Mallrats 10th Anniversary EE

I’ll start off this review by stating I am totally biased. I’m one of those stupid fanboys that thinks K.Smith can do no wrong, I know it’s lame but what can I say… I’m captivated by the guy. To me he’s one of the most interesting and genuine speakers and is a great story teller, he’s just a naturally funny guy to me.

So With that said, My review may be slightly one sided. Mallrats is what some would call UNDERRATED! I would be one of those people. This film is more in line with Jay and Bob Strike back and less with Clerks and Chasing Amy, which isn’t a bad thing. The film is more slapstick-ish then his other dialog driven flicks. Don’t get me wrong the film is full of dialog but it feels like Smith took a more general approach to the funny stuff in Mallrats.

Movie
There are essentially 2 movies here. You get the original cut you all loved or hated, but there is also an all new Extended edition. Basically the EE is supposed to be a re-cutting of the film, but Smith soon noticed that he didn’t really have a lot of alternative takes to cut in so instead he has sliced in scenes that didn’t make the theatrical cut.

So what do we get with this 30 mins. of extra footage? We get less of the funny and more drawn out dialog. We also get the infamous or famous opening scene where TS takes a shot at the Governor. In the end the extra footage just makes the film longer and doesn’t really add much, which is probably why Smith call the film the Version That Should Never Have Been. Smith could be right, however real Smith fanboys would watch 30 mins. Jay and Bob in dead silence and call it brilliant.

Mallrats is probably the biggest black sheep of Smith’s films (some would argue that they are all black sheep, not me). The film TANKED hard at the box office but gained a huge following on video and with just cause. This film is genuinely funny, not only that but it introduced us to the brilliant Jason Lee who is the true star of the film. Beyond Lee, Smith also refined the Jay and Bob characters into what all of us Smith fans currently love.

In the end the extended cut is good for a viewing or two, but the real value is in the extras and new transfer of the theatrical cut.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Transfer
With this 10th Anniversary edition we get a transfer which was well needed. The last transfer was pretty soft and had some color issues. This transfer fixed all those problems the colors are rich and bright in areas that we previously dull, and the clarity and sharpness of the transfer overall is greatly improved. There are a few instances of edge enhancement, but the old transfer was pretty soft overall, so a little enhancement isn’t a big deal.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Audio
As with most Smith films this one is dialog driven, so obviously there is going to be a lot of center channel sound. I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t get a new 5.1 mix. The fact that a lot of the film is shot at a mall you would expect a nice level of noise to fill your rear speakers to give the film more ambiance, this isn’t the case.

The mix is well done, all music the dialog (and there is a lot) is clean and clear. The only gripe is the limited usage of the rear speakers.
Rating: 6 out of 10

Extras
As I said in the opening of this review, I’m a self proclaimed Kevin Smith fanboy. So I enjoyed all the new extras.

There is a solo Q & A with Kevin Smith and a Q & A that followed the screening with the cast and crew of Mallrats. The Q & A with Smith is as entertaining as all his Q & A’s are. The Session with the cast and crew is also entertaining however a few people on the panel remains pretty quiet and I’d like to add that Jeremy London looks and acts pretty disturbing.

We also have the original Commentary which is absolutely hilarious, some old and new featurettes. Among the featurettes is The Erection of An Epic, which is basically a look back at everything wrong in Mallrats.

The real stand out here is the new content most notably is the Q & A’s and The Erection of An Epic. It’s unfortunate that a lot of the extras were recycled, but some of them are good enough that they stand the test of time especially the commentary. I guess they didn’t want to tinker with greatness.
Rating: 8 out of 10

Overall
Overall Mallrats always gets a bad wrap from people constantly tying to compare it to Clerks which is ridiculous. This films is nothing like Clerks nor is it trying to be. If critics would have given the film a fair chance and viewed as the pure and teen-ish comedy film it is, they would have enjoyed it far more. Instead the film is unfairly labeled a failure due to Smith’s supposed sophomoric slump. LAME! This film is worth watching even if only for Lee’s performance.

The 10th Anniversary Extended Edition is a must buy for any hardcore Kevin Smith fan or for those of you who enjoy racy comedy but don’t own the original DVD. For those of you who already own the prior DVD release and don’t think of Smith as a god, you can probably live without this one.

The only 100% disappointment on this release is the packaging. We were treated to a beautiful Digipack for The Clerks X DVD release however this time around we get a generic clam shell single disc flipper. Very disappointing… View Askew will undoubtedly release all a 10th Anniversary version of all of it’s films and its highly disappointing that they wont’ all have the same look and feel. :(
Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Mallrats: 10th Anniversary Extended Edition
Movie: 8.5
Transfer: 7.5
Audio: 6
Extras: 8
Overall: 7.5
Director: Kevin Smith
Format: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Rated: R
Genre: Comedy
Studio: Universal
Buy Mallrats @ Amazon.com

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