Mallrats

with Jeremy London, Shannen Doherty
Written and Directed by Kevin Smith
(Miramax, 1995)
by Mark Phinney

What do two losers with absolutely nothing to do but hang out at the mall have to say that is of any interest to anyone? I thought it had all been said a couple years back in Clerks, the first offering from nerd-culture director Kevin Smith. As we all know, Clerks became a fuckin’ hilarious cult hit. “Will he follow up with a worthy sophomore effort?” was the question. Mallrats is the answer. “But it’s not Clerks,” whiny voices wheedled… No shit! It’s a DIFFERENT MOVIE! Get it? I have knighted Smith as the new toastmaster for the post-Fast Times generation (hey, did I just come up with a new counterculture?). These are not “slacker” movies, they’re “My-life-sucks-and-I’m-in-a-rut” movies. Maybe that’s why I relate. Mallrats introduces us to two new losers, Brodyman and T.S. These two have just been dumped by their girlfriends, one played by Shannen Doherty in a real cool performance – hey, the girl can act when need be! Along for the hanging are Clerks‘ Jay and Silent Bob (Smith), ready to wreak havoc all over again. The references are gold and they don’t even piss you off – somehow they succeed in just missing Generation X retro bullshit in their candor. The premise is just a side effect to what these two actually do, which is talk and bitch, but it’s both true and very funny. Dante from Clerks even makes an appearance on a Love Connection-type game show. Mallrats ain’t Lawrence of Arabia, and doesn’t try to be. It’s just cool tunes, funny patter, and a good afternoon hangin’ at the mall.