Hacker Cinema
Mallrats
1995 · Film · 95 min
Directed by Kevin Smith
Both dumped by their girlfriends, two best friends seek refuge in the local mall. Eventually, they decide to try and win back their significant others and take care of their respective nemeses.
2 positive3 neutralfrom 5 commenters
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5 comments on Hacker News
Uh I grew up in NJ suburbs in the 80’s and 90’s - that was already the case, and there was a hit movie 3 decades ago about it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallrats
(But malls are much less popular now, probably mainly due to the rise of Internet retail)
Sideways
Back To The Future
Cinema Paradiso
Spaceballs
Up In Smoke (Cheech & Chong)
The Incredibles
Indiana Jones 1-3
Indiana Jones: Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (Rifftrax only)
Falling Down
Office Space
Man Bites Dog
Nothing To Lose
Idiocracy
Space Mutiny (MST3k)
Goodfellas
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Groundhog Day
Barbie
Full Metal Jacket
Mallrats
Flight Of The Navigator
The Founder
One Hour Photo
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I'm pretty certain I've rewatched Sideways more than any other film.
We do, Gen X was a thing in the '80s/90s, to the point that the Kevin Smith movie "mallrats" got titled "generazione x" in the Italian dubbing.
Youngsters online also seem very keen on referring to older people as boomers, because the online world is smaller and american cultural influence is stronger then it used to be.
Edit: yes, Italian youngsters also forget that gen x exists, much like the US kids do.
Smith has hinted in the past that Kevin Mewes's ongoing battle with addiction has been a serious barrier to making more of those movies. IIRC, Kevin Smith mentioned that Clerks 2 would only happen if Mewes could stay clean for an extended period of time.
I enjoyed most of Smith's work (Clerks, Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma or Chasin Amy), so I hope another one comes out eventually, the guy has a knack for non-pretentious, easy-watching yet somehow socially provocative without being preachy flicks.
What's fun about the law system is that each case is open to interpretation, because of its particular circumstances.
If, for example, you trade emails with the film crew saying you couldn't get permission to shoot but was going stealth anyway, and you use the mall as a location this week and in a couple days you send funding requests using only this particular movie, and the mall has a central role (as in Mallrats), then yes, you're using the mall as part of a (soon to be) commercial venture.
But if your mall movie was filmed 5 years ago (and now the mall went through a reform), was just a gathering place because the actress lives 5 minutes away from it, and the movie using it is just part of your portfolio of dozen, than I don't think any law system would judge against you.
The law is not a tech spec. Finding the balance between the two extreme examples above is the whole purpose of a government branch :)
Edit: The mall case would probably pend to a trademark side, but the point remains. Law is hard, let's go shopping! (just not on the same mall as the movie)