Snack Shack Review | An R-Rated Teen Comedy with Great Rising Stars

Summary

• A profane yet heartfelt teen comedy with universal wisdom about growing up.
• Full of rising stars,
  Snack Shack
  features wonderful performances from Gabriel LaBelle, Conor Sherry, Mika Abdalla, and Nick Robinson.
• The character of Brooke lacks depth, but the chemistry of the cast and the great comedy makes up for it.

Snack Shack is the latest film from director Adam Rehmeier (The Bunny Game, Dinner in America with Kyle Gallner). Drawing heavily from his own life growing up in Nebraska, the coming-of-age comedy captures the spirit of the era and films of the genre while not being a simple pastiche but instead exploring universal experiences. The structure of the script itself might be a bit familiar to audiences. Instead, it is the characters who are brought to life wonderfully by a talented cast that elevate this film into what could become a new cult classic.

Snack Shackfollows best friends AJ (Conor Sherry) and Moose (Gabriel LaBelle) in the summer of 1991, right before they start high school. These two are incredible with get-rich-quick schemes and have a clear eye for business, yet they always seem to come up short and are seen as disappointments and troublemakers by their families. They decide to purchase the Snack Shack at the public pool and run it for the summer, and what starts off looking like a terrible investment eventually pays off in a lucrative way.

Meanwhile, a new girl, Brooke (Mika Abdalla), has moved in as AJ’s neighbor and becomes a lifeguard at the pool, and both young men begin to vie for her attention. Their friendship is put to the test as they not only develop feelings for her but also find out what they want to do with their lives, and if they will always be together or if they should strike out on their own.

Snack Shack Truly Taps Into the Teen Mindset

Snack Shack

3.5/5

Release Date March 15, 2024

Director Adam Rehmeier

Main Genre Cmedy

Writers Adam Rehmeier

Studio(s) T-Street , Paperclip Limited

Distributor(s) Republic Pictures

Pros

• A profane yet heartfelt teen buddy comedy.
• Snack Shack has an excellent cast of rising stars.
• A very funny film with a lot of universal wisdom about growing up.

Cons

• The script leans a bit too much on common tropes.
• The character of Brooke can feel like an empty plot device.

On the surface, Snack Shack is a coming-of-age story. Yet, its arrival is at a time when Hollywood has shifted away from traditional coming-of-age YA films. Most of the time, they are crafted into an action blockbuster, like the recent MCU Spider-Man films, or fantasy and sci-fi, like The Hunger Games. Yet it feels like the number of films about normal kids has dwindled. That is why it is a bit ironic that this film, set in 1991, is aimed at a modern audience of kids as much as it is the kids of the 1990s, showing how universal these feelings are.

MRC/Paperclip Limited/T-Street

Snack Shack’s clever twist is being the R-rated vulgar version of a classic Nickelodeon live-action sitcom. The film even feels like a modern spin on the classic Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete (funny enough, the show premiered in 1991, the same year this film takes place). It is easy to see how this script could have had all the edges sanded off and be made to appeal to an even younger crowd, but it instead presents the reality that often follows these young kids that the media made for them shies away from.

Most YA media have teenagers as the protagonists, but they aren’t allowed to speak like teenagers actually do because, ironically, then it would not be considered appropriate. In Snack Shack, they swear constantly and behave with machismo and bravado, like many young people do, particularly in a way to impress others and give themselves a sense of control and freedom over their lives.

Gabriel LaBelle and Conor Sherry Are a Perfect Pair

Republic Pictures

The young cast is well suited to their roles. Following his breakout role in The Fabelmans, a lot of eyes have been on Gabriel LaBelle, who was the star of that film, and many felt he was overlooked for an Oscar nomination that year. His role as Moose is a far cry from Sammy Fabelman. Whereas his previous role was a softer-spoken, more vulnerable character, here he gets to play a fast-talking hustler who is often making stuff as he goes along but always manages to come out on top. This is a character that easily could have been very unlikable if played by anyone else, but LaBelle gives him a magnetic personality that, even at his most frustrating, you can’t help but like. LaBelle has solidified himself as one of the most exciting young actors working today.

Related: 20 Movies That Nail What It’s Like to Be a Teenager

Conor Sherry’s A.J. is the main focus of the film, and he does an impressive job going from the more carefree version of himself around his friend to a deeper layer, shown when he is forced to find his own identity outside his friend when interacting with others. He is a young man who is still finding out what he wants from himself, and Sherry sells the conflict between what people expect of him and what he wants from himself.

