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Mallrats
Hello MoFo’s! It is time once again for another installment of At the Theater with The Gunslinger45. Problem is I could not make it to the theater. A combo of work related priorities (and beer) made me stay home this weekend. Oh and also cuz I want to save my money for AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON! Which just so happens is coming to the theater this Friday. So what better way to celebrate its release then by staying home and reviewing a comic book movie? A film with action, humor, romance, and it even has Stan Lee in it. Confused? Well I never lied in my statement. Sure the movie is not a SUPERHERO comic book movie, but the film is heavily influenced by the medium. From the opening credits with art inspired by early 90’s comics (namely Image and Jim Lee artwork), the movie poster, the various references to comic characters, movies such as Tim Burton’s Batman and Richard Donner’s Superman, to the inclusion of comic book legend Stan Lee himself. Also one of the primary characters in the film is a major comic book geek. So yeah this is a comic book movie written by a major comic fan and one of my favorite directors Kevin Smith.
T.S. Quint (Jeremy London) is a slacker college student in New Jersey. His plan is to propose to his long time girlfriend Brandy (Claire Forlani) on a trip to Florida. A great location in theory, but his actual proposal site in Florida is… unique to say the least. Trouble arises when obligations to her TV show producer father prevent her from leaving. A heated argument ensues and that leads to the young couple breaking up. Meanwhile his best friend Brodie Bruce (Jason Lee) is having his own girl troubles. Only his issues stem from his girlfriend Rene (played by Shannon Doherty) and her lack of fulfillment with their relationship. Apparently watching movies all night, playing Sega Genesis, and eating pizza is not the ideal date night for her. Worse of all, she has to sneak in to see him after his mother has fallen asleep. Nothing says keeper like living with your parents. Unsurprisingly, she dumps him hard. The two loveless chumps then decide to go to the mall to try and raise their spirits. But since this is a Kevin Smith movie, something as simple as going to the mall is going to end in hilarity. This is further going to be guaranteed when you have friends like Jay and Silent Bob. Throughout the course of the day the group of various young people embarked on various misadventures. Women are attempted to be won back, game shows are crashed, security guards are battled, blunts are smoked, and a man dressed as the Easter Bunny will be assaulted. Which serves the little bastard right for drawing worship from the Lord during the celebration of his resurrection.
This film is a lot of fun and is blessed with a fantastic cast. Michael Rooker (of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Walking Dead, and most recently Guardians of the Galaxy fame) plays Brandie’s father and he is excellent as the main obstacle of the movie. Shannon Doherty plays Rene as a pseudo-bitch extremely well. Ben Affleck plays bad guy Shannon Hamilton very convincingly, Jeremy London handles Kevin’s SAT vocabulary filled dialogue like it was second nature, and Jay and Silent Bob are once again mischievous troublemakers of the movie. But the biggest scene stealer of the entire movie is Jason Lee. In his first cinematic lead role Lee proves that the man has what it takes to be a lead actor. Not only does Lee have the charisma necessary to make you like a lovable loser like Brodie, but he has the comedic chops to pull off some of the best lines in the flick. I can’t see anyone other than him in that role. And as much as I like Affleck I can’t see him (or even Damon for that matter) telling the story of how his cousin Walter got a cat stuck in his ass, wax philosophical about Superman’s marriage to Lois Lane, or describe the ancient art of the “stink palm.” But aside from him, we also have TV star Priscilla Barnes in a very different role then what she is used to. And last but not least, Stan “The Man” Lee is indeed in the movie. And not for a single line cameo, this time he gets actual dialogue. Hell, he plays a significant role in the third act of the movie. And I hear he will be doing the same in the upcoming Mallrats 2.
This film was also Kevin Smith’s first (and best) attempt at a mainstream studio film. Smith rose from Sundance to Hollywood by the late uber producer Jim Jacks. Where Smith’s previous films like Clerks, Dogma, and Chasing Amy reflected his personal feelings and experiences about working at a convenience store, a crisis of faith, and his own insecurities in a relationship respectively; Mallrats was supposed to be a simple titty sex comedy movie. As such, while the film is heavily littered with Smith's usual touches, the plot more reflects the likes of other mainstream movies. The losers rising up to fight the system plot has been seen in everything from Animal House to Ghostbusters. And the film revolving heavily around young love, relationships, and focuses on teenagers in school has a bit of a John Hughes feel to it. The final product results with bigger jokes reflective of a bigger budget. In fact Smith goes from making Clerks for about $27,000 to making Mallrats on a budget of $6 million. Problem was Gramercy Pictures can’t advertise worth a damn so the film was a tremendous disaster at the box office. But the film is a MONSTER hit on DVD and VHS. It became a cult classic and served many as the gateway drug to the View Askew Universe. And while I do love the flick to death, there are issues with the movie. The was forced into rewrites during filming and that does lead to some bad ADR in certain scenes, and whole scenes that had to be reshot and reedited to make the film work. The film does still work as a whole, but the keen cinematic eye of the viewer will probably pick up on a few errors in the movie. But they are minor, and will be overshadowed by the laughs on the first viewing.
This film is by no means a box office titan like The Avengers. But it does not have to be. This is a film loved dearly by those who more than likely saw it by renting it from Blockbuster (like I did) or by watching it on DVD at the behest of an older sibling, possibly to corrupt the youth. If you like Kevin Smith movies, you probably saw this already. If you are not a Kevin Smith fan, you can pass on this. If you are curious about Smith as a director and have yet to see any of his work, this is a fantastic place to start.
