If Kevin Smith got off to a legendary start with his first film, Clerks, then his follow-up, Mallrats, represented an unfortunate misstep that almost ended his career. It's not that Mallrats is BAD, per say...just that it isn't very good. Mallrats contains many of the things that makes Kevin Smith's films so endearing and popular: impeccable and quotable writing, an ensemble cast including cameos from Smith's personal heroes, and a wealth of profanity that masks a warm and disarming humanism. And yet, Mallrats doesn't work. I personally blame the two main characters. T.S. Quint and Brodie Bruce are two young slackers who journey to a local mall in order to get over the fact that both of their girlfriends dumped them. They decide to sabotage a dating show that is scheduled to be filmed there run by none other than the despotic father of Quint's ex-girlfriend. The problem is that on their own they aren't very memorable characters. Dante and Randal from Clerks were the embodiment of the lifestyle, hopes, and angst of the Slacker Generation. Quint and Bruce are...not. In fact, they seem like counterfeits of Dante and Randal. Mallrats takes place in the View Askewniverse, the cinematic universe that contains Clerks and the rest of Kevin Smith's New Jersey Saga. As such, there are cameos and crossovers from characters from the different movies, most notably the infamous Jay and Silent Bob, a pair of drug dealers who loiter outside of the convenience store in Clerks and became de facto mascots for Smith's films. So, the audience is aware that we are in the same world as Clerks, yet we are forced to mainly follow a group of characters that are largely uninteresting. People who see Clerks remember Dante and Randal for the rest of their lives. But who really remembers Quint and Bruce? Mallrats would represent a low point in the View Askewniverse. But thankfully, Smith would rebound with his next film, considered by many to be his single greatest accomplishment.
5/10
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