Mallrats
Kevin Smith’s “Mallrats” is one of my great, underrated guilty pleasures: it lacks the depth of “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma,” and isn’t as funny as “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” or “Clerks II,” but it remains an absurdly entertaining flick to watch. For me, at least– why else would I find a place for it on my list of 100 favorite films of all-time? (It’s no longer on there, by the way.)
Kevin Smith has been something of an acquired taste for me. His debut film, “Clerks,” did nothing for me the first time I watched it, and in all honesty, neither did “Mallrats.” I didn’t begin to appreciate Smith’s films until 1997’s “Chasing Amy,” which remains the filmmaker’s best and most heartfelt film, although the religious satire that followed it, his hilariously biting “Dogma,” gives good chase. From there on out, I was a fan of the Jersey-born filmmaker, who had sold his comic book collection to get “Clerks” made, and yes, he’s faltered at times (although “Jersey Girl” and “Cop Out” DO have their moments), but his ability to combine juvenile humor with genuine characters and stories has only matured over the years.
The second film in what became Smith’s “View Askewniverse” (which includes the two “Clerks” films, “Amy,” “Dogma,” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”), “Mallrats” started to lay the groundwork for the Askewniverse mythology in its opening scene, when T.S. (Jeremy London) drives over to his girlfriend Brandi’s house. They’re supposed to go on a romantic vacation to Florida where T.S. was intending to propose, but Brandi (played by Claire Forlani) is unable to go: her father (Michael Rooker, adding comic venom to his typical tough-guy persona) needs her to fill in on his “Dating Game”-esque television show after the original contestant drown in the YMCA’s pool, in an event that would later be referenced to in “Chasing Amy” as well, and is just one of the absurd deaths Smith has come up with. T.S. is furious, and Brandi kicks him to the curb (not without reason). Meanwhile, T.S.’s best friend, Brodie (Jason Lee), has girl troubles of his own when Rene (Shannon Doherty) can’t take his comic-collecting, Sega hockey-playing ass anymore, so she dumps him. Did I mention he had never introduced her to his mother?
After this setup, T.S. and Brodie head to the local mall, where all kinds of hijinks and chicanery takes place, and they find themselves with one more chance to save their love lives. Watching it sans the hilarious commentary by Smith and co. for the first time in years, I found the film pleasant enough, but with very little to really recommend it in terms of comedy. That’s about the same I’ve felt about it for the past ten years. Some stuff works really well– like the crazy antics of Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith himself), the dope peddlers who, like C-3PO and R2-D2 in the “Star Wars” saga, are the glue that holds Smith’s Askewniverse together; Renee Humphreys as Trish the Dish; Ben Affleck’s goofy “heavy,” the manager of a men’s clothing store in the mall that likes to screw women “in an uncomfortable place” (and no, he doesn’t mean in the back of a Cadillac); Jason Lee’s breakout turn as Brodie, the first of many clutch comic performances he delivers for Smith; and the ridiculous scene with Priscilla Barnes as a “topless psychic”; and how could I forget Stan Lee’s cameo? Meanwhile, the main stories involving the romantic entanglements of T.S. and Brodie lack real interest because, let’s face it, if you can’t figure out how they’re going to end, I might have to question your knowledge as a moviegoer.
In the end, I feel like the film deserves a chance, but I’m a fan of Smith: even his too-sincere “Jersey Girl” and too-cliched “Cop Out” deserve a chance, and have some inspired moments. For all-out comedy blended with lunacy, Smith accomplished more in the six episodes of his failed “Clerks” animated series (and even “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back”), but “Mallrats” set the stage, even if it doesn’t succeed in bringing the house down.
