To get it out of the way: Mallrats is easily in the top ten funniest movies I've ever seen. Fifteen minutes inside the mind of Kevin Smith would be a trip worth being spat onto the New Jersey Turnpike. I'd pay good money to gain a glimpse of the world as he sees it. The writing in the movie is really, really top notch, and every scene is filmed with a minimalist eye for comedy. I would say that this movie is EASILY the funniest movie the man has ever filmed. Not the greatest: quite frankly, it's a little rough around the edges. But you'll be hard-pressed to find a funnier movie on the video store shelves.
Kevin Smith's movies have been maligned in the film community for many reasons. Mallrats especially been the subject of two of the most common complaints about Smith's movies: uninspired direction and flat characters. However, these claims are often untrue, and sometimes unimportant. There may not be amazing cinematography in Mallrats, no incredible steadicam work or breathtaking pans, but let's face it folks: the movie's set in a mall. For one thing, no-one wants to see sweeping panoramic views of a food court. For another thing, the movie isn't about original camera angles, it's about incredibly interesting and bizarre situations set in the most benign and uninteresting of all places.
As for character complaints, while there are a great deal of characters in the film that could be easily characterized in one sentence, not only does the pace of the movie demand it but deep character development is unnecessary. Many of the characters in the movie are examples of the kinds of people the audience members know from real life. The geeky girl in high school is combined with the easy girl in high school: this is an equation that the audience members can figure out for themselves. The local drug dealer, some mallrat kids, the love-lorn moron, the sarcastic sidekick (sorry, Brodie), and the bad-tempered store manager are all people that most of us have run into in our lives, and we can fill in the blanks from there.
At the end of it all though, Mallrats is first and foremost about the situations. This movie may seem a little uneven at times, because the best parts of the movie are individual sequences, not the characters or the over-arcing storyline. I list such memorable moments as: the kid on the escalator. Relationship advice from Stan "The Man" Lee. A debate on the classification of the cookie stand. Jay and Silent Bob beating up the Easter Bunny. Hartford beating Vancouver 12-2. A deep discussion on the biology of Superman. The entirety of Truth or Date.
And, of course, anything Jason Lee says. His portrayal of Brodie is an outstanding portrayal of the best character Kevin Smith has ever written. He's comfortable with both sarcasm and sentiment, and he has nearly all of the best lines in the movie. All of his scenes are incredible, and he is completely at home in the asylum that is the local mall. Jason Lee is the funniest thing about this movie, and while his acting is a little rough, so's the character, and so's the movie. And who said you needed to be Richard Burton to deliver lines like "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned for Sega"? Not I!
To review: it's not cinematic art, but it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be strange, it's supposed to be outrageous, and it's supposed to be funny. And it is INCREDIBLY funny. Rent it and try not to laugh. Especially at the kid on the escalator. That cracks me up every single time.
Rating: 7/10.
Kevin Smith's movies have been maligned in the film community for many reasons. Mallrats especially been the subject of two of the most common complaints about Smith's movies: uninspired direction and flat characters. However, these claims are often untrue, and sometimes unimportant. There may not be amazing cinematography in Mallrats, no incredible steadicam work or breathtaking pans, but let's face it folks: the movie's set in a mall. For one thing, no-one wants to see sweeping panoramic views of a food court. For another thing, the movie isn't about original camera angles, it's about incredibly interesting and bizarre situations set in the most benign and uninteresting of all places.
As for character complaints, while there are a great deal of characters in the film that could be easily characterized in one sentence, not only does the pace of the movie demand it but deep character development is unnecessary. Many of the characters in the movie are examples of the kinds of people the audience members know from real life. The geeky girl in high school is combined with the easy girl in high school: this is an equation that the audience members can figure out for themselves. The local drug dealer, some mallrat kids, the love-lorn moron, the sarcastic sidekick (sorry, Brodie), and the bad-tempered store manager are all people that most of us have run into in our lives, and we can fill in the blanks from there.
At the end of it all though, Mallrats is first and foremost about the situations. This movie may seem a little uneven at times, because the best parts of the movie are individual sequences, not the characters or the over-arcing storyline. I list such memorable moments as: the kid on the escalator. Relationship advice from Stan "The Man" Lee. A debate on the classification of the cookie stand. Jay and Silent Bob beating up the Easter Bunny. Hartford beating Vancouver 12-2. A deep discussion on the biology of Superman. The entirety of Truth or Date.
And, of course, anything Jason Lee says. His portrayal of Brodie is an outstanding portrayal of the best character Kevin Smith has ever written. He's comfortable with both sarcasm and sentiment, and he has nearly all of the best lines in the movie. All of his scenes are incredible, and he is completely at home in the asylum that is the local mall. Jason Lee is the funniest thing about this movie, and while his acting is a little rough, so's the character, and so's the movie. And who said you needed to be Richard Burton to deliver lines like "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned for Sega"? Not I!
To review: it's not cinematic art, but it's not supposed to be. It's supposed to be strange, it's supposed to be outrageous, and it's supposed to be funny. And it is INCREDIBLY funny. Rent it and try not to laugh. Especially at the kid on the escalator. That cracks me up every single time.
Rating: 7/10.