Marathon of Shops: Mallrats (1995)




Kevin Smith is a man that most movie watchers know of, regardless of having seen the movies he makes, or knowing exactly who he is.  He’s outspoken, and can be borderline obnoxious.  Long before everyone knew so much about him, he made a movie called Mallrats.  Mallrats is the next movie in the Marathon of Shops.

Mallrats was released in 1995.  It starred Jeremy London, Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee, Kevin Smith, Jason Mewes, and Shannen Doherty among others.  The movie was about two guys whose girlfriends had recently broken up with them.  They decided to spend the day at the mall.  Wacky antics ensue, and relationship drama occurs, though not dramatically.
Wacky antics.
The cast of the movie was solid.  Each person was able to fill the role of their character believably enough. That is not saying too much since they were supposed to just be normal people hanging out in the mall.  They all had their different quirks and such, but they were all average people.  Each actor played their part well enough to keep everything functioning.

Most of the comedy in this movie seemed to work.  It got laughs from me.  Kevin Smith does know how to get me to laugh, for the most part.  There was one notable exception to this.  When Silent Bob was pulling things out of his coat, at one point he pulls out a rubber finger.  This was not out of place with Kevin Smith’s usual humor.  The problem with this joke was simply that it did not seem funny.  Why was this sight gag there?  If the joke had been removed, the movie would not feel different at all.  It was unnecessary and unfunny.
Come and shake my hand.
The biggest pro and the biggest con of Mallrats was the dialogue.  Kevin Smith excels at writing dialogue that is funny.  In my opinion, he does, at least.  Not only that, but the funny dialogue also has some meaning and heart to it.  Mallrats benefited from this greatly.  The drawback to the dialogue was in the words that were used.  If you listen carefully to the dialogue, the characters use words that would not normally be dropped into normal speech.  It sounded as if Smith wrote the movie thinking “these specific words make things seem more intelligent.”  The problem was that these words made things feel unnatural.

Mallrats was still an enjoyable film, flaws aside.  Everything comes together to create memorable moments that I laugh along with.  I’ll be coming back to it again at some point.  Up next in the Marathon of Shops will be a movie called Scenes From a Mall.  I think it is set in a mall.  And that’s all I have to say about that.
Where is TS?

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2013 at 7:22 AM

    I agree the movie was likeable. I think Jason Lee pretty much stole every scene he was in. I don't get the hate for the vibrating finger, it's typical Kevin Smith humor. Why was it unnecessary? Maybe you have hangups because it sure reads that way.

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