The Flying Car (2002 TV Short) User Reviews

Kevin Smith has got WAY to much time on his hands.

[Danny-Rodriguez · 8/10 · 17 April 2006]

Or he has just to many good ideas and no time to convert them into feature lenght scripts. so he makes shorts like this! and i love them! this short is basically just Clerks in a car. they're sitting there in traffic talking about how flying cars should have been invented already. it doesn't make much sense to the common viewer but to us fans of pop culture this is some of the funniest things we'll ever see. what's bothering me though is why didn't he include this in one of his movies in stead of making this little short? i mean i think it would have fitted into Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back somewhere. or maybe in Clerks 2? oh but it doesn't matter. this was great either way. it's just as his other movies so if you're a Kevin Smith fan then download it and watch it! it's a must!

Jetsons meets Clerks

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 11 September 2015]

I always thought Kevin Smith was a very creative and funny filmmaker and this short film here is a perfect example of that. In these 6 minutes, two men discuss the question of what it is worth to give for a flying car. Nothing? Your left foot? Your right foot? Or maybe even have sex with a group of men? It is pretty obscene at times, but it's equally hilarious. I have neither watched "The Jetsons" nor "Clerks", otherwise I'd maybe appreciate this little film even more. It is fairly hilarious I must say and the best thing about it is that it is 100% dialogue-reliant and it's only a funny side fact that the two are actually sitting in a car. Guess I have to check out the film that the characters come from. Good watch and I recommend it.

i agree

[eazydayz5101 · 7/10 · 27 July 2003]

this was basically the last good thing that came out of view askew i mean JSBSB sucked so bad, oh man, there isn't words but all the stoners at schools were all "WHOA MAN" but without knowing the history of the characters Jay and Silent bob are funny but on in small bits not in a feature but Dante & Randal are the best and they as funny in seven min. and also in a hundred minutes or twenty two

love, steveo

Clerks. In a car.

[MovieAddict2016 · 30 September 2004]

Great stuff. Dante and Randal are stuck in a traffic jam and begin talking about a flying car, and to what lengths Dante would go in order to be the first person alive to receive one and revolutionize world travel.

This was written and directed by Kevin Smith after appearing on the Tonight Show. He was asked to do correspondence and he suggested even doing a short film (his first). Here it is.

I never saw it on Jay Leno's Tonight Show but it's included on the new "Clerks. X" DVD, with an introduction by Smith. It's very funny and best of all, Jeff Anderson is so into Randal here that he gives a better performance than he did in the actual movie! (Sort of reminded me of Owen Wilson, to be honest.)

Very funny. Another reason to pick up the excellent DVD.

Excellent Display of Smith's Dialogue Skills

[steelsniper · 10/10 · 12 October 2003]

This is an excellent short, the best I've seen so far. It is a nice little sample of Kevin Smith's work. Smith has a natural talent to create dialogue such as this. I love his mix of crude and lewd subject matter with witty uses of various not-so-everyday words from the English language. Watch the clock for Randal's rant on how people such as Dante are responsible for the state of the American nation. It lasts for basically a whole minute. Its a nice piece that fits well with these two slacking clerks. Watch this short! Its available all around the net and is worth the short download.

Hilariously Randal-like

[scottsue98 · 9/10 · 21 July 2006]

If you like the Randal character from Kevin Smith's movies, you CANNOT - I repeat - CANNOT NOT love this little clip.

It is friggin' hilarious!

His rants are classic. This one is near or at the top of any Randal-esquire ravings.

Not to mention he exhibits some skills to fight through the lengthy if not disturbed content of the subject matter. I don't know how many takes it took to get some of that, but the delivery is wicked funny.

Randal is a ranting GOD!

Enjoy it for what it is - a great poke at cartoons vs reality and the people who spend WAY too much time trying to make sense of the two!

Vintage Kevin Smith...but now a question???

