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Mallrats (1995) More at IMDbPro »

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425 comments in total

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47 out of 63 people found the following comment useful :-
Very funny if you live in Smith's world, 27 September 2001
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

I guess that people can be split in two ways - those that like Kevin Smith's films and those that don't. From watching his films, he seems to like his characters to exist in his strange world where things are exaggerated and ridiculous characters do unrealistic things.

That sums up Mallrats - it's the story of two friends who both lose their girlfriends and then spend the rest of the day hanging around in the local mall. Whilst hanging around they meet friends and get into scrapes as they strive to get their girlfriends back.

I suppose if you looked at it coolly it's all a bit silly - fully of ridiculous situations and scrapes that are resolved in unbelievable ways. But then if you accept Smith's world of comic book style adventures and cartoon film making then this is great. Whereas his later Chasing Amy brings adult subjects into the comedy - this is pure cartoon comedy, although understand it's not dumb like slapstick - but crazy, clever humour with plenty of jokes occuring all around the main action.

OK the overall plot is weak at best, but the story is more about the characters and the situations along the journey to the end of the film and here is where Smith wins. He has created crazy characters that are funny and often exaggerated versions of people or of people's reactions to situations (witness the magic-eye poster guy for an example of exaggerated humour).

Lee is fantastic, this is the role he was made for - he reacts in an exaggerated way to everything and really hams it up. I suppose he's a comic-book reading loser but in this world he is funny and in control. He is loud and abusive to others and it's great! Jeremy London is a weak straight man and doesn't really convince.

Jay & Silent Bob are good as always - although for most of the movie they exist in their own little subplot of taking on the mall police. Again their adventures are exaggerated for humour.

If you hated Clerks and Smith's other movies then you'll hate this. However if this world is one that appeals to you then you'll love this movie's reckless abandonment of reality and enjoy the adventures involved in a trip to the mall.

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34 out of 43 people found the following comment useful :-
Wow is the only thing to say here., 28 March 2006

Author: Paul Lonsdale (trust_me_im_paul@hotmail.co.uk) from Pontefract, United Kingdom

this is an incredible movie and if your a clerks fan (which I'm assuming is the only Kevin smith film you've seen because its blasphemous to watch them out of order) then this is even better. mallrats is the kind of movie you watch once on DVD and don't take it out of the drawer, because you know you'll wanna watch it later. its laugh out loud funny and anyone remotely interested in the inner workings of a geek or, like me, you are a geek, then this will give voice to the geek generation and make it cool. Recently, The OC has made comic books cool in the form of Seth Cohen. but before there was Seth, there was Brodie.

easily the greatest character lee has ever played and the best character that Smith has ever written, Brodie is obsessed with two things, Comics and himself. and as long as the two are together, he doesn't care. which is exactly what must be changed. ill let you find out how.

jay and silent bob make a welcome comeback in a slightly more central role with a lot more to do. with hilarious results.

i originally put 8 for this movie. but thinking about it again its a 10 and its going in my movies :) l8er days PaUl :)

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34 out of 46 people found the following comment useful :-
Best watched with eyes closed?, 6 July 2003
Author: bradc-2 from Auckland, NZ

As most Smith fanboys know, Mallrats has been trashed critically, financially (bad box-office) and by a lot of Smith's own fan-base.

Personally I like it. Even without watching the DVD with commentary by Smith its obvious that this outing was backed by Hollywood, emitting a polish and lack of gloom that his other films don't have and thus gaining flack over its lack of "Indie" look and feel and hammy storyline. Had this film been in black in white, shot using a cheaper production method, or had a less happier ending, it possibly would have fared better with the fans than it did.

Listen to the dialogue though and its soon apparent this is indeed pure Smith. And it shines. The long diatribes about seemingly nothing, the anti-establishment rumblings of Brody (who ironically spends a lot of the film clarifying escalator ettiquite and other mall law), and a bigger involvement of Jay and Bob (but not too much) make this as good, if not better than the other Kevin Smith films and quite possibly my favourite of his.

Its hard to rate this film, you'll either really like it and give it a 10 or tuck into another chocolate pretzel after giving it a 1.

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23 out of 31 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent satire, 12 April 1999

Author: Starbuck-13 from Bamberg, Germany

This movie is really extremely funny.

That is, if you are into either Comics, Science Fiction or Shopping Malls.

The basic idea is simple: Two dumped guys try to win their girl-friends back, and their brilliant strategy is to hang around in the local shopping mall.

What makes the movie work is the wonderful mix of slap stick humor, intelligent puns and gross sexual innuendos. The actors are excellent in their roles, and I was surprised to see Ben Affleck and Claire Forlani, two coming actors, credited for supporting roles.

For a comic fan this movie is a awfully funny experience. But I can imagine that the film looses some of its appeal when you are not familiar with the Marvel and DC comic heroes and the strange passion (and science) of collecting comic books.

And to everybody who has also failed in seeing a sailboat in those dumb 3-D-pictures, this movie provides some comfort...

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35 out of 58 people found the following comment useful :-
Oh please everybody, this movie is great!, 16 May 1999
Author: Adriane Simo (adriane7@mindspring.com) from chandler, az

To everybody who did not like this movie: You are not obviously Kevin Smith fans. I am, and everyone one of the NJ3 are great. This one is just different. Shannen Doherty is surprisingly cool in this one, and Jason Lee is hysterical. Jay and Silent Bob are hysterical as usual, and everyone else is great. Watch if you are a Smith fan, just keep an open mind.

