The End of Oak Street

by Mike McGranaghan

The End of Oak Street takes place in a small town in 1982. It’s the kind of wholesome, all-American setting Steven Spielberg has often glamorized onscreen. The homes are nice and there’s a big cul-de-sac where a block party is held every summer. Denise (Anne Hathaway) and Frank Platt (Ewan McGregor) live there, along with their teenage kids Brian (Christian Convery) and Audrey (My Old Ass’s Maisy Stella). The family has a big problem, and it isn’t the fact that mom and dad’s marriage is on the rocks.

Trouble begins with a weird storm that contains intense flashes of bright light. Once it’s over, the Platts discover that their entire neighborhood has somehow been picked up and transported back into prehistoric times. Dinosaurs run rampant through the streets and backyards. They try to drive away but the road in both directions is cut off – by a cliff on one side, a jungle on the other. Nobody knows how this happened, although they absolutely recognize that they’re in grave danger. The family attempts to stay alive as dinos of various types hunt them down.

There’s an old saying in the sketch comedy world: “You have to commit to the bit.” What that means is that if you go onstage worried about looking stupid, you’ll end up looking stupid. The only way to get a laugh is to play the scene with full force. (Will Ferrell did a lot of this during his time on SNL). What I like about The End of Oak Street is that it commits to the bit. Instead of trying to turn a crazy concept into a big mythology or using it to make a political/environmental point, writer/director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) sets up the basic premise, then takes it as far as possible, all in the name of fun.

Pterodactyls swooping down from the sky to snatch hapless victims, a massive snake slithering its way through a house, and gigantic piles of dinosaur dung littering suburban yards are just a few of the sights on display. Mitchell stages numerous tense sequences in which the Platts run around the neighborhood, fending off dino attacks with whatever weapons they can get their hands on. Cars are destroyed, holes smashed through homes. Not even rooftops are safe. Other moments – one I won’t spoil, in particular – lean into comedy. Why? Because the opportunity to do something funny with dinosaurs presents itself. Compared to many modern action-adventure films, it’s impressive how unpretentious the picture is.

Appealingly, typical gender roles are switched. Frank loves his family dearly yet is kind of a screw-up. Denise, on the other hand, becomes an absolute warrior, taking the lead in protecting the kids. Hathaway delivers a fierce performance that gives all the dinosaur madness an emotional center. Typically, the women play second fiddle in stuff like this: Laura Dern in Jurassic Park, Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic World, etc. Not here. Denise is absolutely the hero, and she’s even more interesting than the prehistoric creatures she does battle with.

Boasting terrific special effects and a tight, non-bloated 99-minute running time, The End of Oak Street is fast-paced entertainment designed to get the audience gasping, laughing, and cheering. I’m even going to go so far as to say that it’s better than most of the Jurassic Park/World movies. (Not the original, obviously.) Like a good theme park attraction, as soon as it’s over, you want to get back in line to go on the ride again.