling his paraphernalia along with Silent Bob. Jay lives for nothing more than to "kick back, drink some beers, and smoke some weed," a refrain he literally sings as he enters the store for the final time in the film.

While Jay is a character who slowly evolves over time throughout Kevin Smith's filmography to become slightly more mature and less self-destructive, the introduction to the character is as crass and debased as he's ever been. Of course, much like the way that the passive Dante balances the aggressive Randal, Jay's freewheeling nature is countered by Bob's more measured personality.

"What Can I Say, He Does Weird Things To Me."

Caitlin Bree

Caitlyn stands by Randal by the check out counter in Clerks

No matter what they do for a living, the characters in the ViewAskewniverse are as pithy, witty, and articulate as can be, with Clerks establishing Kevin Smith's filmmaking style. Enter Caitlin Bree (Lisa Spoonauer), Dante's ex-girlfriend who cheated on him multiple times and is now set to marry a collegiate Design major. By the end of the film, Caitlin expresses regret over her decision to get married and tries to win Dante back by making a surprise visit to Quick Stop. Alas, she ends up having sex with a corpse in a bathroom, mistaking the dead body for Dante.

But before the traumatic experience renders her mute and sends her to a mental institution to recover, Caitlin has a candid heart-to-heart conversation with Randal. The two trade witty banter, which leads to Caitlin revealing that she was thrown out of the house for ending her engagement. Randal says, "Wow, you got thrown out for Dante," to which she playfully replies "What can I say, he does weird things to me," before Randal comes back with "Ooh, can I watch?" Caitlin is being truthful about how she feels about Dante but uses racy phraseology to get her point across, perfectly encapsulating her personality.

"I'm Not The One Trying To Patch Things Up With My Ex."

Veronica Loughran

Veronica stands by the microwave and coffee maker in Clerks

In Clerks, a huge conflict for Dante is getting over Caitlin and remaining together with Veronica. When Veronica is introduced, she berates Dante for talking to his ex on the phone. But when Dante learns of Veronica's long sexual history, he isn't sure who to go after. Luckily, Veronica showcases her tough, intelligent, and faithful personality by getting candid with Dante in a lengthy emotional rant in which she says, "I'm not the one trying to patch things up with me ex," a brutally honest admission that stops Dante in his tracks.

Later in the same monologue, Veronica makes another telling statement, adding "Damn right it isn't like that, because I won't let it be like that," referring to Dante waiting for the right moment to break up with her. Veronica is strong-willed and unafraid to go after what she wants, and while it takes the whole movie for him to realize it, Dante ultimately decides to try to reconcile with Veronica precisely because she spoke from the heart. With Veronica appearing alongside Dante in Clerks III, tune in to find out how their personalities have evolved over the past 28 years.

NEXT: Every Confirmed Character Returning In Clerks III