THE MALL

The mall takes center stage in this ’90s coming-of-age tale.

Cassie Worthy works at a New Jersey mall while counting down the days until she heads off to college. After being stuck at home with mono for the past six weeks, she plans on triumphantly returning to her job at America’s Best Cookie with her boyfriend, Troy—but it goes horribly wrong when she finds herself attacked by Troy’s new girlfriend with a spritz of cucumber-melon fragrance to the face. Cassie manages to get hired as a bookkeeper at an upscale boutique. The owner’s gorgeous daughter, Drea Bellarosa, needs nerdy Cassie’s help searching for a rumored stash of long-hidden drug money, and they spend the summer following clues hidden in Cabbage Patch Kids that point to locations around the mall. Drea also promises to help Cassie with her heartbreak, saying “the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else.” In the first-person narration, elitist Cassie makes numerous judgmental remarks about other women and their clothing and behavior, frequently referring to them as sluts and bimbos, as well as being dismissive of boys she regards as less intelligent than she. The narrative is rife with pop-culture references, quirky characters, and over-the-top ridiculous comedy—which unfortunately falls flat. The majority of the cast is white apart from Cassie’s Japanese American mall-employee crush.

Light and nostalgic but lacks depth.