The chemistry between Sherry’s A.J. and LaBelle’s Moose feels lived in and real. They have the same on-screen bond that sold other beloved life-long teenage friendships like Seth and Evan in Superbad, Amy and Molly in Booksmart, and Ferris and Cameron in Ferris Buller’s Day Off.

Mika Abdalla Is Great but Her Character Is Troubling

Republic Pictures

Mika Abdalla’s Brooke is the “girl next door,” and she might be the most interesting aspect of the film, but also its biggest weak spot. This is not on Abdalla, who does a lot with the role and shines as an on-screen personality. This has more to do with the script. Brooke is a central figure and is used as a wedge in the boy’s friendship, so to an extent, she is an object in the boy’s story. She is never given a scene on her own for the audience to know her. This means the film falls into the (500) Days of Summer camp, where the point is that the lead female character is a stock character because the film is seen through the eyes of the male protagonist, but even that film has been criticized for this very fact.

There seems to be a sense of self-awareness here, though, but that means it can be hard to tell what are supposed to be intentional faults or what just isn’t working. Does Brooke not have any story outside the boy’s view? Is she an intentional commentary on young men’s immature treatment of women? Or does the script just not have much to do for her besides being a plot device to drive the boys apart?

Thankfully, Brooke does stand out as a presence thanks to Abdalla being a talented performer, and it is hard to deny that the chemistry between her, LaBelle, and Sherry is incredible. The three bounce off one another so well that the movie breezes by and has the laid-back vibe of a good party where you are just enjoying everyone’s company. This is particularly true of Nick Robinson’s character, Shane, who acts as an older mentor figure to the boys and just lightens up any scene he is in. Any script shortages can easily be made up for because of just how entertaining everyone is.

Sun Sets on the Summer

Summer is an incredible time. Film fans certainly love a good summer movie season, but when you’re a kid, it means something so much more. It is freedom from the daily routine of school, a time to relax and enjoy oneself. For many, it is a time of no responsibilities. Summer typically begins with a bang, but as the season goes on, there is a looming sense of dread that it will eventually come to an end. This is often why the summer makes for a great backdrop in coming-of-age stories, as it can easily represent freedom before the real world must set in and people have to grow up.

Related: 12 Best ‘90s Teen Comedies That Are Still Worth a Laugh

The movie is set in 1991, a deliberate choice by Rehmeier as the decade had not quite found its own sense of identity, just like these characters. It was before Nirvana’s Nevermind hit shelves in September 1991, which changed ’90s music and fashion and helped define the decade. Fans of the Blank Check podcast will know that the host jokingly said Terminator 2: Judgment Day ‘created’ the 1990s, and that film came out in July 1991, the summer Snack Shack takes place. Rehmeier has the decade’s transition and the bittersweet joy of summer tied into the characters.

Change Is Hard in Snack Shack as in Life

When Snack Shack starts, the two main characters are inseparable. They do everything together and only accept work they can do as a team since they are a “package deal.” Yet, as the film progresses, both of them start to realize they have wants and desires that are different from one another. While Brooke is a major catalyst for this, she is not the only one.

A major part of the film revolves around Robinson’s Shane, who has returned from a brief stint in the armed services during the Gulf War. His story serves as a parallel to the boys’, as everyone respects him, and he seems to have his life planned out. He serves as a guiding voice of wisdom for A.J. in particular, and the two begin planning a trip without Moose the following summer. Not out of malicious attempts, but just wanting to do something new, not realizing that what might not seem like a big deal to A.J. could be soul-crushing to Moose. Change is hard and can be difficult to accept.

Snack Shack feels like a spiritual successor to 2009’s Adventureland. Aside from the clear “working a job during the summer” angle, both films have an underlying sense of melancholy, knowing this is just a snapshot of time that eventually has to come to an end. Snack Shack is a charming youthful character piece, one that can appeal to anyone who ever had a fun summer. While the exact circumstances might not be relatable to everyone, the feelings are universal. Snack Shack is an enjoyable coming-of-age movie with great characters, perfect for a crowd now heading into spring break, and would make a great double feature with Dazed and Confused as a fun kickback summer watch.

Snack Shack opens in theaters on March 15, 2024. Watch the trailer below.

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