Mallrats

It was 1998 if I remember correctly when I saw in the TV Guide a comedy called Mallrats being shown pretty late but it received four out of four stars. So kind of intrigued I set the video-recorder’s timer and taped the movie. It started off with an intro by Dutch critic Jac. Goderie who if I remember correctly was raving about the film. So of course I watched it with high hopes and great anticipation and guess what... It turns out I loved the film. It had me bursting out in laughter many, many times and gave me 90 minutes of good clean fun. Of course this movie introduced me to Kevin Smith especially when a year later Jay & Silent Bob where on the Bill Board due to the release of Dogma which was rented on the good old VHS. When three years later Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back was released I bought my first DVD which was Clerks not even having a stand-alone DVD Player, just the one in my iMac together with a VHS tape of Chasing Amy. I just didn’t want to miss one in-joke between all the movies. But for me it all started with this film about a couple of kids in the mall.

Now big was my surprise when I read back interviews from other critics from the time of its release. They were devastating. It seemed that at the time the movie was universally panned. Which baffled me as this movie gave me such a good time and got pretty good reviews from my TV-Guide and Jac. Goderie. Maybe it’s the humor that just doesn’t connect to the usually older critics. Lines like "snootchie bootchies" will probably never catch on with anyone over 40 but if you’re 20 they sure do. Maybe it’s just a generation gap like when some 4 hour long costume drama receives unanimous critical praise and young people fall asleep after 10 minutes of watching due to complete boredom. Clerks, which was well received, did tackle some more adult themes but in the end was a black-and-white movie of 90 minutes about two people running a store and talking. Clerks was a very funny movie but I can see why critics love that movie more than Mallrats.

The critics had their way and Mallrats simply tanked at the box-office. But it turned out the movie had a second life on VHS and DVD. I have bought 3 different copies of it over the last few years. First a bare bones edition, then later a Special Edition and when in 2005 there was Ten Year Anniversary released with a shitload of extras, including a version with the original Governors Ball scene at the beginning. I actually never watched that version but I’m still glad I have it. Upon viewing the movie the tape went around amongst my circle of friends (yes, I have friends!) and they loved it too. It’s just an example of how a small flopped movie can keep alive and become something of a legend.

Now you might be wondering when I’m going to talk about the movie itself so here is a little piece of opinion: I loved the film. I just watched it last night with a friend and it had him laughing many, many times. I did too, even if the jokes are familiar to me as my mom is. It still had me laughing from time to time but of course not as hard as the first time I watched it. That’s the only down point but that isn’t the fault of the movie: somehow you always want to feel like you did that first time, but you never will. Luckily every now and then there’s a new Mallrats: like American Pie.
The movie isn’t perfect, the plot is there only to serve for the jokes and I’m sure all the comic book jokes will not reach everybody. Also at some points the movie could be better edited but those are just minor remarks about a movie that had me in stitches the first time I saw it and many times more after that. Now it might not be everbody’s cup of tea (which movie is?) but I suggest you give it a try if you haven’t seen it already and let yourself be surprised.

Laugh all you want, but at least this suit doesn’t have nipples