Fine Wine: Happy Anniversary, 'Mallrats!'

Mallrats was definitely Clueless for the nerdy, comic-loving, skateboarding children of the mid-90s. I can remember skating or driving with friends to comic shops and then heading to a certain mall just to fill up on Chick-fil-A (suburban kids make the best fast food, by the way). This movie was overloaded with everything I was into then and still am today. As a seventh grader, I couldn’t pick my heartthrob: Joey Lauren Adams, Shannen Doherty, or Claire Forlani? I still can't make up my mind. The characters and quotes are something that stuck with me, especially Jay and Silent Bob, who are returning characters in Kevin Smith's films. One of my skate heroes Jason Lee (see Spike Jonze’s Blind: Video Days), stars as the comic book and pop culture obsessed best friend of TS. The cameo from comic book legend and Marvel creator Stan Lee still blows me away, especially his words of wisdom, which I think I have carried through my relationships. I wish I had seen Mallrats in theater; but I love that I recorded it off HBO one early Saturday morning. I passed this VHS off to friends and we would quote our favorite parts during sleepovers (is seventh grade too old for sleepovers?). To this day, the one thing that bums me out is that the JAWS attraction at Universal Studios no longer exists, killing my lifelong fantasy of proposing to my loved one when JAWS pops out of the water.

I actually went to the 10-year anniversary of Mallrats in Chicago in 2005. I met Kevin Smith and pretty much the entire cast, who were grateful to sign all the merchandise I had collected over the years. I especially cherish my Jason Mewes-signed "Affleck, you da bomb in Phantoms, yo!" bumper sticker (I am yet to purchase a car to stick it on). Tomorrow will be the 17th anniversary of the Mallrats release; you owe it to yourself to watch it over the weekend.

Forever trying to see the sailboat, Joshua.