Mallrats: Collector`s Edition (US)

He`s back, with a big budget studio behind him. Can Kevin Smith repeat the success of Clerks (both in terms of critical acclaim and box office returns - in excess of £9m on a $25,000 original outlay) in this, the second part of the New Jersey Trilogy?

Well, yes and no. Depends on your point of view, I suppose. Personally, I love this film. Admittedly, it helps to be a fan of KS and of his first film, Clerks.

I guess I must be easily pleased - the critics gave it a panning, and box office receipts were dismal (due in no small part to the distributors inability to successfully market the thing). Straight to video in the UK. Still, you can`t please all of the people . . . . .

Film: It`s not exactly an original storyline - girl dumps boy, boy hangs out at mall trying to find some direction, boy visits topless psychic, girl appears on father`s TV `blind date` style gameshow, boy switches places with other contestants etc, etc - but it does have a few twists along the way, and with KS at the helm, you know the dialogue is going to be `athletic` to say the least. Also, being a Kevin Smith picture, you somehow know the leading men will be jaded individuals with believable character flaws for whom little goes right - and he doesn`t disappoint. Brodie, the wisemouth comic collector and man with `no shopping agenda` and TS, pining after a lost girlfriend (who`s father hates him) - being the Mallrats. Jay and Silent Bob also get a second outing, wrecking their own particular brand of havoc. Never a dull moment.

Some interesting casting, with Shannen (90210) Docherty and Ben Affleck putting in appearances, although neither exactly set the film alight. That honour falls almost single-handedly to Jason Lee (Brodie); the venom with which he delivers some of his putdowns is amazing.

Transfer: With the original film costing IRO $6m, Miramax appear to have attempted to make up for their poor promotion efforts with this disk. The print is very clean and bright with a seemingly faithful transfer to disk. Both sound and picture quality benefitted from the extra cash not available in KS`s first film and both have been well reproduced. You will excuse me if I don`t spend more time going into the quality of the blacks or the `noise` in the picture, but frankly the content of the film is more important to me. As long as there are no horrendous colour casts, I could care less whether blacks are `very black` or `very nearly black` - if you don`t like it, adjust the brightness. Sorry.

Extras. If you ever wanted disks to demonstrate just what DVD can do, this has got to be one on your list, even if you aren`t that keen on the film. Not only is there an audio commentary, but using the angle option you will get a picture-in-picture view of the commentary team in the studio as they discuss the making of the film. Then there is over an hour (yes, an hour) of deleted footage, including a completely different opening sequence lasting over half an hour. The usual trailers are in there too, with a music video and production stills.

As with Clerks, this film isn`t for everyone. Although it was rated 15 in the UK, the language, whilst never being gratuitous, is fairly coarse and the offensive nature of Brodie may make some of the more delicate viewers uncomfortable.

Another very well scripted offering from Kevin Smith. Allegedly the studio wanted a `smart` Porky`s and this is what they got. KS`s influences are easy to spot, particularly the teen genre so well executed by John `Breakfast Club` Hughes before he turned to the dark side and went all Home Alone. Touching to think someone still cares.

A R2 version? Hmmm, seems unlikely. Show your support and go multi-region.

Visit www.viewaskew.com for more.

Snoochie Boochies . . . .

One of the best commentaries ever.

Kevin Smith's second outing really didn't deserve the panning by the critics that it received. I thought it was really rather good... mainly due to the brilliant Jason Lee, oh, and it probably had something to do with Kevin Smith's outstanding direction and/or writing as well!!

This R1 disc is excellent (much better that it's featureless R2 colleague) - video and audio are both pretty good (outstanding compared to Clerks!), but it's the extras that make this disc stand out.

There's a 21 min featurette that's very interesting (so much better than the usual making ofs that we get), a trailer, some production notes & photos, bios & film highlights of the main cast, and a music video directed by Kevin Smith that's very funny. But the main highlights are the deleted scenes and audio commentary.

There's just over an hour of deleted scenes, which are all interesting given the intros from Smith that each are given. My only gripe is that they have not been split into chapters so you can't skip through them. The audio commentary is excellent - almost as funny as the movie itself. And we even get a video option for certain scenes.

Overall, excellent film and excellent disc. Don't bother with the R2 version - this is the only version of the film that a fan should own. Incidentally, the Kevin Smith trilogy is available for about £31 from DVDBoxoffice (Clerks, Mallrats & Chasing Amy).

Content

Chronologically, Mallrats occurs the day before the events in Smith's first feature, Clerks. T.S Quint (Jeremy London) is planning a weekend getaway with his girlfriend, Brandi Svenning (Claire Forlani). Unfortunately certain events, for which T.S. isn't entirely blameless, prompt a huge argument that leads to the pair breaking up (well, Brandi dumping T.S. at any rate). This greatly pleases Brandi's father, who absolutely loathes T.S. Mr Svenning is an aspiring television producer who just happens to want his darling daughter to appear on his tacky "Blind Date" style game show.

