MALLRATS (1995) Reviewed by Jerry Saravia Original reviewed in spring of 1996
The sophomore slump for most first-time independent directors continues at a steady rate. There was Steven Soderbergh's fabulous debut "Sex, Lies and Videotape," which he followed up with the somber, deadening "Kafka." Robert Rodriguez showed himself off to gross injustice with "Desperado," a terrible sequel to his acclaimed "El Mariachi." If you give the first-time director more money for his next effort, failure seems to seep in. Kevin Smith made an astonishing splash in 1994 with his hilarious comedy "Clerks" - a film made on a shoestring that has more laughs, insight and sharp one-liners than most Hollywood comedies about Generation X-ers. "Mallrats," however, is an utterly obnoxious, stupid and unworthy picture coming from someone who displayed such promising potential.
The film stars Jason Lee as Brodie, a loser with a grand collection of comic books who would rather play Sega games than fondle his impatient girlfriend (Shannen Doherty). She thankfully dumps him, thus Brodie takes out his aggression by going to the mall with his best friend (Jeremy London), who also got dumped on by his girlfriend (Claire Forlani). A big televised dating game contest is taking place at the mall, and there are also some delicious cookies to eat there as well.
"Mallrats" begins as a comedy-of-manners between twenty-year-olds and ends up as an insipid movie about losers with no direction or ambition in life. Yes, so was "Clerks" but that had some fundamental truths and pointed humor. All you will find in "Mallrats" are obscenities galore with not a shred of wit or comic potential for any of the actors to play off of. There are two very good jokes - one about the holographic paintings where the image is supposed to gradually appear if you look long enough, and the other is about an Easter Bunny who is mistakenly beaten up. Jokes about the "Star Wars" trilogy are tenuous and dated at best.
Kevin Smith's cumbersome, lazily written screenplay gives nothing for the audience to chew on, and it doesn't help that there is a surprisingly lame cast of actors. Firstly, Jason Lee (who has improved in later years) is so annoying to watch on screen that I was waiting for him to drop dead. The wasted Shannen Doherty is given nothing to do except smile, yell, and have sex with Jason Lee in an elevator - Doherty was terrifically funny in "Heathers" if anyone cares about her comic potential. A bald Michael Rooker is wholly miscast as the producer of the dating game contest who vomits continuously through the last third of the picture. This is supposed to be funny? The best bits are supplied by "Clerks" returnees, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith), but even they grow tiresome. A cameo by Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee shows desperation rather than creativity.
Kevin Smith is capable of making a funny comedy and he proved he was a talent to watch for in his debut "Clerks." "Clerks" was a sharp, on-target look at wasted youth yet it possessed a degree of intelligence. In "Mallrats," Smith unkindly shows contempt for these idiots...and the audience. Sometimes, it is better to laugh with the characters than to laugh at them.
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