Mallrats

Mallrats
Theatrical poster by Drew Struzan
Directed by	Kevin Smith
Produced by	Sean Daniel James Jacks Scott Mosier
Written by	Kevin Smith
Starring	Jason Lee Jeremy London Shannen Doherty Claire Forlani Ben Affleck Joey Lauren Adams Michael Rooker Priscilla Barnes Jason Mewes Kevin Smith Renee Humphrey Ethan Suplee Stan Lee
Cinematography	David Klein
Editing by	Paul Dixon
Studio	View Askew Productions Alphaville
Distributed by	Gramercy Pictures
Release date(s)	October 20, 1995 (1995-10-20)
Running time	94 minutes 123 minutes (extended version DVD)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6,100,000
Box office	$2,122,561 (USA)

Mallrats is a 1995 film written and directed by Kevin Smith. It is the second to be set in Smith's View Askewniverse series of interlocking films set mostly in New Jersey, although the movie was filmed in Eden Prairie Center and Osowski's Flea Market which are located in Minnesota. As in the other View Askewniverse movies, the characters Jay and Silent Bob figure prominently, and characters and events from other films are discussed. Several cast members, including Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, and Joey Lauren Adams, have gone on to work in several other Smith films. Comic book icon Stan Lee appeared, as did Brian O'Halloran, the star of Smith's breakout feature Clerks.

Plot

The film takes place the day before Clerks. (In Clerks, Randal Graves tells Dante Hicks that Julie Dwyer died the day before. In Mallrats, Brandi Svenning asks T.S. Quint if he talked to Dwyer the day before and he replies yes. Then Brandi says Dwyer went straight to the YMCA after Quint's discussion with her, where she dies of an embolism.) T.S. Quint (Jeremy London) is preparing for a trip to Universal Studios in Florida with Brandi Svenning (Claire Forlani), during which he plans to propose to her; however, Brandi tells him she cannot go because she has volunteered to fill in as a contestant on Truth or Date, her father's dating game show, and they argue over it and eventually break up. Quint turns to his best friend Brodie Bruce (Jason Lee), who has also broken up with his girlfriend, Rene Mosier (Shannen Doherty) after having an argument, and Bruce suggests the two might find solace at the local mall.

Brodie and T.S. discover Truth or Date is being filmed at the same mall, and ask local drug dealers Jay and Silent Bob (Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith) to destroy the show's stage (which they admit that they had already intended to do, after stealing blueprints), a task for which they devise elaborate but ultimately unsuccessful plans. These actions result in the two being pursued by mall security guard LaFours (Sven-Ole Thorsen), but are able to escape him. Brodie finds out Rene began a relationship with his nemesis Shannon Hamilton (Ben Affleck), a clothing store manager who hates Brodie because of his "lack of a shopping agenda." Brodie confronts Rene to find out more about her relationship with Hamilton and the two have sex on an elevator. Rene seems to have some respect for Brodie once more, but the latter is later confronted and assaulted by Hamilton, who admits on intending to seduce Rene and then have sex with her in a "very uncomfortable place"; a running joke is that this is interpreted as the "back of a Volkswagen". As a result of this incident, Jay and Silent Bob assault the mall's Easter Bunny, under the wrongful assumption that he attacked Brodie.

Jared Svenning (Michael Rooker), Brandi's father, who is aware of Brodie and T.S's presence at the mall, has the two arrested by LaFours. Jay and Silent Bob are able to rescue Brodie and T.S. and are once again able to evade LaFours. Meanwhile, Brodie and T.S. seek refuge at a local flea market, where they meet local fortune teller Ivannah (Priscilla Barnes). T.S. decides to win back Brandi and the two return to the mall. Before the show begins, Brodie receives advice on romance from Stan Lee, who was visiting the mall. Brodie requests to his friend Tricia Jones (Renee Humphrey) to retrieve footage of her sexual intercourse with Hamilton. Tricia herself was doing a project in which she had sex with a number of male adults, despite being only 15 years old, for a book about the sex drive of men. Meanwhile, T.S. also persuades Jay and Silent Bob to get two of the game show contestants stoned, which allow him and Brodie to replace them on Truth or Date.

During the show, Brandi recognizes the voices of Brodie and T.S., and an argument ensues between the three while being aired as well as being in front of the crowd. Brodie admits to Brandi that T.S. had spent all day trying to win her back. then proposes to Brandi, to which she accepts. As the police arrive to arrest T.S. and Brodie after the show is over, Silent Bob plays a sex tape of Hamilton and Jones, which results in Hamilton being arrested. Brodie and Rene renew their relationship as a result. The conclusion reveals that T.S. marries Brandi, while the show's producers are so impressed with Brodie's stage banter that they offer him his own talk show, with Rene as his bandleader.