[ColbertNotion · 10/10 · 29 May 2009]

Watching this again from a backup disc I found after several years, I'm now curious about something that was sparked by a few lines of the dialog. In the course of the discussion about "The Flying Car" (2002), Randall goes into absurd length details, as always, about the conditions under which Dante could obtain the car for sharing with all mankind. By the way, I'm only typing all this detail because I'm told I can't comment without making it at least 10 lines long. So Randall mentions the German scientist will hack off Dante's foot with a hacksaw, right? Does this sound at all like the conclusion to "SAW" (2004)? I wonder if Kevin ever thought about this after he, or if he ever, watched SAW? Hmmmm!

Love It

[jfiorent · 10/10 · 11 April 2002]

I loved Clerks, and love to see when Dante(Brian O'Halloran) and Randall(Jeff Anderson), and what can I say Kevin Smith is one of the greatest writers around nowadays. It follows the original relationship between Dante & Randall, where Randall can coax Dante into saying anything, then twist it around to make Dante out to be the fool, Highly recommended

actually pretty damn boring

[gb4 · 2/10 · 21 February 2004]

this is an obvious case of kevin smith falling in love w/ his own dialogue and letting his words run wild. while at times the scene is funny, overall it's pretty drawn out and boring and the big 'reveal' at the end isn't all that funny and is basically a cop out to end the scene. kevin smith is a talented guy but not all of his dialogue is fantastic and this is an example of that. the delivery also gets real annoying after awhile. there's a reason these 2 guys never found success outside of smith's movies. i guess if you are a huge fan of smith's and clerks then you cant go wrong but there are tons of other comedic short films out there - most relying on dialgoue - that are a helluva lot funnier than this but never get any recognition.

I could watch this all day.

[Op_Prime · 22 December 2002]

A six minute short film about two guys stuck in a traffic jam and talking about a flying car sounds dull, doesn't it? Of course, it's not. Why, you ask? Because this short is brought to us by Kevin Smith and brings back Dante and Randal from Clerks!!!

I found out about this short recently (well yesterday) and downloaded it Not the fastest download mind you, but well worth it! The writing and actors' chemistry is absolutely perfect. It all equals into a laugh out loud funny short.

'The Flying Car' is a definite must see!

Different setting, same clerks

[I_Ailurophile · 8/10 · 17 April 2021]

'The flying car' could very easily be a scene that was written but never filmed for the 1994 film 'Clerks.'

There's not much to say here: Jeff Anderson again portrays Randal with his characteristically stubborn, forthright, and boneheaded imagination, and Brian O'Halloran's Dante is easily recognizable for his cynical, flustered, put-upon countenance. How Dante and Randal remain friends is a great mystery.

Anderson throws out Randal's quips and otherwise effusive lines of dialogue with the same fired-up energy we've seen him commit to before, and it's easy to believe that O'Halloran is genuinely fed up with Randal's pompous nonsense, not just in-character as Dante. The personality built into the pair of ne'er-do-well's is exhibited so cleanly by their performers; their energies feed off one another in a comedic symbiosis of mundanity.

Kevin Smith has great love for and knowledge of pop culture that freely shows itself in his movies, and those audience members who similarly revel in broad fandom pillars of theorizing, hypothesizing, philosophizing, and extrapolating will be those to most enjoy his films. So it was in 'Clerks,' and so it is in 'The flying car.'

I could do with some more shorts with these two.

Between 2002 and 2006, Something Went Wrong

[gavin6942 · 9/10 · 21 November 2006]

While "The Flying Car" shows the possibilities of Kevin Smith's writing abilities, it also leaves me wondering after the fact what happened between this short and "Clerks II"? "Clerks", "Mallrats" and "Chasing Amy" showed us that Smith is a master of the dialogue. He writes like people actually talk, only smarter. "Dogma" and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" focused more on his directing and less on writing (or rather more on action and less on talk), and I feel this is the downfall of the series.

With "The Flying Car", he is back in top form. Directing at a minimum (the characters never move) and conversation both intricate and interesting. Yet, by the time "Clerks II" comes out, the conversations are weak for the most part, the jokes are juvenile rather than thoughtful, and the action is returned...

So, this short is not only great in and of itself (really a fine piece of film), but is like a time capsule -- capturing the last scene before Smith's demise as a serious film writer.

