Last year when Miramax released Clerks X on DVD I made it a point to go out and also buy Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (not Chasing Amy, for some reason I don't like that movie) and I was just about ready to consider my Smith collection complete. There was only one tiny little chink in the armor, Universal was no longer making copies of Mallrats and I couldn't find the damned thing anywhere except for on eBay where people were buying it at outrageous prices. For me this was a problem, Mallrats was my gateway drug to all things Kevin Smith, Clerks was next, then Dogma, Jay and Bob and then of course the travesty Jersey Girl (we'll forget about that one).
Luckily enough, the time has come for a 10th Anniversary Edition, and while Universal has given this their double-sided disc treatment and really only given us one new feature not found on the original release it is more than enough for me to rejoice.
Laying out the plot as quickly as I can, the story follows Brodie (Jason Lee) as he has just been dumped by his girlfriend (Shannen Doherty). In an effort to hash the whole thing out in his head he goes to the mall with his buddy TS (Jeremy London) after he also has been dumped by his girlfriend (Claire Forlani). Once there they get into a whole hell of a lot of trouble, have sex, hand out stink palms, an Easter bunny gets beaten up, Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) sees a topless girl, and so the story goes. Trust me, this is adolescent humor at its best, and with this Anniversary edition DVD you get an extended cut of the film, which translates to 30 minutes of new footage. While all of the new footage isn't necessarily funny it doesn't really matter if you are a fan of the film, it simply turns out being more of what you paid for.
On a side note, one thing to consider is that Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier openly admit that their decision to recut and extend Mallrats was a mistake and that all it really ended up being was longer, not better. They actually refer to it as a version that should not have been made.
Continuing on, the special features are a bit lackluster. The only thing included that was not on the last DVD release is a feature called "Mallrats: The Reunion," which can be found on the B-side of this edition. This feature is a Q&A with Smith, Lee and several of the other cast members, producer and crew that made the film happen. If you enjoy listening to Kevin Smith talk as much as he does, or like watching audience members make fools of themselves you are going to like this one, I did.
Side-A contains the theatrical cut of the film and all the special features that were on the originally released Collector's Edition of Mallrats, which in and of itself was not too much to get excited about. The one shocking thing learned was that either Breckin Meyer or Seth Green were almost cast as Jay rather than Jason Mewes. Just imagine how fucked up Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob would have been without Mewes! Oh the humanity!
Overall, for those of you that already own Mallrats on DVD I would just save your money and skip this one. Yeah, this has an extended cut of the film, but the dual sided DVD thing just sucks! There was actually a point where my copy would skip and suddenly the audio was not matching up with the video. I have no idea why studios feel it is necessary to skimp when it comes to their special edition DVDs, but this is the second time in a row Universal has done this. However, if you don't already own the film then buy away. Personally I love Mallrats and while it sits at the bottom of the Kevin Smith totem pole, just above Chasing Amy and far above Jersey Girl, it is definitely comedic bronze.