Mallrats, Kevin Smith's second and most maligned film until Jersey Girl, isn't really that much of a stretch from Clerks. Mostly it just feels like a movie that got taken away from its creator by the studio system trying to make it more marketable--every filmmaker has at least one such experience. Still, Smith's comedic brilliance shines through in the writing. Characters are still aimless losers with nothing better to do than hang out and have epic conversations about meaningless nonsense--one of my favorite such discussions revolves around whether the cookie bakery is regarded as part of the food court, and another pontificates on Superman's romantic life. As with Clerks, the protagonists are experiencing miniature crises with their girlfriends, the resolution of which leads to the obvious but not heavy-handed moral Smith always interjects in his films.
My only real complaint is the artificially "feel-good" ending, which feels too trite and sensational for what had, for the previous seventy minutes or so, been such a down-to-earth, slice-of-life comedy. It's like a bad Adam Sandler movie, the kind that always seems to end with cheering crowds and joyfully tearful make-up smooches. The bad guy gets his comeuppance, the lovable characters go on to fame and fortune, and everything is wrapped up in a neat little package. One of the things I love about Clerks. is that the ending, while resolving the conflict, ends without tying all the loose ends together. While Smith generically employs happy endings, they usually don't feel quite as predictable and saccharine. I've never heard him speak out on the subject, but I get the feeling the new ending was probably tacked on as the result of poor test screenings, or changed at the script stage because of the asinine notes studios like to give to more inexperienced indie directors.
The cast is great. Jason Lee, of course, steals every scene he's in, even though he's supposed to be the "sidekick" here. He's a talented actor, and it's too bad that, with the possible exception of The Incredibles and My Name is Earl (I've only seen a few episodes), he's never been utilized quite as effectively as he is in a Kevin Smith movie. Jason Mewes, mercifully, retains the role of Jay in spite of the studio's wishes, and is as always a foul-mouthed fireball of energy. Joey Lauren Adams is suitably adorable, even in her role as a cheating ex. Shannen Doherty is wonderfully spirited and appropriately irritable without coming across as shrewish or horrible. Jeremy London performs his "straight man" role admirably, though since his job is to react to the lunacy around him more than participate in it, the audience never sympathizes with him the way we should--perhaps a bit of underwriting on Smith's part. Claire Forlani is cute enough, but her performance feels sort of flat for some reason.
Mallrats, while it definitely suffers from sophomore slump, is still a great entry in the Jersey Chronicles, and has more than enough redemptive qualities to put it in a league far above 90% of most studio comedies.
My only real complaint is the artificially "feel-good" ending, which feels too trite and sensational for what had, for the previous seventy minutes or so, been such a down-to-earth, slice-of-life comedy. It's like a bad Adam Sandler movie, the kind that always seems to end with cheering crowds and joyfully tearful make-up smooches. The bad guy gets his comeuppance, the lovable characters go on to fame and fortune, and everything is wrapped up in a neat little package. One of the things I love about Clerks. is that the ending, while resolving the conflict, ends without tying all the loose ends together. While Smith generically employs happy endings, they usually don't feel quite as predictable and saccharine. I've never heard him speak out on the subject, but I get the feeling the new ending was probably tacked on as the result of poor test screenings, or changed at the script stage because of the asinine notes studios like to give to more inexperienced indie directors.
The cast is great. Jason Lee, of course, steals every scene he's in, even though he's supposed to be the "sidekick" here. He's a talented actor, and it's too bad that, with the possible exception of The Incredibles and My Name is Earl (I've only seen a few episodes), he's never been utilized quite as effectively as he is in a Kevin Smith movie. Jason Mewes, mercifully, retains the role of Jay in spite of the studio's wishes, and is as always a foul-mouthed fireball of energy. Joey Lauren Adams is suitably adorable, even in her role as a cheating ex. Shannen Doherty is wonderfully spirited and appropriately irritable without coming across as shrewish or horrible. Jeremy London performs his "straight man" role admirably, though since his job is to react to the lunacy around him more than participate in it, the audience never sympathizes with him the way we should--perhaps a bit of underwriting on Smith's part. Claire Forlani is cute enough, but her performance feels sort of flat for some reason.
Mallrats, while it definitely suffers from sophomore slump, is still a great entry in the Jersey Chronicles, and has more than enough redemptive qualities to put it in a league far above 90% of most studio comedies.