Spoilers!: A lot less funny, more drawn out version of the car scene from clerks

[hand_jive_zoo_boy · 3/10 · 11 August 2005]

So Randal is baiting Dante, till he finally gets Dante to say what he wants, then Randal does a U-turn and lambastes poor old Dante. Sound familiar? Yes this is a lot longer more drawn out version of the car scene from clerks, what makes that said scene a lot better is the fact that Randal never conveyed the fact that he had tried to suck his own dick, here he is constantly banging on at Dante, and the punchline is sort of a contradiction. very disappointing. OK so now I've got to fill out my comment on this short with a few more lines so it will pass for the good folks at the internet movie database, so ill say the other short on the clerks DVD "clerks lost scene" was a lot funnier and deserves lots of praise.... will that do?

Loved it.

[bit82 · 26 September 2003]

If Kevin Smith's career ever tanks, we all know that he has what it takes to get him back on track. And that is Dante and Randal. They are hilarious. I would love to see "Clerks 2" (which was supposed to be made, but never was.) But i doubt Kevin will make it unless his career starts to go down the toilet which i doubt it will cause his writing is brilliant and hilarious. "The Flying Car" short was great. I loved it.

"Going back to the well."

[notdempsey · 3/10 · 23 December 2004]

"The Flying Car" is a lukewarm redux of the infamous "Uncle Walter" scene from Smith's debut film "Clerks" (1994)--the one that takes place as Dante and Randall, a pair of 20-something convenience store employees, drive to the wake of Julie Dwyer, one of Dante's old flames, and get into some...unique...conversation en route. When introducing the short on The Tonight Show in 2002, Smith, in jest of using existing characters, told host Jay Leno he was "going back to the well." How right he was! Not only the characters, but the entire dynamic of the short and its dialog are derivative of the "Clerks" scene. Both involve the two in a car where Randall, the more wickedly sardonic of the pair, engages nebbish Dante in an absurd argument (his ability to suck his own penis in "Clerks," and weather or not he would allow a mad scientist to remove his foot in exchange for a levitating automobile in "The Flying Car.") Both pieces are anecdotes--a setup by Randall against Dante. And, in both cases, Dante falls for it hook, line and sinker.

The essence of the Askewniverse

[limesoda · 19 March 2002]

I saw this on leno and thought it was damn funny. It realy is the apitamy of everything us fanboys love about Kevin Smiths movies, It's all about the dialogue. Only kevin could take 2 guys in a car (Dante and randal from clerks) and turn it into a laugh out loud funny short film.

Short review for a short film

5 / 5

P.s I Can't wait for jersey girl

Classic! I could do this all day

[sn00ganz · 30 May 2002]

Classic Randal. Those two have the greatest line delivery. I try and think if Kevin Smith had played Randal in "Clerks", could you see him constantly razzing Dante? I think not. I'm excited to see, "Now You Know" because I think Jeff Anderson is genius. I could listen to him talk for hours because I love his voice. So thank you Kevin Smith for stepping into the Silent Bob shoes and letting Jeff into the Randal slacker shoes.

This is one of the greatest shorts ever

[Buggy-4 · 21 March 2002]

Although i missed this soon to be classic from writer/director Kevin Smith (Clerks), I found it on the View Askew homepage. It has everything i loved from the View Askew movies rolled into 7 minutes! Randal and Dante discuss what Dante would give up to own a flying car. The results are very hilarious! The only downside to it, is that it reminds me a lot of the scene in "Clerks" where Randal explains the circumstances surrounding his cousins death. *** out of **** stars. Also check out the shorts "Mae Day: The Crumbling Of A Documentary"(Directed by Kevin Smith) and "Star" (Directed by Guy Ritchie.)

Just the way I think!

[Wierd-Dane · 7 May 2003]

I think a lot of people, who never think that way!. - Would see the world in a much brighter way, if they could "Get down from the High Horse" And see the world the way it is! Witch is basicly all explained in "The Flying Car" and also in "Clerks"... Thats the way me and some of my friends thinks!.. And to Kevin Smith.- "More of that!"