The 4:30 Movie Review: Kevin Smith Channels John Hughes And Starts Getting His Groove Back

Kevin Smith will always hold a special place in my heart as one of the filmmakers who defined my formative years in cinema. "Clerks," "Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," "Dogma," and even the silly "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" were packed full of hilarious yet immature laughs and pop culture references that tickled my funny bone and my geek gland (no, not that one). But ever since he tried to make his own Judd Apatow movie with "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," which made him feel like he ruined Seth Rogen's career at the time, he's struggled to re-capture the comedic voice that once defined him. 

"Jay & Silent Bob Reboot" was a clumsy return to Kevin Smith's stoner slacker duo, and while "Clerks III" had a meaningful emotional core inspired by the filmmaker's real life brush with death and a meta narrative about the beginning of his film career, the movie ultimately couldn't balance the competing tones of a raunchy comedy and a heartfelt tearjerker. And the less is said about "Yoga Hosers," the better off we'll all be. That's why I'm pleased to find that Kevin Smith's latest cinematic endeavor, "The 4:30 Movie," not only finds the writer/director starting to get his groove back, but it also lets him venture into John Hughes territory with a high school romance that adds a refreshing new chapter in his career, even if he's still relying a little too much on his old tricks.

"The 4:30 Movie," inspired by Smith's own formative years sneaking into movies and pining for young love, follows 16-year old Brian David ("Clerks III" co-star Austin Zajur) in the summer of 1986 when he finally takes it upon himself to ask Melody Barnegat (Siena Agudong), the girl of his dreams, to the movies with him. However, the movie is R-rated, and even though his best friends Belly (Reed Northup) and Burny (Nicholas Cirillo) are experts when it comes to sneaking into the local multiplex with him, at least one of them isn't too keen on Brian David's romantic interests. Between that, a blowhard theater manager (Ken Jeong), Melody's over-protective mother (Kate Micucci), and several cases of inappropriate conduct, catching "The 4:30 Movie" proves to be much more complicated. Cue the teenage bickering, coming-of-age revelations, and dirty (but not the usual downright filthy) jokes. 

A teenage romantic comedy worth watching is only as good as the actor tasked with leading the charge, and Kevin Smith is fortunate to have found an endearing and charismatic proxy in Austin Zajur. You can't help but root for the kid, especially when you find out in the first 10 minutes that he's already kissed Melody Barnegat in her pool, but when the straightforward offer for him to take a crack at second base came up, he missed his chance and got too scared to follow-up with the all-important phone call. It's a wonder that Melody is still willing to give him shot, but she's equally as charmed as we are by this rascal who's always worried that he's just a little too short. But at least he also knows a lot about movies, because this is basically a young, alternate version of Kevin Smith who reads the latest issue of Starlog magazine and makes audio notes about his life into a little tape recorder around his neck, which he hopes to one day use to write a movie of his own.

Then you have Belly, who's undoubtedly Brian David's ride-or-die. Looking like a red-haired, rat-tailed, dorky, hillbilly version of Billy Idol, Belly's the stranger one in the group, mostly because his mother (a lovely little appearance by "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" mainstay Betty Aberlin) makes him bacon wrapped in aluminum foil to take to the movies. If you ask me, that's brilliant, and Belly should not be lambasted for such an innovative, sweet mother, but maybe that's just me. Rounding out the trio is Burny, undeniably a douchebro obsessed with keeping his truck in perfect condition and a loyal follower of the blustery wrestler Major Murder (a hilarious Sam Richardson in full blown 1980s WWE mode), which somehow doesn't keep him from being a certified ladies man. 

