Movie Review: The 4:30 Movie

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

One of Kevin Smith's most enjoyable movies. 

For this film Kevin Smith definitely dives into his own adolescence. It is this personal approach that makes this film so completely charming. There is a pure earnestness here that is simply hard to resist. The whole movie has a certain wistful and nostalgic tone (while not sugarcoating anything) that gives this a certain lighthearted feel not found in Smith's other movies. Also being semi-autobiographical, this film shows a great understanding of it characters. As the movie starts, they come off as familiar teen stereotypes but as the story unfolds, they become more human and relatable. At the same time having the film focus on teenagers allows Smith to delve into his signature sophomoric humor without it clashing with the more serious moments. Through the main character we explore why us movie buffs find such solace in going to the cinema. Again, this is done in such an earnest way that it is hard not to see a bit of yourself in him. Being a Kevin Smith film there is obviously a lot of humor. While some of the humor falls flat, the jokes that work are laugh out loud funny. I am still laughing to myself about the movie previews and the phone call scene. It is easy to look past the jokes that miss when the ones that land are so funny. 

This movie does have a flaw that is too common in Kevin Smith's films. That is that when the story gets more serious, the characters tend to delve into speeches. While some of these are well-written speeches, they still take us out of the film when they take place. 

Though not perfect this is a movie that manages to mix dumb (but admittedly funny) sophomoric humor with a very personal look into these characters and the director himself. Most of all though it is simply charming.