Filmbar pays tribute to Stan Lee in feature film ‘Mallrats’

In the wake of Stan Lee’s death, downtown Phoenix’s FilmBar paid tribute to the comic icon Saturday and Sunday with the showing of Mallrats.

The 1995 film was one of Lee’s earliest on-screen appearances. It stars two best friends who get broken up with by their girlfriends, and Lee, who plays himself, gives romance advice to one of the characters and helps him discover his love for his girlfriend.

“There’s just this scene where (Lee) gives, you know, this slightly damaged character such great life advice on love and everything else, and following your dreams,” said Alex Harman, a film programmer who chose Mallrats for the tribute show. “I felt to commemorate him I wanted to show the film that kind of, as silly as it is, it’s a good inspiring moment for me and I think it will resonate with other people.”

Harman said he chose Mallrats not only because it is one of his favorite films, but also because it was one of the first times that he got to see Stan Lee on screen. He saw the positive effect that Lee left on people, specifically on Brodie, one of the main characters in the film.

Many of the people who came out to watch the film were either fans of Lee, fans of the film, or both. David Walhl, an attendee described his love for the film because of the nostalgia of the 90s.

“I’m a fan of the whole universe, like (Mallrats director) Kevin Smith’s whole universe and how it all fits together and it’s all the same characters throughout,” attendee Moxie Kiefer said.

Kevin Smith, the writer and director of Mallrats, wrote his own tribute to Lee in a lengthy Instagram post after his death, calling Lee a “modern day” Mark Twain.

View this post on Instagram

First day of my life that I ever woke to a Stan Lee-less world. It sucks. Miss you, Spider-Friend. You made True Believers of us all… Eulogy Repost: This is how I’ll always see you, @therealstanlee: as our benevolent leader & king, smiling down from your eternal throne on the generations of imaginations you fed & inspired. You were the 1st creator whose voice I knew before I’d ever heard it. You dreamed up some of my favorite modern myths & created characters that instilled in me a moral barometer, teaching me right from wrong & showing me it’s always better to be a hero instead of a villain. Your characters represented us: yes, they had extraordinary, unbelievable abilities, but they were also reflections of a world we knew, where a Spider-Man is really just a boy who wants to help. …

A post shared by Kevin Smith (@thatkevinsmith) on Nov 13, 2018 at 12:35pm PST

Another attendee, Michael Weaselboy, said he was devastated after hearing about Lee’s death. He and many other fans thought of Lee as a superhero and hoped he would live forever.

“Stan Lee taught many moral lessons through his characters and through his stories,” Weaselboy said. “I think it’s just that anyone can be a hero, mainly, which is like a lot of his characters, which are heroes, but they also have inner conflicts, like the Hulk.”

His legacy will continue to grow because of how immersive the narratives that Lee created are. His creations have turned into multimillion-dollar film franchises, cartoons and comics. As long as those properties continue to maintain his vision, his influence will live on, Harman said.

Contact the reporter at ahmirand@asu.edu.