For some reason, Burny is staunchly against Brian David dating Melody Barnegat, and he's not shy about letting everyone know. While it's easy to see that this is all leading to some kind of big friendship blowout that will leave this trio learning something about themselves, perhaps the biggest shortcoming in Smith's otherwise enjoyable teen comedy is that we don't really get enough time with the boys feeling like genuinely good friends to truly care about anyone other than Brian David. While he's a strong enough character to drive the movie, the conflict that emerged between his friends doesn't pack as much of a punch as it otherwise could. While Smith's script and characters undoubtedly calls back to John Hughes throughout, as if this were his own version of the John Hughes classic "Pretty in Pink," he doesn't quite give us a rich or engaging enough relationship between these three friends to make the eventual argument and rekindling pay off. And there's one somewhat misguided reason as to why that is.

Even though "The 4:30 Movie" is mostly about this blossoming romance between Brian David and Melody Barnegat and the rift it creates between this trio of buddies, it's also a chance for Kevin Smith to have some fun lampooning and paying homage to the kind of movies he loved watching in the 1980s. Speaking of which, the movie has a superb synth-fueled soundtrack from Sparks & Shadows — Bear McCreary's company — that perfectly replicates the vibe of a high school comedy from this decade, complete with an original song performed by Brendan McCreary.

Far too much of the movie's already brisk 90-minute runtime is spend watching what the boys are watching in theaters. On screen, we see a mix of fake trailers for a "Grindhouse"-esque movie about a nun who mentors kids by day but works as a prostitute at night (played by Smith's daughter Harley Quinn Smith) and a gross-out horror movie not unlike "Critters" or "Ghoulies" with creatures lurking in port-a-potties. That's on top of the intermittent clips we see of a fake movie called "Astro Blaster and the Beaver-Men," which feels like a low-rent "Masters of the Universe." While this allows for amusing cameos from the likes of Jason Mewes, Diedrich Bader, and more, it's also too much of a distraction that wastes time that could be spent further developing and endearing these characters and their friendship to us.

Granted, we do get plenty of time to enjoy them busting each others' balls and commenting on the trailers and the movie, but considering this is supposed to be a movie theater where excessive talking like that is annoying and disrespectful, it actually made me rather frustrated by their antics. There had to be a better way to execute this dynamic without sacrificing the integrity of characters who claim to love movies so much. 

The end result is that "The 4:30 Movie" feels like a PG-13 version of "Mallrats" set at a movie theater (the R-rating is not indicative of what you'd usually get from a Kevin Smith movie, and it's only because of too many masturbation jokes). That includes Ken Jeong giving yet another broad performance as a disgruntled authority figure who is inexplicably overbearing and shouting. Just when Kevin Smith makes you think he's pulled away from more questionable comedy decisions, he takes a couple steps back or veers into a direction that doesn't really add anything to the story. For example, in theory, it would be fun to see Rachel Dratch and Jason Lee as Brian David's parents, but it doesn't add much to the narrative, and it's not funny enough to warrant multiple appearances. 

Thankfully, some of Smith's more common proclivities manage to land in good favor. Smith's script might rely a little too much on jokes that cluelessly comment on the known-future of pop culture, but there are amusing lines to be heard, such as Burny predicting that no one will care about a Batman movie and a bitter theater employee (Adam Pally) taking solace in the fact that there will never be another "Star Wars" movie, even going so far as to imagine how ridiculous it would be if there were a "Star Wars" TV show about Boba Fett. Okay, that one might have gone a little too far, even if he's actually right. It's just that when you have too many of those jokes, they start to feel easy.

However, Austin Zajur and Siena Agudong make for such a cute high school romance prospect that the movie doesn't feel like a total wash. Kevin Smith is still good at constructing funny dialogue and crafting characters you like to watch, including silly side characters like a doofy Justin Long with bulky teeth, half-closed eyes, and some weird opinions on the "Rocky" franchise and Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, there are just one too many detours that constantly drag the focus away from the most compelling part of this movie. But at the very least, it's a step in the right direction for Smith, and if he's going to keep writing and directing movies until the day he dies, then I hope that he keeps mixing things up like this. He just needs to reel it in a bit more. 

/Film Rating: 6 out of 10

"The 4:30 Movie" opens in theaters on September 13, 2024.