Mallrats [Blu-ray]

Excellent classic Kevin Smith produced movie. Helped advance the career of tons of stars, and even has a heartwarming cameo by Stan Lee, giving character Brody a pep talk. Very funny romantic comedy. Includes bonus content and extended release. Reasonable price for a cult classic on Blu-ray. This is actually my favorite Kevin Smith movie.

Funny move and has both versions

I absolutely love this movie! I was too young to see it -- since it's Rated-R (by the MPAA) -- when it first came out in the movie theaters, back in 1995, in which it was received mixed reviews by the critics & average numbers at the box-office, but even by the time I had seen it on VHS, three years later, in 1998, it was already becoming a cult classic (ditto for The Big Lebowski, although it technically was still new & at the box office, at the time, in '98). I loved it so much, that I purchased it on DVD -- it was one of my first DVDs -- when tech. was still new & DVD players were about $200 at the time (in 2001). However, unlike when this movie first came out on the DVD market -- 'back in 1999 -- which was early to adopt the new DVD format, it has taken many years to become available in Blu-ray, whose format first debuted (in the US public consumer market) in the Winter of 2006 (although part of it, I think, was due to the fact that it was easy for the production/studios to simply transfer everything from the Laser-Disc format to the DVD one, since they were both in SD -- Standard Definition -- digital format; unlike having to up-convert everything to 1080p HD for the BD format). So, it goes without saying, that I was psyched -- another catchphrase from '95 -- when this movie finally came out on Blu-ray this year -- 2014 -- & was one of the first ones -- that I personally know of -- to purchase it on Blu-ray, in all its High Def. GLORY, & at half the price -- just 10 bucks -- from the original listed one ($19.98)! I like many of Kevin Smiths movies, but I absolutely love this one -- always have, always will! Without question, this IS my favorite Kevin Smith movie! Everything that I can relate to, and everything that was hip popular -- and now, considered "classic" -- at least, in subpop-culture, if not pop-culture, itself, was exactly was this movie was all about, 'back in the mid-'90s! Long before the world technologically evolved to the mobile, yet, fully information-connected social media-sharing pop-culture, that it is today, it was a time when the place to be -- whether you were cool or not, rich or poor, athletic or weak, smart or dumb -- was the (American Shopping) Mall, to just hang out with your friends and socialize all day long, without having to buy anything. It was a time when the Internet was just becoming mainstream to the populace, with the DOT.COM starting to take-off, new words, like "The Information Superhighway," "World Wide Web, & "The Cyber-net" was added to the American Lexicon, & dial-up was king, and the idea of shopping online was still considered dangerous, if nonexistent, compared to your local shopping mall; When Comic Books were still just for kids, or serious-minded collectors (mostly considered to be nerds, geeks, or dorks -- I know, because I was one of them), & were still mostly undiscovered territory for the movie studios to explore & (later) plunder, are were rarely considered to be movie-worthy at the box-office, and only die-hard comic book fans even knew who people, like Stan "The Man" Lee; and it was a time when large, fat, heavy CRT TVs occupied every American household, with the kids playing video games on them, with their SEGA or SUPER NINTENDO gaming consoles, or going to the local arcade, with a handful of quarters, to play with them. This movie, as far as I know of, was also the first to have a comic book themed opening credit sequence! Speaking of which, for me, the best part about this Blu-ray of MALLRATS, was that it came in a special (thin) cardboard slip-case, that, features a lot of fun trivia facts about the 1990s, which was the icing on the cake! If you've seen this movie, and you enjoyed it, then I can guarantee that you will love this Blu-ray of it!

Well, folks, it's been ten years since the would-be cult classic "Mallrats" bombed both critically and at the box office. To celebrate such failure, director Kevin Smith and company have erected a brand new double-dip...errr...I mean special edition DVD. Aside from the usual distractions (i.e. featurettes, commentary), the main attraction is an all new extended-cut of the flick, done by Kevin Smith himself. This new cut (don't fret, the original remains intact on the opposite side of the disc) integrates deleted footage and alternate takes into what ends up being a sprawling two hour and three minute epic. Think James Cameron re-editing "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." Ok, maybe not that big of a deal, but it's still cool, nevertheless. The "Extended Version" is (as Smith describes it in his introduction) basically the script put to screen. The "new" film is just as funny, and actually, better. I never had a problem with the original "Mallrats," but for some reason, this version feels more complete -- or incomplete? Watch the introduction... The film, whichever version you choose, is classic Kevin Smith. As a follow-up to "Clerks," it suffers, but if you want to be entertained and want to laugh, this is the right place to come. The story is centered on two slackers, who are both dumped at the same time and come to the mall to cope. Along the way, they run into friends, enemies, crooked security guards, nerdy comic book fans, Stan Lee, and the infamous Jay And Silent Bob. Dick and fart jokes ensue. Not only is it Smith's first "colored" flick, but it is also his first time working under a studio, and his first time working with View Askew regulars Ben Affleck and Jason Lee (who play enemies in this movie). These two findings were pure gold. Ben Affleck would go on to give Smith his finest performances in "Chasing Amy" and "Jersey Girl," while Lee establishes himself as being outright hilarious and natural, right off the bat in this movie. The film itself is not without it's flaws, but the old saying goes "Time heals all wounds." When this movie first came out, it tanked, and it tanked hard. Now, ten years later, it has it's own cult audience, and surely, Kevin Smith has recovered from the initial disappointment. Hell, at the very least, it's good enough to warrant a revisiting on DVD. If you owned the original DVD, you can give it up soundly when you by this DVD. Aside from a few minor things (i.e. the multi-angle commentary), most of the special features are intact with this new release. While not as extensive as last years "Clerks X" release, it still offers a bounty of supplemental material. The highlight being the "Mallrats Reunion Q & A" where the cast and crew get together for one big interview. Also, as mentioned before, the "Extended Version" of this film is also worth checking out if you are a diehard Kevin Smith fan. However, I have to warn, if you already own the first DVD and are just a mild Kevin Smith fan, you will probably be safe leaving this re-release alone. For me, and other people who just have to hear everything that comes out of his mouth, however, it is worth buying into the evil double dip.

