1990s Best of the Decade

Mallrats Blu-ray Review

Beware the chocolate pretzels.

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf, April 16, 2014

The Kevin Smith we know today isn't the Kevin Smith of old. These days, Smith is the elder statesman of indie film, currently spinning plates with SModcast, his podcast empire, while occasionally working up the energy to make movies (2011's "Red State" being his last effort). He's matured (to a certain degree), found marijuana, and has been known to launch into lengthy, fatiguing monologues about hockey greats and the nature of art. Smith in 1995 is a different story. Fresh off the success of his micro-budgeted comedy, "Clerks," the writer/director was riding high on a wave of generous reviews and industry interest, achieving his filmmaking dream with an idiosyncratic debut that defined his New Jersey worldview, establishing his "View Askewniverse." And then Hollywood came calling, bringing Smith to Universal Studios to make the next step in the evolution of his signature style (or lack thereof). "Mallrats" was soon born, taking advantage of Smith's preoccupation with juvenile humor and loquacious dialogue, only here the raw edges of his humor are sanded down to fit teen comedy standards, resulting in a frequently amusing picture that feels a little deflated, displaying the timing and cinematic vision of a helmer perhaps too overwhelmed with professional demands to repeat his prior achievement.It's a big day for T.S. (Jason London), who's about to fly down to Orlando with girlfriend Brandi (Brit actress Claire Forlani, losing a difficult battle with an American accent) on a mission to propose to his longtime love. Unfortunately, a horrible accident has forced Brandi to take part in her father's game show pilot, and Mr. Svenning (Michael Rooker) has no patience for T.S. Rejected, T.S. meets up with pal Brodie (Jason Lee), who's also been dumped by his girlfriend, Rene (Shannen Doherty), leaving the pair confused and irritated. Their only solace is a trip to the Eden Prairie Mall, where Brodie can mingle with the regulars, including Willam (Ethan Suplee), a sad sack who can't see a Magic Eye poster, and Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith), two drug dealers working the hallways. For T.S., his chance to win back Brandi and ruin Mr. Svenning's big shoot has arrived, counting on Jay and Silent Bob to thwart the afternoon taping with their tricks, hoping to avoid capture by security guard LaFours (Sven-Ole Thorsen). For Brodie, his mission to confront Rene is disrupted by tough guy Shannon (Ben Affleck), who's ready to smash anyone attempting to interrupt his plan to take advantage of vulnerable women.The recipe is fairly simple. "Clerks" was about a troubled guy and a wise-ass stuck in a convenience store. "Mallrats" follows a troubled guy and a wise-ass in a suburban mall. Smith isn't exactly working outside his comfort zone with the film, but the familiarity actually aids the feature in a strange way. Armed with a larger production, Smith feels out the limitations of his shtick, attempting to match the verbal velocity of "Clerks" with a new round of salty dialogue and pop culture references, with the whole picture steeped in comic book culture, from the opening titles (where the main characters receive their own cover art) to a cameo by Stan Lee. Long before he was a punchline in Marvel movies, he was here, offering Brodie his thoughts on love, helping the baffled young man in his time of need. And if you look fast, the helmer's Red Bank cronies (and current "Comic Book Men" stars), Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson, appear briefly as their famous alter-egos, Walt and Steve-Dave.There's repetition in "Mallrats," chasing that elusive "Clerks" spirit, but what's fascinating here is how the movie is actually a 90-minute-long film school, watching Smith build confidence with his visual approach, his way with actors, and his comfort working with a Hollywood crew. "Mallrats" isn't polished work, teeming with clunky performances (Rooker is in way over his head here), awful scenes (the boys visit to a topless psychic at a flea market is screen death), and a general disregard for depth of frame (Smith would go on to discover varied backgrounds later in his career), but it retains a personality thanks to Smith's screenplay, sharing its infatuations with mall culture, community gossip, anal sex, Sega hockey, and escalator safety, funneled into a Looney Tunes cartoon of a picture, topped off with Bugs Bunny-style antics from Jay and Silent Bob, who pop up intermittently, failing in their blueprinted plans to smash Mr. Svenning's set. There are creative deficiencies aplenty, yet the effort remains upright, always eager to please as it pays tribute to the teen comedies of the 1980s. It's never sharp, never smart, but it has a distinct fingerprint and the occasional bellylaugh.Popping out in a major way is Lee, who delivers commanding work in this, his first starring role. A natural fit with Smith's lewd imagination, Lee attacks the dialogue with sniper-like precision, creating a hurricane of a slacker in Brodie, who refuses to go down without a fight. Lee toys with physical comedy and decibel levels to make the character three dimensional, and his effort works wonderfully, stealing the movie. Although, with London, Forlani, and Doherty as his co-stars, it's not difficult for Lee to shine brightly. Additional entertainment value is offered by Affleck, who seems to be enjoying himself as a total hooligan of a man. Only a few years away from Oscar gold at the time of release, it's highly amusing to see Affleck in such a blunt role, acting as a nice career counterpoint to the A-lister that stands before us today.