Mallrats directed by Kevin Smith (63%)

After his assured debut, Kevin Smith followed Clerks. with Mallrats, his sophmore film, in 1995. Backed by a studio, Smith gathered his team together and made what can only be stated as a disappointing second feature.  Sure it features the great writing that was present in Clerks. but at the same time the movie itself falls flat on many levels.

With Clerks., Smith was unleashed on the world as a major new talent. The realistic dialogue and inventive banter between the characters made for a hilarious and engaging film, even though the production felt very much like a 'film school' project.  The problems with Clerks. were all about production value which was seriously over shadowed by the wonderful writing and amusing situations that the main characters found themselves falling into. 

Backed by a studio, Mallrats should have felt a lot more professional, but sadly is plagued by many of the problems that plagued Clerks. and a few other problems too.  Like Clerks., Mallrats is a simple film about regular characters and takes place in few locations.  This time, a mall, rather than a convenience and video store.  Jeremy London and Jason Lee take the leads, and again, like Clerks. Jay and Silent Bob, played by Jason Mewes and Smith, respectively, appear again in this film.

There are some laugh out loud funny moments in this film. There is more of a story than Clerks., but not much and there is a bigger cast of characters that Smith introduces. Ben Affleck appears, in an early role, as does Michael Rooker, Shannon Doherty and Priscilla Barnes.  But it is really Jason Lee who steals the movie.  His performance is the saving grace to Mallrats. Take out Jason Lee and you are left with a rather childish, immature film that tries to mimic Clerks. but never really succeeds. Jason Lee is so good in this film you relish every time he is on screen. His delivery of the witty lines written by Smith is fantastic and when he's not on screen you just wish he would return. Jeremy London on the other hand, is rather weak. His performance is straight out of a television movie of the week and pales in comparison to everyone else in the film.

Jay and Silent Bob are pretty good too, although overshadowed by Lee's performance, but are put in ridiculous situations that sometimes just feel stupid. Which is where the main problem with Mallrats lies.  The plot points are rather immature.  Smith tries to repeat the magic of Clerks., but unlike that film, which was confined to small locations, Mallrats moves throughtout the mall, and not very well I might add.  Ridiculous plot points, like a TV game show, feel forced and cheesy.  And Smith's direction of the action that takes place within the film is too minimalistic and comes off as weak.

Clerks. felt static in its direction, no movement just plain still shots that were rather bland.  Mallrats adds very little to this aesthetic.  While in color, and looking a hell of a lot glossier than Clerks., the camera doesn't do much to capture what is happening on the screen. One scene in particular, involving Silent Bob and a toy truck, is so poorly done it feels almost embarrasing to watch.  There is no cohesion to the scene, it just feels tacky and uninvolving. Smith's direction of this and many other scenes just feels boring.  So boring!  Smith seems to favour a point and shoot style of filmmaking which worked fairly well with Clerks. but fails miserably in Mallrats.

But that's not to say this film is boring, for it surely isn't. Smith's direction is weak, and his writing, although delivering goldmine after goldmine of hilarity,is somewhat poor when it doesn't involve a joke.  The soundtrack is pretty decent, in a mid-nineties kind of way and it's fun to hear these songs, some which I haven't heard in years.

What really makes this movie is Jason Lee.  He stands out and feels better than the movie he is in.  He is a joy to watch and whenever he is missing from the screen the movie starts to lag.  He alone makes Mallrats worth watching and raises this movie to heights it otherwise doesn't deserve. Smith is great at writing dialogue, and is pretty funny as Silent Bob, but in regards to writing plot and directing action, he comes off pretty weak here.

Mallrats is a somewhat disappointing follow up to Clerks., but is worth watching for Jason Lee's breakthrough performance and some truly funny dialogue.

Film Rating: 63%

Breakdown (How Mallrats scored 63%):

Production Design: 7 out of 10
Cinematography: 6 out of 10
Re-playability: 7 out of 10

Originality: 5 out of 10

Directing: 5 out of 10

Editing: 7 out of 10

Script: 5 out of 10

Acting: 7 out of 10
Sound: 6 out of 10
Music: 8 out of 10