Making Mallrats

Pre-production

After the success of the independent hit Clerks, writer/director Kevin Smith and his best friend/producer Scott Mosier began to make their second film. After a screening of Clerks, producer James Jacks approached them to do another movie for Universal Studios. Kevin Smith soon finished the script for this new film, and casting began. They cast Jeremy London, an actor with a TV series and a few movies to his credit as T.S. Shannen Doherty was the most famous cast member after her appearances in many movies and the hit TV shows Little House on the Prairie and Beverly Hills, 90210 (there is a reference to the latter when Willam mistakenly calls Rene Brenda). Jason Lee was cast with no prior acting experience; before the film he was a professional skateboarder. Lee has since appeared in all of Smith's films except Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and is the godfather of Smith's child, Harley Quinn Smith. Since Mallrats, Lee has gone on to achieve fame as the title character on the TV show My Name is Earl. Ben Affleck, who was a relative unknown at the time, was cast as Shannon Hamilton. He later achieved fame and starred in films such as Good Will Hunting and The Sum of All Fears. Affleck has also appeared in all of Smith's films, with the exception of Clerks, Cop Out, Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Red State. Joey Lauren Adams was cast as Gwen Turner. She would later date Smith, and during that time he wrote the main character in Chasing Amy for her. Ethan Suplee was cast as Willam Black. Producer Scott Mosier was supposed to reprise the role, but Smith and the film's producers were so impressed with Suplee that they cast him instead. The most troublesome role to cast was Jay, as the studio did not want Jason Mewes to reprise his role from Clerks, which Smith had written for him. Mewes had to audition for the part against actors such as Seth Green and Breckin Meyer.

Reception

Mallrats was the subject of much critical derision when it was released, with many critics comparing it unfavorably to Smith's first film, Clerks.^[1] In his negative review of the film, critic Roger Ebert said "Before Mallrats was released, I chaired a panel that Smith participated in and Kevin Smith cheerfully said he'd be happy to do whatever the studios wanted, if they'd pay for his films. At the time, I thought he was joking."^[2] Kevin Smith responded by apologizing for Mallrats at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards, though he later stated that the apology was made in jest. Nevertheless, the film developed a strong cult following after it was released on video.^[3] Rotten Tomatoes maintains Mallrats with a 54% Tomatometer rating.

Cast

• Shannen Doherty as Rene Mosier
• Jeremy London as T.S. Quint
• Jason Lee as Brodie Bruce
• Claire Forlani as Brandi Svenning
• Jason Mewes as Jay
• Kevin Smith as Silent Bob
• Ben Affleck as Shannon Hamilton
• Joey Lauren Adams as Gwen Turner
• Renee Humphrey as Tricia Jones
• Michael Rooker as Jared Svenning
• Ethan Suplee as Willam Black
• Sven-Ole Thorsen as La Fours
• Scott Mosier as Roddy
• Priscilla Barnes as Miss Ivannah
• Walt Flanagan as Walt "Fanboy" Grover
• Bryan Johnson as Steve-Dave Pulasti
• Stan Lee as Himself
• Brian O'Halloran as Gil Hicks, Suitor #3
• Mitchell Evans as himself
• Thomas "Longball Dresser" Dahl as Rabbit Hitter, Boy #1
• Aaron Mohr as kid on escalator
• Tyler Purdon as unknown Suitor
• Ethan Flower as Doug Paging, Suitor #1
• Ed Hapstak as Rob Feature, Suitor #2
• Art James as Bob Summers, host of Truth or Date
• Malcolm Ingram as grumpy, leaning extra (Uncredited)

Home media

A DVD was released in 1999 including 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen picture & 5.1 Dolby surround sound bonus features include^[4]:

• Audio commentary with Director Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Scott Mosier & Vincent Pereira
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurette-View Askew's Look Back At Mallrats
• Music Video-Build Me Up Buttercup by The Goops (Directed by Kevin Smith)
• Theatrical trailer

The Region 2 version of this special edition, presumably by error, also contains the complete DVD menus for Carlito's Way hidden on the disc.

