Mallrats – Review

TS Quint’s (London) girlfriend Brandi Svenning (Forlani) has had enough. After getting into a spat the morning before they fly to Florida for vacation, she feels that TS is so self-absorbed and thoughtless that the relationship is over. Her father Jared (Rooker) runs a dating gameshow on TV, and she has agreed to do the taping, after the intended girl dropped dead (partly due to something that TS said to her). There goes TS’ proposal plans. Ouch.

Brodie Bruce’s (Lee) girlfriend Rene Mosier (Doherty) has had enough. She is tired of his focus on video games and living in his mother’s basement. She feels that Brodie is so self-absorbed and thoughtless that the relationship is over. She doesn’t want to sneak into the house anymore for his bogus ass. Ouch.

Friends TS and Brodie decide it’s time to hit the mall. It can help ease their loss, and it’s easier than ritual suicide. Immediately, Brodie bumps into Shannon Hamilton (Affleck), a manager at Fashionable Male. They have beef. TS then notices a stage is being erected in the mall. Well, shit, Brandi’s dad’s dating gameshow is being filmed there live today. Truth or Date is coming…

As the college aged guys begin their day at the mall, shenanigans multiple throughout the day, especially as Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) join the show. Will the boys have any chances to win back their girls, or will they spend their time pouting and bitching?

Mallrats is pretty funny from open to close. The force is strong with the dialogue in this film, and the nerdy topic debates are worth the price of admission. The plot itself almost does not matter, as the acting and humor are the main features. The cast is good, and play the roles well. Smith steps his budget and directing game up from Clerks, and hits another winner onto the audience’s screens. The film remains super fun, even if malls are dying out in today’s culture.

While Mallrats has a lot of traditional comedy buddy shenanigans, it remains true to Kevin Smith’s quippy and observational crude yet clever humor. Plenty of cameos and pop culture references are included, and this film is part of the Clerks shared universe where all characters exist in the same world and many times make references to others.

Come join William (Suplee), who’s looking for the hidden picture. It’s a sailboat.

There is also an extended cut with a good clip more ridiculousness and whole other subplots, but it does drag the pacing out a bit too much for me. It’s worth a check though if you enjoy the film.