Come, son of Jor-El! Kneel before Zod! Snootchie Bootchies! Nya!
Kevin Smith flicks were a big part of my formative years, and Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy in particular were in regular rotation in my DVD player for a long time. Sure, I have not been struck by a Smith offering in a while, but that does not kill my enjoyment of those three films in any way. While Clerks and Chasing Amy are generally held in high (if not somewhat nostalgic) regard, I feel Mallrats gets the shaft most of the time. Sure, it is a completely different kind of movie from the other two, but it still cracks me up to this day, and I will go to the mat with anyone in defense of the fact that Brodie Bruce is one of the greatest comedy movie characters of all time.
Damn, did I want to be just like Brodie for the longest time. That role made me a lifelong Jason Lee fan, and Brodie proved that a comic book fan could be the coolest and funniest guy in the room. You have to understand, Mallrats came out well before comic book movies were the norm and the characters within were regarded as “everyone’s” favorite heroes, so Smith, with some help from the immortal Stan Lee, was really blazing a trail with Brodie. Sure, the plot is thin and juvenile, but Lee MADE the movie with his delivery of hilariously sharp Smith lines, and turns by Michael Rooker and a very early Ben Affleck are memorable as well. Yes, it is mostly passed off by this time, but for funny popcorn fare, you can still do a lot worse.
So I have been wanting action figures of the Askewniverse for a long time, since Big Blast never really gave me what I wanted, and “Inaction” figures never counted for me either, despite the $9.37 price tag. So, when DST announced they had the license, I was glad someone was going to take a crack at actual action figures, but I wasn’t really hopeful because I was expecting lots of Jays and Silent Bobs, and not much else. Not that I have an issue with Jay and Bob, mind you, they are C-3PO and R2-D2 of the Askew world, but if I could ever pick just one character I wanted in action figure form from these properties, it would be Brodie. Hey, it appears that fate can even smile on a stink-palmer sometimes.
The “Mallrats” portion of line looks to be maxed out at two series for the time being, so Brodie and Jay here are up first, and Rene and Silent Bob will be along this spring. Renee is an okay choice, I suppose, but if I was only getting a couple of assortments, she would not be at the top of my list, but she will go well with Brodie-man if the likeness holds up in production. I am encouraged because both Brodie and Jay turned out nicely within the format of Diamond Select figures. The sculpts are pretty tight as usual, but there is not anything really groundbreaking about the articulation or paint, but both of those are fine in these two figures. I spotted them at Toys R Us and I could not pass them up, so these are the slimmed down versions of the figures, comic and specialty shops will get the releases with the included cardboard backdrops.
Overall, I think Brodie turned out great, and most of his included accessories match what he needed to have for his course through the story. While Mallrats is really a comic book movie about mall kids, Brodie needed little else apart from his “waste not, want not” cup and chocolate-covered pretzel, so the fact we got a Cookie Stand cookie and Sega controllers is a nice touch. I know the pretzel scene is one of the most memorable from the movie, but Brodie carrying his cup is iconic to me, so am positive that is how he will be placed in my display.
The figure itself is solid, and, for the most part, the likeness to Lee is pretty good. The jacket, jeans, and shoes are all good, and his hands can accommodate all of the accessories pretty well, you just have to place the pretzel perfectly in order for him to maintain a grip. As I said, the likeness in the head sculpt is good, but it is definitely better in profile, as I fine the face to be just a bit too round to match Lee’s thinner face. Additionally, the expression is rather placid for someone as animated as Brodie, so his charming smile would have been appreciated here as well. This is not a huge issue, it is more me pointing out that the profile likeness is actually really good.
What is a big deal, to me anyway, is that the graphic on Brodie’s shirt is missing, and that is really aggravating. The image is actually a mash-up of all of the faces of the actors who auditioned for the Brodie role, so I get that the reason it is absent is likely a likeness rights thing, or an artist commission money thing, but damn, Brodie just looks off without it. This is probably a bigger issue for me than it will be for most people, but it is the one nitpick I have with the figure, so it was so close for me. Regardless, it is a cool Brodie figure overall, and I am really, really glad to add him to my shelf.
Jay is another good figure, and I am glad to have the Mallrats version because when I picture Jay and Bob in my head, it is always with these looks. Somehow the outfits they wear here are best suited to their personality for me, much more so than their togs from any of the subsequent movies. There is just something about them being in mostly black, and in shorts, no less, that is perfectly perfect for their characters, especially in the more comic/cartoon styling of Mallrats. I actually love the hijinks of Jay and Bob in ‘rats, and aside from some of Jay’s gems in Clerks, I find them to be the most endearing in this installments.
Like Brodie, Jay comes with his requisite baseball bat, sock fulla quarters, and, of course, the detailed schematics to the plans to take down LaFours. You get an alternate “goat” or “devil horns” hand, which is awesome, but I wish there were an alternate tongue out head to recreate the grappling hook scene. The head sculpt that we did get is great though, and I find the expression, while a bit odd if viewed in a vacuum, perfect for Jay in the movie. So, not only did I finally get a Brodie action figure, I also got the best Jay figure yet, so now I will just wait around impatiently for Silent Bob and his “wonderful toys” to arrive.
Hey, we now have Mallrats action figures, you guys! I actually lost hope of ever getting a Brodie figure, but since nostalgia has been smiling on the Askewniverse as of late, great things are possible. I am headed to Florida later this month, so I am sad I cannot take Brodie to see Jaws pop out of the water, but he and Jay will take their place on my toy shelf for sure. As I said, Bob and Renee will be along later this spring, but I am hoping that maybe, just maybe, we might be able to squeeze a couple more characters from Mallrats out of the line. A Willam and Mr. Svenning would the tops. Nootch!
