Mallrats

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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Year:	1995
Country of origin:	USA
Director:	Kevin Smith
Genre:	Bumming out at the mall
Starring:	Shannen Doherty, Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Claire Forlani, Ben Affleck, Jason Mewes,
Rating:	4/5
IMDB link:	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113749/
Tagline:	They're not there to shop. - They're not there to work. - They're just there.
Favourite line:	"That's it. You're dead, mallrat! I'm gonna fuck you up beyond repair!"

Kevin Smith's follow up to his excellent breakout sleeper hit, Clerks.

The plot:
TS and Brodie are young men with little focus in life. When their girlfriends dump them, the pair head down to the shopping mall to kill some time, and plot their next move. Whilst there, they encounter Jay and Silent Bob, an impromptu version of Blind Date, their comic book creator hero Stan Lee and, of course, romantic interludes.

As a filmmaker, Kevin Smith reeks of 'independence'. He clearly has no interest in conforming to movie making staples or formulae, instead ploughing very much his own furrow, one littered with outlandish characters and witty dialogue. You could say his model is one of putting reality on screen, though one seen through a smog of cannabis smoke and LSD come-downs.
Stylistically, this is similar to Clerks, the stripped down, indy approach evident, though of course this one is in colour.
Whether it stands up in comparison to Clerks is another matter entirely, as this seems less in your face, less shocking, less deliberately provocative. Sure it has it's confrontational moments, but the emphasis on the romantic robs it of a little of the power of the predecessor.
With an ensemble cast, the performances are variable and, in truth, the two leads aren't particularly likeable but then, I don't suspect they were ever meant to be.
Very much a love him or hate him kind of writer/director, I liked this a lot, just not quite as much as his first effort.