What’s It About
Set in the summer of 1986, the coming-of-age comedy follows three sixteen-year-old friends who spend their Saturdays sneaking into movies at the local multiplex. But when one of the guys also invites the girl of his dreams to see the latest comedy, each of the teens will learn something serious about life and love before the credits roll.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
This film focuses on the movie-obsessed teenager Brian. Coming of age into cinema, this film parallels Steven Spielberg’s similar film, The Fabelmans, centered on a filmmaker and his love of movies. While Spielberg’s film focuses on the formation of a filmmaker, Kevin Smith’s Brian is all about watching the movies. Kevin Smith used to be known for hilarious movies, such as Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob, but in the past few years, he seemed to have lost his touch. Most of his recent work has come off as home movies; he gets his friends to appear in his films and repeat lines from his other movies. In The 4:30 Movie, Austin Zajur plays Brian, an obsessive teenager who is basically a Smith avatar. The film begins with Brian inviting his sweetheart, Melody, on a pseudo-date to the local theatre on Memorial Day weekend. Before meeting up with Melody to catch a showing at 4:30, Brian plans on theater-hopping with friends to see a movie called Bucklick. Primarily, the action of the film takes place within the theater, as the movie contains mock movie trailers and various cheesy films within the film. These fictional movies also seem removed from that which the characters are into, and the jarringly ungrounded tone clashes with what had, up until this point, been an incredibly realistic film. The film attempts to revisit the nostalgic experience of a day in the cinema during the 1980s. Still, it falls short because it is decidedly unreal due to the lack of real trailers and actual movie footage. The theater has a legitimate feel to it, and a few colorful characters, such as Adam Pally’s emo employee, mainly provide some laughs by trying to catch teenagers trying to sneak into R-rated films. Most of the time, though, the movie stalls, frustratingly killing time before Melody finally shows up. At its center, The 4:30 Movie is a film about friendship. However, while the date with Melody is essential, what’s really at stake is how Brian’s friends react to him stepping into this new romantic role. The dynamic turned on its head makes Brian’s friend Burny uneasy, suddenly the third wheel, which creates confrontation and chaotic antics. These misadventures risk having the trio banned from the theatre and, in the process, forcing them to reevaluate the depth of their friendship. Through all the shenanigans, the film catches up in resolution, proving bonds can evolve without the necessity of breaks. Smith’s heart is in the right place. It’s undeniable that the cast has a great deal of fun, but about half of this movie plays like obvious filler, with gags that really should have stayed on the cutting room floor. At the end of the day, Smith got to make a movie with his friends, which, let’s be honest, has always been his ultimate dream.
OUR RATING – A NON-CANONICAL 5
MEDIA
- Genre – Comedy
- Street date
- Digital – October 1, 2024
- 4K/Blu-Ray – November 5, 2024
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 1.85:1
- Sound – English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
- Subtitles – English SDH, Spanish
Extras
- DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
- DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK
- Audio commentary with Kevin Smith
- Going Home Again: Making the 4:30 Movie
- Theatrical trailer
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature