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 the Eden Prairie Center Mall, which is located in Minnesota, not New Jersey. 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 made a cameo appearance, as did Brian O'Halloran, the star of Smith's breakout feature Clerks.

Mallrats was the subject of much critical derision when it was released, with many critics comparing it unfavorably to Smith's first film, Clerks. 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."

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.

T.S. (London) is preparing for a trip to Universal Studios Florida with his girlfriend Brandi (Forlani), during which he plans to propose to her; however, the two have an argument and break up after Brandi tells him she can't go because she's volunteered to fill in as a contestant on Truth or Date, her dad's "cheesy Dating Game rip-off" TV show. T.S. turns to his comic book-loving best friend Brodie (Jason Lee), who has also been dumped by his girlfriend Rene (Shannen Doherty), and Brodie suggests the two might find solace at the local mall.

Brodie and T.S. discover Truth or Date is shooting at the same mall, and ask local ne'er-do-wells Jay and Silent Bob to destroy the show's stage (which they admit they were going to do anyway), a task for which they devise elaborate but ultimately unsuccessful plans. Brodie also finds out Rene is being pursued by his nemesis Shannon Hamilton (Ben Affleck), a clothing store manager who hates Brodie because of his "lack of a shopping agenda," and has nefarious plans for Rene, intending to seduce her and then have sex 'in a very uncomfortable place' with her. A running joke is that this is interpreted as the 'back of a Volkswagen' rather than the anal sex he intends.

Between seeking romantic advice from Stan Lee and debating such topics as the sexual proclivities of comic-book characters and the status of a cookie stand located outside the official food court, the two run into various acquaintances, including a sex researcher who happens to be a minor, and a guy who spends all day trying to see the hidden image of a sailboat in a Magic Eye poster. They also run afoul of Brandi's father, who has the mall security guard La Fours (Sven-Ole Thorsen) plant marijuana on their persons so they can be arrested. In addition to helping them escape, Jay and Silent Bob get two of the game show contestants stoned, allowing T.S. and Brodie to replace them on Truth or Date and woo back their respective exes.

The opening credits sequence features a number of comic book covers based on characters that appear in the film. The covers appear next to a corresponding character parodied in the credits. Many of these covers make references to existing comics. They appear in the film in the following order:

New Jersey Mall 07732 (Shannen Doherty as Rene Mosier) — The logo bears resemblance to that of Beverly Hills 90210 (a television program for which Shannen Doherty is known for) although the overall style of the cover is very akin to that of Image Comics. 07732 is a Zip code for Highlands, New Jersey. Art by Jae Lee.

Defective Comics (Jeremy London as T.S. Quint) — A parody of Detective Comics. On the cover, T.S. and Mike Allred's Madman are trying to escape from a pack of large robots with the help of Jay and Silent Bob. Art by Mike Allred.

Brodieman (Jason Lee as Brodie Bruce) — The logo and the emblem on the shirt "Brodieman" is wearing are both reminiscent of Superman. The cover also features elements similar to The Hulk and Marvel Comics. Art by J. Scott Campbell.

Brandi - The Last Babe on Earth (Claire Forlani as Brandi Svenning) — On this cover, Brandi is escaping from what appears to be a shark emerging from molten lava. This is a parody of Kamandi - The Last Boy on Earth.

Buttman Adventures (Ben Affleck as Shannon Hamilton) — The logo is a parody of logos for various Batman comics.

Gwen13 (Joey Lauren Adams as Gwen Turner) — A parody of Gen¹³. An odd point of detail is that there is an emblem on the character's right shoulder that appears to be a cancelled sign of a penis and adjoined testicles. This seems to be a reference to the scene where she kicks Quint in the groin. Coincidentally, Joey Lauren Adams would portray a lesbian on Kevin Smith's next film, Chasing Amy. This could also be seen as a reference to lesbian actress and screenwriter Guinevere Turner, a friend of director Smith's, who in turn would appear in Chasing Amy as the woman who invites Adams to sing at the club. Art by Adam Hughes.

Weapon Sex (Renée Humphrey as Tricia Jones) — A parody of Weapon X, a comic featuring Wolverine of the X-Men series. Various sex toys are seen on the cover while the Tricia character is sporting gloves with claws parodying Wolverine's. The book Boregasm is also featured.

Legends of the Dork Knights (Jason Mewes as Jay) — A parody of Legends of the Dark Knight, a Batman comic. Both Jay and Silent Bob are featured. Art by Joe Quesada.

The Incredible Bulk (Ethan Suplee as Willam Black) — A parody of The Incredible Hulk. Willam's character is shown crashing through a wall, holding a Magic Eye poster titled "Sailboat". Art by Dave Johnson.

Adventures of The Man (Stan Lee as Himself) — A play on "Stan the Man". Stan's feet appear to be similar in design to the Spider-Man costume.

The Fantastic Two (Priscilla Barnes as Miss Ivannah) - A parody of The Fantastic Four. On the cover are also Quint and Brodie.

Angry Pop Comix (Michael Rooker as Mr. Jared Svenning) — Mr. Svenning is seen as an armor-clad warrior holding the skull of T.S. as Brandi stands in the background, shocked that he has added T.S. to his collection. Art by Ethan Van Sciver.

All of the covers can be viewed at View Askew website here: Mallrats "Comic Toast"

A special edition DVD was released in 1999 including 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen picture & 5.1 Dolby surround sound bonus features included

Audio commentary with Director Kevin Smith, Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Scott Mosier & Vincent Pereira
Deleted Scenes
Featurette-viewaskew's look back at Mallrats
Music Video-Build me up buttercup by the goops
Theatrical Trailer

In 2005 a tenth anniversary edition was also released. It features an alternate cut of the movie created specifically for the release. Included in the new footage is several different subplots that were cut out from the movie:

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 a large dislike for T.S. and why Brandi is so intent on breaking up with him.

Included scenes where T.S. also makes it known to Brandi that he proposed to marry her.

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 the Game Show 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 was the show, he faces multiple FCC fines for the antics of Brodie on the show.

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 looking lovingly at Tricia during the book signing.

Various references to the 1975 horror film Jaws can be found throughout Mallrats. The Mallrats character names "Brodie Bruce", "T.S. Quint" are references to the characters "Brody" and "Quint" from Jaws. Bruce was also the name of the shark, and Smith stated that the initials T.S. stands for "The Shark". T.S. had also planned to propose to Brandi at the point "when Jaws pops out of the water" on the Universal Studios tour.

The scene between Brodie and Stan Lee has been compared to the scene between Wolfman Jack and Richard Dreyfuss in American Graffiti by many, even a Universal executive at the time. Both scenes are similar, in that a celebrity of some sort (who is played by the celebrity himself) gives advice to a young man who has girl trouble.

The character LaFours is a nod to the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which a man by the same name leads a posse that is chasing the titular characters. He is identifiable in both films due to his trademark straw hat.

As referenced in the credits, Kevin Smith is a John Landis fan. During the scene when Brodie and Rene are having sex in the elevator, while everyone waits outside, you can hear the same elevator music playing that is in Landis' movie The Blues Brothers. It is heard while Jake and Elwood are on the elevator going to the Cook County Assessment Office.

The jacket that Renee is seen wearing in the film says "Degrassi" on the back. This is a reference to Degrassi Junior High, a Canadian drama Kevin Smith watches. He and Jason Mewes (Jay) would later star in a three episode arc. The DVD for these three episodes is Jay and Silent Bob Do Degrassi.

In the scene where Rene tells Jay and Silent Bob to go help T.S. and Brodie, Willam (who's focusing on the Magic Eye) turns to Rene and says "Brenda?", which is a reference to Shannen's character in Beverly Hills 90210. Rene snarls, "Dick!" and shoves Willam, then storms off. His line was improvised.

In Clerks: The Lost Scene it is revealed that Mallrats takes place one day before Clerks.

At the U.S. Route 1 Flea Market ("Dirt Mall"), as Brodie is looking through comics and explaining that T.S. used to be a "stand up guy", T.S. tries on a black cap that reads "Clerks.". Standing next to Brodie and T.S. as the hat is tried on is Kristen Mosier, sister of producer Scott Mosier and former girlfriend of Kevin Smith. Smith has also noted on several occasions (including the Mallrats DVD commentary), that Kristen Mosier was the inspiration for Rene Mosier, Shannen Doherty's character. The Clerks. hat in the scene is one of four made during the production of that film by Kristen (the hats can be seen frequently in Clerks. production photos).

Ethan Suplee plays Willam Black in this movie, a role originally played by producer Scott Mosier in Clerks.. In the continuity of the View Askewniverse, Kevin Smith refers to this as the "Willam of Two Worlds" phenomenon, in reference to DC Comics's multiple universes.

As in his previous film Clerks., Kevin Smith cast his childhood friend Walt Flanagan in multiple roles. In Mallrats he appears as Walt Grover the Fanboy and in an uncredited role as one of Svenning's construction assistants (wearing similar wardrobe to T.S.).

Brodie's house is the same house used as Dante Hicks' residence in Clerks.

Trish "The Dish" Jones (Renee Humphrey) is one of the three View Askew series' infamous "Jones sisters" (the others being "Heather Jones" from Clerks. and "Alyssa Jones" from Chasing Amy).

Shannon Hamilton's line "The customer is always an asshole!" is a possible reference to Randal Graves's mentality regarding customers, as seen in Clerks.

Brian O'Halloran, who played main character "Dante Hicks" in Clerks., plays cousin "Gil Hicks", one of the contestant on the Truth or Date game show at the end of the film.

In episode 3 of Clerks: The Animated Series the window of the pet store says Gerbils Gerbils Gerbils, just like the pet store in Mallrats. In that same episode Steve-Dave and Fanboy make an appearance.

At the end of the film, during the "Where Are They Now" segment, Jay and Silent Bob are shown walking down a highway with an ape, named in the credits as Suzanne (the song played over the credits is Suzanne, by Weezer). This storyline is played out in the Jay and Silent Bob comics and is a major part of the Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back plot.

The Eden Prarie Mall used in the film actually exists in Minnesota, but in the film exists in New Jersey. The mall is later referenced by Alyssa Jones (which she refers to as "Eden Preppie") in Chasing Amy.

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 Penitentiery is an infamous prison in New Jersey, which is also where Scared Straight! was filmed.

Brodie wears a shirt for Henry Hudson Regional High School, a school that Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes attended in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.

The U.S. Route 1 Flea Market (referred to as the "Dirt Mall"), where Miss Ivannah has her stall, was a real indoor flea market located on Route 1 in New Brunswick until 1998, when it was torn down to make way for a Loews Cineplex movie theater. There is a similar one on Rte 18 in East Brunswick NJ.

Smith wanted to film the movie in Seaview Square Mall in Ocean Township, New Jersey, but filmed it at the Eden Prarie Mall in Minnesota instead due to lower production costs. Eden Prarie is later worked into View Askewniverse continuity in Chasing Amy.

Brodie mentions New Jersey's Menlo Park Mall in this film.