Starring: Jason Lee, Jeremy London, Kevin Smith, Shannen Doherty, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason Mewes
Director: Kevin Smith
Genre: Comedy
Cert: 18
Released: 1995

It’s not the greatest day in the life of comic-book obsessed Brodie (Lee – “Chasing Amy”, “Enemy of the State”, “Vanilla Sky”) and well-meaning T.S. (London – “The Babysitter”, TVs “Party of Five”). They have both been dumped by their respective girlfriends, Rene (Doherty – TVs “Beverly Hills 90210”) and Brandi (Claire Forlani). To relieve their agony, they visit the mall to hang out and annoy as many people as possible. Brodie is distraught to find out that Rene is already seeing the suave Shannon (Affleck – “Armageddon”, “Chasing Amy”, “Good Will Hunting”, “Pearl Harbour”). T.S’ pain is compounded by Brandi’s father (Michael Rooker – “Cliffhanger”, “Herny, Portrait of a Serial Killer”, “The Bone Collector”), who is producing a pilot of a dating-game TV show in the mall, and does his utmost to stop T.S. winning back his daughter. Brodie and T.S. ask fellow mallrats Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) to try and sabotage the show, but the dynamic duo are not as well equipped as they like to think. Can the boys win back the girls hearts?

Smith made his directorial debut in 1994 with the realistic and hilarious “Clerks”, and while “Mallrats” is glossier and less subtle, the script portrays much of the same sharp wit of the former. But a funny script must be backed up by a good cast and the two Jasons (Lee and Mewes) deliver many of the funniest moments with their sledgehammer approach to conversation and life in general. Things to get a little sappy in the last third with the inevitable pay-off of the romantic estrangments in the storyline. But we can forgive that as the humour doesn’t dilute too much even when the pace drops off.

Another solid Smith outing.