Alternate version

In 2005, a tenth anniversary DVD was released, adding almost 30 minutes of footage that were never seen. In addition to the original theatrical cut of the film it features an alternate cut of the movie created specifically for the release, based on an early cut of the film. Included in the previously deleted footage (which is included on the previously released DVD) are several different subplots that were cut out from the movie^[5]:

• An alternate opening scene, in which Mr. Svenning hosts a Ball for The Governor of New Jersey. In this scene, T.S. accidentally shoots the Governor on the roof of a school, which ends up costing Mr. Svenning his reputation as well as a big pay raise. This explains the reason why Svenning shows an intense dislike for T.S. and why Brandi is so intent on breaking up with him. This scene also makes no mention of Julie Dwyer's death, as the theatrical cut did.
• Included scenes where T.S. also makes it known to Brandi that he proposed to marry her.
• A scene in which Brodie and T.S. arrive outside of Mr. Svenning's home, and during the confusion, a news crew records footage of Mr. Svenning doing martial arts in a bath-towel. (Some of this footage was re-edited in the theatrical release in different scenes.)
• A shot that shows the Quick Stop from Clerks.
• A new subplot of Brodie showing intentions of wanting to be on television, which explains his surprised look during his appearance on Truth or Date.
• An extended arrest scene in which La Fours wants to put Brodie and T.S. into jail for an extended period of time, rather than "overnight" when the pair were initially arrested.
• An extended fight scene between Brodie and Shannon Hamilton, in which Hamilton tells Brodie to forget Rene.
• An extended rant from Mr. Svenning, a result of T.S. making it slip that he intended to propose to Brandi.
• A scene after Truth or Date in which the Mr. Svenning demands to have T.S. and Brodie arrested, but instead he is the one who is arrested. It turns out that since Svenning was the producer of the show, he faces multiple FCC fines for Brodie's antics.
• An extended "Where are they now?" ending sequence, in which Mr. Svenning is revealed to finally get a job at the network as a janitor and a shot of Shannon Hamilton screaming after his rape in prison.
• A scene that showed Tricia Jones flirting and having sex with La Fours in order to distract him from catching Jay and Silent Bob. This explains the final segment in the 'where are they now' ending sequence, showing La Fours kissing Tricia during the book signing.

In addition, some of the dialogue had been re-dubbed in the theatrical release, but is restored in this version. (For example, the man who runs up to and is subsequently punched by T.S. outside the mall near the end originally asked if T.S. was the one who shot the governor, whereas in the theatrical cut, he asks T.S. if he was the one who broke up with Brandi Svenning.)

Soundtrack

Main article: Mallrats (soundtrack)

Ties to New Jersey

• Rahway, New Jersey, is mentioned at the end of the film. Rahway State Prison is around 45 minutes from the area where Kevin Smith's movies take place. Rahway State Penitentiary is a prison in New Jersey, which is also where Scared Straight! was filmed.
• At the beginning of the movie Brodie wears a shirt for Henry Hudson Regional High School, a school that Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes attended in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.^[6][7]
• Smith wanted to film the movie in Seaview Square Mall in Ocean Township, New Jersey, but filmed it at Eden Prairie Center mall in Eden Prairie, Minnesota instead due to lower production costs.^[8] Eden Prairie is later worked into View Askewniverse continuity in Chasing Amy.
• Menlo Park, New Jersey is mentioned in the easter bunny beating scene. The easter bunny is said to have assaulted Brodie and TS because they stated the "Easter Bunny in the Menlo Park mall was more convincing." Menlo Park is also mentioned in Chasing Amy when Holden (Affleck) quizzes Alyssa (Adams) on Jersey landmarks.

References

1. ^ Turan, Kenneth (1995-10-20). "Mallrats' No Match for Ultra-Low-Budget 'Clerks". LA Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1995-10-20/entertainment/ca-59005_1_clerks-mallrats-movie. Retrieved 2010-08-24. 
2. ^ Ebert, Roger (1995-10-20). "Mallrats". rogerebert.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-28.
3. ^ Vasconcellos, Eduardo (2005-10-13). "'Mallrats' cult phenomenon". Daily Titan. http://74.125.95.104/search?q=cache:ExnSuVzmKVAJ:www.dailytitan.com/news/2005/10/13/TheBuzzflashbackFavorites/mallrats.Cult.Phenomenon-1539806.shtml. Retrieved 2008-08-28. 
4. ^ Mallrats Collector's Edition DVD
5. ^ Mallrats 10th Anniversary DVD
6. ^ Only on Film
7. ^ Garbarine, Rachelle (1996-04-28). "In the Region/New Jersey;Fade Out a Flea Market, Fade In a Multiplex Theater". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802E4D81639F93BA15757C0A960958260. Retrieved 2008-08-28. 
8. ^ Beckerman, Jim (1995-10-15). "New Jersey and "Mallrats" -- perfect together? Not according to Gramercy Pictures, which nixed the New Jersey locations that writer-director Kevin Smith had scouted for the follow-up movie to his surp". The Record. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22489783.html. Retrieved 2008-08-28. 

External links

• Mallrats at the Internet Movie Database
• Mallrats at Rotten Tomatoes
• Mallrats at View Askew Productions