The 4:30 Movie

by Mike McGranaghan

Moviegoing was a lot different in the 1980s than it is today. We didn’t have multiplexes with 20 or more screens back then. That meant, for a really popular new movie, you had to stand in lines that literally went around the block or down the main thoroughfare of your local shopping mall. There was also a continual sense of excitement at the prospect of discovering something awesome and original. It was a time before 95% of studio fare was based on a pre-existing property, so there was a rush from experiencing stuff like Ghostbusters and Back to the Future. Kevin Smith understands this time well, using it as the basis for The 4:30 Movie. Seeing the Clerks director working in a sweeter mode is nice, which is why it’s disappointing that he doesn’t make a slam dunk.

Teenager Brian David (Austin Zajur) musters up the courage to call his crush, Melody Barnegat (Siena Agudong), and ask her out to the movies. She accepts. Prior to their scheduled date, Brian and best friends Belly (Reed Northrup) and Burny (Nicholas Cirillo) make plans to spend the day bouncing between movies at the nearby three-screen theater. Potentially foiling their plan is the egotistical Manager Mike (Ken Jeong). If he catches them, the date with Melody will fall apart.

The 4:30 Movie is a loving homage to cinema-going. Most of it takes place inside that theater, and Smith has fun depicting age-old adolescent dilemmas, like how to sneak into an R-rated feature without a parent or adult guardian. A couple faux trailers – designed to resemble the low-budget output of New World Pictures and Cannon Films – entertain us just as they entertain Brian and the guys. There are even snippets of the cheesy Flash Gordon-esque movie they view. Scenes are set in corridors, auditoriums, and at the concession stand. If you were around in the ‘80s, you’ll definitely get hit with a sharp sense of nostalgia.

For every element that works satisfyingly, another element falls flat. A lagging pace is chief among the problems. Several scenes go on way too long, either to allow for an unnecessary celebrity cameo (e.g. Justin Long as a weirdo theater patron) or because Smith simply falls a little too in love with his own dialogue (i.e. the opening scene where Brian spends a good ten minutes asking Melody out). Recurring jokes are another distraction. A genuinely funny scene where Brian’s mother calls him at the theater grows tedious when it ends and then the scenario immediately repeats itself.

Far too frequently, the film relies on distracting wink-wink jokes. At least four times, there are predictive gags where the characters talk in disbelief about stuff we, the viewers, already know about. For example, one of the boys expresses an opinion that Star Wars is over because, “What is George Lucas going to do – go back and make episodes 1 through 3?” Material like that takes you right out of the story, as does the tendency of everybody to refer to Melody by her full name at all times. An hour in, I swore that I was going to scream if I had to hear another person say “Melody Barnegat.”

The young actors in The 4:30 Movie are very appealing, fully committing to the material. I like the ending, too, as it captures the romantic vibe of an ‘80s teen rom-com along the lines of Sixteen Candles. The film is obviously coming from Kevin Smith’s heart. Weirdly, though, that isn’t enough. His screenplay may be sincere, but it’s also not as sharply honed as his best work. That prevents it from meaning as much to us as it does to him.

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