MALLRATS
A film review by Will FitzHugh
Copyright 1997 Will FitzHugh
Some will invoke the dreaded 'Sophomore Slump' shorthand review they learned in Movie Criticism 103 and there's some truth to it, I suppose. Kevin Smith follows up his mesmerizing, no-budget debut, 'Clerks', with this coming-of-age drama about two boneheads, Brodie and T. S., who get dumped by their girlfriends and go to the mall to put the pieces of their shattered lives back together.
Most disappointing is the fact that with a bigger budget Smith could not find better acting talent. The aforementioned boneheads are played by Jason Lee, who takes a page from the Brian O'Halloran (reprising his archetypal Jay role from 'Clerks' in a cameo) school of acting and yells all his lines, and Jeremy London, who reminds me of a younger, duller (now that's dull) Brendan Fraser. Shannen Doherty is a welcome breath of professionalism as Brodie's ex-girlfriend and Michael 'Serial Killer' Rooker slips a bit from previous roles but still impresses as the other ex-girlfriends' manipulative father.
Still, this is the second-best movie I've seen that takes place almost entirely in a mall (first would be 'Dawn of the Dead'). See, Smith is expanding on his vision of the two-store strip from 'Clerks' and creating a whole world to play with. The protagonists' inane discussions of what does and does not constitute a food court skewer the absurdity of our modern pop culture. There's lots of comic book references, a cameo by Stan Lee and some topless fortune telling. Silent Bob and Jay fill the Shakespearian fool roles and provide some hijinks as they try to wreak havoc with mall security.
Kevin Smith seems to have had a bit of trouble in the transition from no-budget to low-budget, but no matter. Slick is not always better and I for one will take some flaws with my entertainment. The longer he can stay away from Hollywood (and if he keeps this up, it might be while), the longer he can produce these warped, slice-of-New-Jersey visions of a broken America.
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