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11 out of 13 people found the following comment useful :-
It's not there to win any awards. It's not there as a cinematic masterpiece. It's just there., 4 August 2002
Author: David, Film Freak from Palmerston North, New Zealand

The second movie in Kevin Smith's 5 film View Askewniverse series is Mallrats - a charming comedy about two losers, who, after being dumped by their girlfriends decide to spend a day at the mall. - and try and win their girls back. Jason Lee and Jeremy London play the dumped-and-depressed duo of ex-boyfriends who both succeed in bringing to life the characters of . Shannen Doherty and Claire Forlani - the two ex-girlfriends also perform well here. It's been said - not just by critics and fans, but by Kevin Smith himself, that Mallrats is a bad movie - and by far the worst of his 5. Personally, I rate this 3rd... with Dogma in front, and Chasing Amy last - I found this movie to be funny, charming and completely entertaining. Ben Affleck's character was also funny to watch. Jay & Silent Bob appear to add the cartoon comedy flavour, while Stan Lee cameos in an hilarious performance of himself.

I liked the script and the way that the movie was paced, although at times seemed like the scenes were stretched further than they should be. The sets were good and the lighting and cinematography is good also. I don't really have any major gripes about this film, it's just that, there are better movies in Kevin Smith's series.

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16 out of 23 people found the following comment useful :-
enjoyable humor, 20 May 2003

Author: colinwhitefan

Many people are down on this movie, but I found it funny and enjoyable. I wish the movie was a little bit longer and there was room for more stuff it seems. Jason Lee does a great job as Brodie the bum Bruce, Jeremy London stinks as T.S. Quint. Mallrats has memorable lines and scenes. Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith are stellar as well as the rest of the cast of characters except for Ben Affleck who I can do without in this movie. I think you will like this film if you enjoy the mall.

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18 out of 28 people found the following comment useful :-
You can't go wrong with Kevin Smith!!, 30 April 2001

Author: kergillian (kergillian@hotmail.com) from Montreal, Canada

Granted, it's weaker than his other three films to date. On the other hand, a weak Kevin Smith movie is stronger than a strong film by most other writers/directors. This film is hilarious! It takes mall culture to a higher level! A good contrast to Richard Linklater's/Eric Bogosian's Suburbia, though it's better than Suburbia in most ways. Many of the pop culture refs and the satire of young adult life make this film even cooler! And how the hell did he get Stan Lee to appear? (And he was surprisingly really good!)

This is Shannen Doherty's best role (mainly because she's hardly ever on screen;), Jason Lee's best role, and Jeremy London's best role (not to be confused with twin brother Jason who was the awesome Randall Pink Floyd in Dazed and Confused...though Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams were both in Dazed as well...)

Look for an amusing role played by Ethan Suplee (Seth in American History X)

Overall: this film just plain rocks! It's got great quirky writing, great direction, solid acting, a three-nippled topless clairvoyant, a hilarious love connection parody, a 15 year old nympho (played by the amusing Claire Forlani), Stan Lee...what more could one ask for?? It's not his best, it has flaws, but it's still classic Smith! An easy 7/10!

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Wacky Comedy in a Shopping Mall, 15 August 2007
Author: Senyales from Fraggle Rock

'Mallrats' but is the kind of film you either like or don't like which is pretty much the case with any Kevin Smith movie. I liked it. I enjoyed all the dirty street humour, the awkwardness, the characters and the concept.

It's full of slapstick comedies, comic book 'adventure' and some witty (and dirty) dialogues. Even though many of the situations are unrealistic, it's hilarious.

'Mallrats' is about two friends who both lose their girlfriends. The two friends spend the rest of the day in the mall discussing things and what to do about them. In the mall they meet some friends, enemies, and weirdos. Though the plot isn't what would be referred to as a work of 'genius', it's more the characters and the funny situations that will stick to mind.

The only sequence I didn't like was the toilet humour bit, about making the hand stink. That sort of brought down the film a little. The film was already on the right track with its funny characters and funny situations. There was no need for toilet humour.

London and Lee play the two friends. London is okay while Lee is very good. He pretty much steals every scene. Doherty and Forlani are adequate. Lauren Adams is brilliant in a brief role and Affleck is good as the evil Salesman. Mewes and Smith are alright (though some may feel that they go a little over the top).

So all in all, you'll meet some very weird (and not-so-weird) characters and exaggerated situations but I think you'll at least have some good laughs. It's one of the better comedies from a country that has made dozens of blockbuster garbage like 'American Pie'.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A Cursed Afflection, 5 March 2002
Author: tedg (tedg@FilmsFolded.com) from Virginia Beach

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Spoilers herein. Another show about a show as a poor substitute for the scaffolding of the Divine Comedy used for `Clerks.' What is interesting is the DVD commentary which tells us a lot about Ben Affleck. Some bad actors don't annoy me, but Ben and Matt really do. That's because of the damage they did to the mind behind the art in `Good Will.' Here, you get a feel for where Ben comes from, and Kevin bears some of the blame. The idea is: `Hey! let's get a buncho friends together and make a movie. It will be about superficialities, but that's the point.' But Kevin knows who he is goofing on and it is all in good fun. Ben doesn't, and it isn't. Kevin is smarter than his subject, Ben very much dumber. He convinced Smith and Mosier to help him out, so they produced `Will,' leveraging their own goodwill. With `Will' the vision was less tight than with a Smith-written bit so the studio was able to gloss it up. But you can see Ben in his real persona here. As his career grows (as it surely will) this film will become more and more a goof on him than a goof on Jay. You can see the influence of Bob and Jay in Will's characters.

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