Kevin Smith’s second film, 1995 comedy Mallrats, made with large budget and stars in the cast, was in completely different league compared with his first film Clerks. Despite that, it is actually prequel to that film, with plot set a day before events in Clerks. Protagonist, played by Jason Lee, is Brodie, unemployed young man who shares the same predicament with his best friend T.S., played by Jeremy London – both are dumped by their girlfriends Brandi and Renee, played by Claire Forlani and Shannen Doherty respectively. Having nothing else to do they go to local shopping mall and engage in pranks that would culminate in their sabotage of dating show in which Brandi happens to be participant. Smith in this film continues using his formula that consists of mild social commentary, rough humour and plenty of pop culture references. Despite large numbers of stars, including legendary comic book writer Stan Lee in one of his first famous cameos, Mallrats still looks fresh and genuine enough to earn favour of Kevin Smith’s fans as well as the fans of 1990s independent cinema.
RATING: 8/10