"They're not there to shop. - They're not there to work.

Mallrats (1995): 7/10

Poster (c) Universal Studios

I have finally completed seeing the five movies in he Jay and Silent Bob series by Kevin Smith. Jersey Girl obviously doesn't count. And, much like Jackie Brown completed my Tarantino films and was about third in my list of favorites of his movie, Mallrats is the same. Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back are much funnier than Mallrats, but it's better than Chasing Amy (a romantic comedy with no laughs?) and Dogma (unfunny and insulting-and I'm Jewish). So Mallrats falls right into the middle. It's not anything groundbreaking, but there's worse ways to spend 90 minutes.

T.S. (Jeremy London) and Brodie (Jason Lee) have both just been dumped by their girlfriends on the same morning. They decide to take refuge in the local mall, where various wacky events occur.

I've found that all Kevin Smith movies are hit or miss, and this one does both. Unlike the other four, Mallrats has some good, very funny moments, but for the most part, I wasn't laughing. I knew this wouldn't be as outrageous as his first and last films, but I was thinking some good solid laughs would come about throughout the movie. A couple chuckles here and there, but not much. On the contrary, the movie was constantly entertaining and fun to watch. I think that's what some comedy is about: entertainment more than laughs. You can relate to all the characters in one way or another. They feel almost like they're your friends. So it's basically a movie where you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy it.

There are some great scenes (as to be expected from all Smith movies) here, including Willam (Ethan Suplee) trying to see a magic picture, Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Smith in thankfully large roles) trying to destroy a stage in the mall, and a topless fortune teller (Priscilla Barnes). They're all funny. The acting in this film is surprisingly good, considering this is basically a stoner comedy. Jason Lee steals the show-again. He was basically the only good part of Dogma and saved Chasing Amy. And he's great here, too. Some of the other characters aren't really developed, but it doesn't really matter. It's just an entertaining movie overall, no more, no less.

Rated R for strong language, including sexual dialogue, and for some scenes of sexuality and drug content.

Review Date: July 16, 2004