Mallrats

There's a lot of surprisingly weak acting here, surprising considering the material doesn't require much heavy lifting. It often comes across as a high school play.

It seems Kevin Smith movies really click with some and not others. They don't click much for me. While there are some very funny moments, most of this film consists of lengthy rambled "gags" that are a chuckle at best.

I guess that people can be split in two ways - those that like Kevin Smith's films and those that don't. From watching his films, he seems to like his characters to exist in his strange world where things are exaggerated and ridiculous characters do unrealistic things.

That sums up Mallrats - it's the story of two friends who both lose their girlfriends and then spend the rest of the day hanging around in the local mall. Whilst hanging around they meet friends and get into scrapes as they strive to get their girlfriends back.

I suppose if you looked at it coolly it's all a bit silly - fully of ridiculous situations and scrapes that are resolved in unbelievable ways. But then if you accept Smith's world of comic book style adventures and cartoon film making then this is great. Whereas his later Chasing Amy brings adult subjects into the comedy - this is pure cartoon comedy, although understand it's not dumb like slapstick - but crazy, clever humour with plenty of jokes occuring all around the main action.

OK the overall plot is weak at best, but the story is more about the characters and the situations along the journey to the end of the film and here is where Smith wins. He has created crazy characters that are funny and often exaggerated versions of people or of people's reactions to situations (witness the magic-eye poster guy for an example of exaggerated humour).

Lee is fantastic, this is the role he was made for - he reacts in an exaggerated way to everything and really hams it up. I suppose he's a comic-book reading loser but in this world he is funny and in control. He is loud and abusive to others and it's great! Jeremy London is a weak straight man and doesn't really convince.

Jay & Silent Bob are good as always - although for most of the movie they exist in their own little subplot of taking on the mall police. Again their adventures are exaggerated for humour.

If you hated Clerks and Smith's other movies then you'll hate this. However if this world is one that appeals to you then you'll love this movie's reckless abandonment of reality and enjoy the adventures involved in a trip to the mall.

'Mallrats' but is the kind of film you either like or don't like which is pretty much the case with any Kevin Smith movie. I liked it. I enjoyed all the dirty street humour, the awkwardness, the characters and the concept.

It's full of slapstick comedies, comic book 'adventure' and some witty (and dirty) dialogues. Even though many of the situations are unrealistic, it's hilarious.

'Mallrats' is about two friends who both lose their girlfriends. The two friends spend the rest of the day in the mall discussing things and what to do about them. In the mall they meet some friends, enemies, and weirdos. Though the plot isn't what would be referred to as a work of 'genius', it's more the characters and the funny situations that will stick to mind.

The only sequence I didn't like was the toilet humour bit, about making the hand stink. That sort of brought down the film a little. The film was already on the right track with its funny characters and funny situations. There was no need for toilet humour.

London and Lee play the two friends. London is okay while Lee is very good. He pretty much steals every scene. Doherty and Forlani are adequate. Lauren Adams is brilliant in a brief role and Affleck is good as the evil Salesman. Mewes and Smith are alright (though some may feel that they go a little over the top).

So all in all, you'll meet some very weird (and not-so-weird) characters and exaggerated situations but I think you'll at least have some good laughs. It's one of the better comedies from a country that has made dozens of blockbuster garbage like 'American Pie'.

Easily one of the lightest and hijink-filled Kevin Smith movies, "Mallrats" is the unlikely love story buried in a tale of consumerist tomfoolery. There are all sorts of little things happening in this movie that make me laugh, but you've gotta hand it to Jason Lee for really shouldering this thing. The man's working in shades of irate and I don't think he fails to pull off a single line. This is proof he was born to play Banky Edwards in Chasing Amy, and his rage never fails to delight. Doesn't matter what kind of day I'm having, simply hearing him yell "That kid is on the escalator again!" is always a mood-brightener.

As most Smith fanboys know, Mallrats has been trashed critically, financially (bad box-office) and by a lot of Smith's own fan-base.

Personally I like it. Even without watching the DVD with commentary by Smith its obvious that this outing was backed by Hollywood, emitting a polish and lack of gloom that his other films don't have and thus gaining flack over its lack of "Indie" look and feel and hammy storyline. Had this film been in black in white, shot using a cheaper production method, or had a less happier ending, it possibly would have fared better with the fans than it did.

Listen to the dialogue though and its soon apparent this is indeed pure Smith. And it shines. The long diatribes about seemingly nothing, the anti-establishment rumblings of Brody (who ironically spends a lot of the film clarifying escalator ettiquite and other mall law), and a bigger involvement of Jay and Bob (but not too much) make this as good, if not better than the other Kevin Smith films and quite possibly my favourite of his.

Its hard to rate this film, you'll either really like it and give it a 10 or tuck into another chocolate pretzel after giving it a 1.