Seeking solace over his loss, T.S. heads off to visit his best friend Brodie Bruce (Jason Lee), a guy who has turned lack of direction into an art form. Brodie has also just been dumped by his girlfriend Rene (Shannen Doherty), but seems far less concerned about this turn of events than T.S. Seeking to take their minds off of their respective exes, the pair head to the local shopping mall. When T.S. and Brodie discover that Brandi's father is planning to host his game show at that same mall, they hatch a plan to sabotage the proceedings, enlisting the ultimate slackers `"Jay and Silent Bob" to help them accomplish their goal.

Along the way we get to meet all sorts of weird and wacky characters who inhabit the mall, including the sexually deviant owner of 'Fashionable Male' (played by Ben Affleck) who just happens to be hitting on Brodie's girl, Willam Black (Ethan Suplee), who has more than a little trouble with magic eye posters, and marvel Comic's legend Stan Lee in a small cameo.

Mallrats is probably the weakest of Kevin Smith's films, but that's not to say it is as bad as the critics say. Many of the problems stem from the fact that certain scenes don't 'feel' like they belong in a Smith film, most probably because of the studio's involvement. The standard of the acting is also highly variable, with London unable to carry off his role as leading man T.S. Fortunately Jason Lee is as good as ever and, while he'll never win an Academy Award, has the perfect voice and delivery for Smith's dialogue, which is as sharp as ever.

Both Claire Forlani and Shannen Doherty are fine as the female leads, although Forlani's English accent comes through loud and clear in many scenes. Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith (as their alter egos Jay and Silent Bob) have a lot more to do in Mallrats than they did in Clerks, and I for one welcome their presence. You can't help loving Mewes, who has a very unique approach to acting. Smith's best moments as Silent Bob are when he remains slilent, and thankfully he only opens his mouth once during the course of the film. Together Jay and Silent Bob contribute to many of the more memorable comedic moments throughout the film. Oh, special mention must also go to Stan Lee, if only for the fact that the guy is a legend!

Video

The 1.85:1 anamorphic video is a mixed affair. On the whole the quality is fine, but I found the picture a little soft for my liking. The colour palette also seems a little dull and washed out at times, and there are a couple of instances where the brightness seems to fluctuate rapidly. However, this may have just been some badly inserted footage from one of the many re-shoots. It's not a bad transfer by any means, as on the whole there are no major image problems to report, it just can't compete with the likes of T2 or Fight Club.

Audio

Mallrats comes complete with a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, which is almost overkill for this type of movie. I found the music to be a little muted at times, but the all-important dialogue was always nice and clear. What little surround action there is has been limited to a few nice spot effects during the action sequences, as well as general ambience in the mall. There is even the odd rumble from the sub, which is satisfying, but this is certainly no 'Saving Private Ryan'.

Features

This is where the disc comes into its own, with a brilliant array of extra material. Chief among this is the fantastic audio commentary featuring Kevin Smith, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Ben Affleck, Scott Mosier and Vincent Pereira. This commentary is the best I've heard (with the possible exception of Dogma), mixing interesting info and anecdotes from the set with hilarious banter. Most of this banter is between Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck, and the two friends obviously enjoy ripping into one another. The rest of the cast and crew chime in with amusing or interesting comments from time to time, but it is clear that Smith and Affleck are driving the proceedings. In addition to the actor's voices, you can also activate the multi angle feature of the disc to watch selected live footage of the cast in the studio recording the commentary. I say selected live footage, as the video track doesn't run the full length of the disc as it does with some releases.

Another interesting segment is the "Viewaskew Production's Look Back At Mallrats". This is basically Kevin Smith defending the film from the harsh criticism levied at it. In the sequence he talks about the studio's involvement, and his thoughts on why the movie bombed at the box office. This is an entertaining piece to watch, and worth more than one viewing.

Next we have the deleted scenes. Containing over an hours worth of material, you're not going to get bored too quickly! Along with two completely new openings for the film (one filmed, another in script form), the viewer is treated to many clips and outtakes, all introduced by Kevin Smith.

Also included is the MCA Soundtrack Presentations music video for The Goop's "Build Me Up Buttercup", a song that also appeared in the film "There's Something About Mary", albeit in a vastly different form. The video, directed by Kevin Smith, features Jay and Silent Bob clowning around and is introduced with a sign that says `How To Make A Movie Tie-In Music Video When You Can`t Get Spike Jonze.`

Next come the production notes and some unusually comprehensive cast and filmmaker biographies. The penultimate extra is the theatrical trailer, which makes the film look a lot more exciting than it actually is! Finally we have a Universal web link and an unadvertised easter egg.

All of the extras are accessible through a series of well designed, comic book themed animated menus. All in all this is an admirable collection of supplemental material, as is the norm for Smith DVDs.

Overall

With Mallrats you're basically getting a fairly average film on an above average DVD. There are certainly enough moments in the movie to keep you amused, and even a few belly laughs, but just don't expect another 'Clerks'. When viewed as part of the whole "Askewniverse", Mallrats is probably the least memorable instalment. That's my take on it anyway, although I'm sure many will disagree. Basically, Smith fans will buy this film no matter what I say, so it's a good job that the disc is a corker. Recommended for ardent fans of the New Jersey films, but everyone else may do well to try before they buy.