To this day I cannot see why this film did so badly and how people can sit there and blast it. As most people agree, the dialogue plays a decent part on why Smith films are so fantastic and fun, and this was the first thing that grabbed my attention. As mentioned, when I stumbled across Mallrats on Cable, it was almost the end of the film at the Game Show segment. To have a chick insinuating having sex as a question, and having Brodie (God bless Jason Lee!) scream out "Oh, you mean like...!", I was hooked. Thankfully, as cable is infamous for doing, Mallrats got multiple re-runs and the next day I caught the flick in full. Onto the DVD Itself, any DVD of a great film such as Mallrats deserves purchasing. I mean, there is no other way, bar stealing a film reel yourself, to get the fantastic picture quality and sound, and more importantly, which you can't get too many places, BONUS FEATURES! And for this DVD to be advertised as having "Over 1 hour of Deleted Scenes", it makes any fan salivate from the mouth. Whilst I know many film purists who state "Deleted Scenes are deleted for a reason" (!), any true fan of a film wants to see scenes that the director intended to include but was prevented from doing so due to film politics, irritating production companies or simply time management. The real gem on this disc however has to be the Audio Commentary. By the way, this was the first Audio Commentary I ever viewed with "Video Hijinks"; IE: when the mallrats logo appears, press the select button on your remote to change the screen to a 'live' shot of the guys in the Audio Commentary booth interacting with each other. It was great to see all the guys together. Smith, Mewes, good ol' Ben Affleck (Who by the time I saw Mallrats had become 'all that and a bag of potato chips' through his post-Mallrats flicks), as well as "Chasing Amy's Jason Lee" (A referral poor old J.L. will probably take to the grave) all work great together, feeding of what each other says to make a very intertaining and worthwhile DVD. In fact, People I know that HATE Mallrats (I can't see how the could) have bought the DVD primarily for the Commentaries and Extra Features. One mate I know only liked Clerks and Chasing Amy, but owns every Kevin Smith DVD on the market! Another Gem has to be the "Easter Egg" on the Mallrats DVD. For those DVD-Illiterate people out there, an Easter Egg is a 'hidden bonus' but in most cases, these aren't hidden very well. To access it, move your cursor onto the Robot's Eyes at the Mallrats Menu and press select (It is either the Main Menu or the Bonus Features Menu). Rather humerous little addition by Kevin Smith.

I'm giving it a four but with the caveat that for viewer had no special fondness or familiarity with the time period or Kevin Smith this would probably rate a three. I had a chance to watch it recently with my teenage daughter and it was interesting to see how it held up by watching it next to someone who could look at it with a fresh set of eyes and no nostalgia. Let's get the bad out of the way. It's probably one of the weakest of Kevin Smith's View Askew films. The pacing is a little uneven and drags occasionally. The line delivery sometimes feels like it was directed with a theater stage or tv set in mind verses a film (which is to say what works fine for one doesn't necessarily work for the other) and can be a bit too didactic in tone at times although I can't tell how much of that is attributable to the acting verses the direction or script. There's a part of me that wonders if with a leaner edit that all of this might flow more smoothly. To be fair I'm pretty sure Smith was still getting his head wrapped around what's involved with a bigger production at this point and it takes time and practice to grow and this film laid the groundwork that would coming together in later great films like Chasing Amy. The content and gags can feel a tad dated at this point (understandable up to a point). The script itself is a bit juvenile but it knows and revels in that quality so you can't hold that too much against it. At the end of the day it's actually a very simple story that doesn't make a profound point about relationships. However, it's still a fun film and it has some good qualities that might not be as apparent or are easily taken for granted nearly 20 years later. The cast is decent with some actors who've had interesting careers since then. It caught me off-guard when I realized that Michael Rooker was the controlling dad; he actually does a great job making a relatively small role that could have been one-dimensional pop out on screen. It succeeds at being humorous and entertaining in a unpretentious manner. It's hard to see today but in a pre-ubiquitous Internet everything-goes age, despite years of other films reveling in teenage hormone-driven antics, it was still kind of daring to be so frank about sex and drugs in such a fun and unrepentant way on the big screen. Watching it with my daughter also reminded me that the characters embody familiar feelings and concerns of teenagers and young adults. Malls are dying out in America so that's kind of dated but the desires and hopes of young people are still the same and that's why this film still works. I know she has friends or associates at school who are less exaggerated versions of all of these characters and that's a credit to the director and cast that this quality comes across. It was also interesting to see Stan Lee as the sage voice of experience back then because outside of comic books he wasn't a well known personality then and to hear him use Marvel characters and stories to make a relevant point was neat. For comic book readers of the time it felt kind of validating. My daughter recognized him from the recent Marvel films and that was kind of cool. It's probably a three star film for the average viewer and pales compared to some of other Smith's other films like Chasing Amy, Dogma, or Clerks IMO but it has a heart and for people who have a connection to aspects of the film it's pretty easy to bump it up to a four. My daughter definitely enjoyed it so it wins in that respect for me. Unless you're easily offended by crude humor it's a fun time. I'm sure I'll watch it again sometime in the future.

Grew up watching this movie and rewatch it from time to time. No complaints about the digital version. Snoogens

Classic