Both dumped by their girlfriends, two best friends seek refuge in the local mall.
Coming back onto Blu-ray with extended shots and updated 4K quality, “Mallrats” can easily be categorized as a film intended to bring audiences on a trip of nostalgia for its cult classic reputation. However, its capacity as a film with a more modern context only goes to show how outdated and outlandish certain plot elements and screen take dialogues were. It is clear to see that “Mallrats” thrived on a time when films were less oriented on telling a story than it was on delivering a fantasy.
“Mallrats” carries over classic stereotypes of nerds, beautiful female love interests, jocks, and the underdogs – all of which are found in their high school depicting setting. Instead of fulfilling these stereotypical roles, “Mallrats” delivers a backward twist, elevating the status of the nerds into living their fantasies of being with beautiful women and spending moments in the mall that resemble a B-grade comic book adventure.
TS Quint is played by Jeremy London and Brodie is played by Jason Lee, the two protagonists that suffer a breakup from their respective girlfriends and attempt to cope with their losses by finding adventure at the mall. Coincidentally, their exes are also seen meandering through, creating a perfect opportunity for the boys to win back their loves through angry elevator sex and hijacking a matchmaking TV show.
Lee plays Brodie with a sense of false gung-ho bravado that does not incite much sympathy and affection due to his 2-dimensional character portrayal. There is not much nuance to be had when a character’s personality is defined by his obsession with sex and Batman. On the other hand, London portrays Quint as a sensitive romantic, a sharp contrast to Brodie’s demeanor but nonetheless still a generic archetype.
In fact, all of the characters fit into a box of stereotypes with even more stereotypical behaviors and when paired with a wild goose chase around the mall to obtain their typical happy ending, the movie falls flat – unless it is played in the background of a coming-of-age film at a 12-year-old’s birthday party. What remains disappointing is that all the female characters are used akin to props that uphold a male-centered narrative instead of elevated on their own. Even Tricia, a 15-year-old girl interested in sex research and perhaps the most interesting out of all the female characters, is left to be grotesquely fetishized as a minor having illegal sex with older men or living a lesbian porno fantasy with other women.
Besides using outdated plot formulas and being a hormonally male-driven fantasy, “Mallrats” carries a special inside look and extended edition on this two-disc special. While the film will struggle to resonate with newer viewers, it can easily become a collectible for those that grew up appreciating films with edgy and crass humor.
Now available on a Special Limited Edition Blu-ray from Arrow Video
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Great coming of age movie. KUDOA