Mallrats
Hello MoFo’s! It is time once again for another installment of At the Theater with The Gunslinger45. Problem is I could not make it to the theater. A combo of work related priorities (and beer) made me stay home this weekend. Oh and also cuz I want to save my money for AVENGERS AGE OF ULTRON! Which just so happens is coming to the theater this Friday. So what better way to celebrate its release then by staying home and reviewing a comic book movie? A film with action, humor, romance, and it even has Stan Lee in it. Confused? Well I never lied in my statement. Sure the movie is not a SUPERHERO comic book movie, but the film is heavily influenced by the medium. From the opening credits with art inspired by early 90’s comics (namely Image and Jim Lee artwork), the movie poster, the various references to comic characters, movies such as Tim Burton’s Batman and Richard Donner’s Superman, to the inclusion of comic book legend Stan Lee himself. Also one of the primary characters in the film is a major comic book geek. So yeah this is a comic book movie written by a major comic fan and one of my favorite directors Kevin Smith.
T.S. Quint (Jeremy London) is a slacker college student in New Jersey. His plan is to propose to his long time girlfriend Brandy (Claire Forlani) on a trip to Florida. A great location in theory, but his actual proposal site in Florida is… unique to say the least. Trouble arises when obligations to her TV show producer father prevent her from leaving. A heated argument ensues and that leads to the young couple breaking up. Meanwhile his best friend Brodie Bruce (Jason Lee) is having his own girl troubles. Only his issues stem from his girlfriend Rene (played by Shannon Doherty) and her lack of fulfillment with their relationship. Apparently watching movies all night, playing Sega Genesis, and eating pizza is not the ideal date night for her. Worse of all, she has to sneak in to see him after his mother has fallen asleep. Nothing says keeper like living with your parents. Unsurprisingly, she dumps him hard. The two loveless chumps then decide to go to the mall to try and raise their spirits. But since this is a Kevin Smith movie, something as simple as going to the mall is going to end in hilarity. This is further going to be guaranteed when you have friends like Jay and Silent Bob. Throughout the course of the day the group of various young people embarked on various misadventures. Women are attempted to be won back, game shows are crashed, security guards are battled, blunts are smoked, and a man dressed as the Easter Bunny will be assaulted. Which serves the little bastard right for drawing worship from the Lord during the celebration of his resurrection.
This film is a lot of fun and is blessed with a fantastic cast. Michael Rooker (of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, The Walking Dead, and most recently Guardians of the Galaxy fame) plays Brandie’s father and he is excellent as the main obstacle of the movie. Shannon Doherty plays Rene as a pseudo-bitch extremely well. Ben Affleck plays bad guy Shannon Hamilton very convincingly, Jeremy London handles Kevin’s SAT vocabulary filled dialogue like it was second nature, and Jay and Silent Bob are once again mischievous troublemakers of the movie. But the biggest scene stealer of the entire movie is Jason Lee. In his first cinematic lead role Lee proves that the man has what it takes to be a lead actor. Not only does Lee have the charisma necessary to make you like a lovable loser like Brodie, but he has the comedic chops to pull off some of the best lines in the flick. I can’t see anyone other than him in that role. And as much as I like Affleck I can’t see him (or even Damon for that matter) telling the story of how his cousin Walter got a cat stuck in his ass, wax philosophical about Superman’s marriage to Lois Lane, or describe the ancient art of the “stink palm.” But aside from him, we also have TV star Priscilla Barnes in a very different role then what she is used to. And last but not least, Stan “The Man” Lee is indeed in the movie. And not for a single line cameo, this time he gets actual dialogue. Hell, he plays a significant role in the third act of the movie. And I hear he will be doing the same in the upcoming Mallrats 2.
This film was also Kevin Smith’s first (and best) attempt at a mainstream studio film. Smith rose from Sundance to Hollywood by the late uber producer Jim Jacks. Where Smith’s previous films like Clerks, Dogma, and Chasing Amy reflected his personal feelings and experiences about working at a convenience store, a crisis of faith, and his own insecurities in a relationship respectively; Mallrats was supposed to be a simple titty sex comedy movie. As such, while the film is heavily littered with Smith's usual touches, the plot more reflects the likes of other mainstream movies. The losers rising up to fight the system plot has been seen in everything from Animal House to Ghostbusters. And the film revolving heavily around young love, relationships, and focuses on teenagers in school has a bit of a John Hughes feel to it. The final product results with bigger jokes reflective of a bigger budget. In fact Smith goes from making Clerks for about $27,000 to making Mallrats on a budget of $6 million. Problem was Gramercy Pictures can’t advertise worth a damn so the film was a tremendous disaster at the box office. But the film is a MONSTER hit on DVD and VHS. It became a cult classic and served many as the gateway drug to the View Askew Universe. And while I do love the flick to death, there are issues with the movie. The was forced into rewrites during filming and that does lead to some bad ADR in certain scenes, and whole scenes that had to be reshot and reedited to make the film work. The film does still work as a whole, but the keen cinematic eye of the viewer will probably pick up on a few errors in the movie. But they are minor, and will be overshadowed by the laughs on the first viewing.
This film is by no means a box office titan like The Avengers. But it does not have to be. This is a film loved dearly by those who more than likely saw it by renting it from Blockbuster (like I did) or by watching it on DVD at the behest of an older sibling, possibly to corrupt the youth. If you like Kevin Smith movies, you probably saw this already. If you are not a Kevin Smith fan, you can pass on this. If you are curious about Smith as a director and have yet to see any of his work, this is a fantastic place to start.