Reward for ‘Mallrats’ Generation Is Chance to Laugh at Itself : <i> In “Mallrats,” two slacker friends (Jason Lee and Jeremy London) dumped by their girlfriends try to win them back at the mall by sabotaging a dating game television show being taped there. (Rated R.) : </i>

If they weren’t too embarrassed by the nudity, crudity or gross bathroom humor, teen-agers laughed a lot in “Mallrats”--a film by, for and about the MTV generation. What they laughed at, of course, were the bare breasts and bums, the raunchy sex talk and the smelly doo-doo jokes.

But the real fun of it all, they said, was that they essentially got to laugh at themselves--a generation of highly educated kids with little to do except shop, play video games and read comics, kids who use their verbal fluency to negotiate sexual favors, debate matters of high trivia (could Lois Lane physically have had Superman’s baby?) or see how many ways they can use the f-word in a sentence.

No one really hangs out at malls anymore, especially guys, said Malia Yong, 15. She had never even heard the term mallrat.

But her favorite part of the film was “the way they talk, the language,” because it was a realistic caricature of the way kids talk in her town, Newport Beach. “It was explicit but funny,” she said. Malia came with three friends (and a mother to buy their tickets).

None had seen the “Mallrats”’ forerunner, the lower-budget “Clerks,” also by writer-director Kevin Smith. But they were enticed by humorous ads on TV and by the acting debut of well-known skateboarder Jason Lee.

“That’s the reason I went. He’s cute. Cute. Cute,” said Niki Smith, 15, of Newport Beach.

Not your standard teen idol, Lee--who grew up in Huntington Beach--plays Brodie, a stubble-faced, plaid-flannel slacker who tries on women’s lingerie for fun. He also sneaks his girlfriend (Shannen Doherty) into his bedroom, then ignores her to play Sega Genesis. Beth Waterman, 14 and also of Newport Beach, said bad girl Doherty was just as annoying as she was in “Beverly Hills, 90210.” But another girl said she was the main attraction--at least for some. “My dad wanted to see Shannen Doherty,” said 13-year-old Tiffany Fox.

Tiffany said she thought the movie was basically “pretty stupid.” But, along with the other kids, she said the hilarious highlight was the impromptu appearance of Brodie and T.S. as contestants on a game show. Using his deadpan delivery to tell it like he sees it, Brodie skewers the suit-and-tie-clad third contestant as well as all adults associated with the show.

Twelve-year-old Spencer Fox, Tiffany’s brother, said he liked the antics of caped dude Silent Bob (played by director Smith) and his friend Jay, the “highly reputable mischief-makers” who try to sabotage the show.

As far as story lines go, the movie was “kind of pointless,” Niki said. And most of the girls said they thought it was a little too crude for a date movie.

“I think it’ll be something people see once,” Malia said. “But I don’t think they’ll go back again.”

Then again, there’s that certain whatever about Lee. When the movie comes out on video, Niki said, “we might rent it a couple of times.”