Mallrats
Directed by Kevin Smith
- romance
- comedy
The story
Both dumped by their girlfriends, two best friends seek refuge in the local mall. Eventually, they decide to try and win back their significant others and take care of their respective nemeses.
What it’s like
Bright, flat fluorescent light over a suburban shopping mall, the kind of overlit interiors with polished tile floors, storefront signage and sterile food-court tables, and the whole film keeps its camera close and conversational, mostly static two-shots in ordinary rooms and corridors with little visual flourish. The mood is loose, talky and cheerfully aimless, a slacker comedy that feels like hanging around with friends who won't stop riffing, with the energy spiking into goofy game-show set pieces and a cheap, bouncy pop-rock soundtrack that fills the gaps between scenes. It suits a lazy weekend afternoon, a comfort rewatch, or something to put on with friends who don't need the plot to stay on track. Emotionally it stays light: two heartbroken guys bumble through misplaced schemes and gradually grow up a little, with romance treated as silly and sincere in equal measure. Language is crude and sexual humour runs throughout, with some nudity and drug references, but violence is minor and comic, and the tone never turns genuinely cruel or frightening. It is for viewers who enjoy irreverent, dialogue-driven comedies and don't mind a juvenile edge.
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