It took me longer than I care to admit to recognize that Gabriel LaBelle from “The Fabelmans” is one of the leads in this film. Yes, I know he is essentially first billed and his name is the first one you see at the start of “Snack Shack,” but his glow up from timid baby Spilberg with his head in the clouds of filmmaking to shredded, foul mouthed teenager renders him unrecognizable. Apart from his familiar facial features, he is vastly different here, doing a complete 180 both in his post puberty growth spurt and character in general. These are all good things, too. Because “Snack Shack” doesn’t really work without its charming leads. The both anchor a rather messy, genre conglomerate that never allows any of its many pieces to come to the forefront. Still, there’s enough of that 90s nostalgia to be worth the summer journey, even if the emotional impact and confusing tonal imbalance holds it back from reaching the heights it strives for.
Inexplicably written and directed by Adam Rehmeier (“Dinner in America,” “The Bunny Game“) “Snack Shack” follows two young teens growing up in Nebraska City in the early 90s. AJ (Connor Sherry) and Moose (Gabriel LaBelle) are inseperable best friends who run get rich quick schemes to fill their time in their boring town. After they get caught gambling across state lines, they are relegated to staying near home for the summer, with AJ being sent off to military school if he doesn’t clean up his act. Always looking for the next score, the boys manage to purchase a small snack shack located right by the busy, public pool. Everything is going great until a beautiful young woman moves next door to AJ and sets both boys on a path of self discovery, romance, and growing up. “Snack Shack” also starts Nick Robinson, Mika Abdalla, Dave Constabile, Gillian Vigman, and Michael Bonini.
I say inexplicably because Rehmeier did in fact direct “The Bunny Game,” a film I wouldn’t recommend to even the most daring of macabre cinephiles. I’m not saying a director can’t change his spots, but it’s genuinely hard to reconcile the two films being created by the same man 13 years later. I know curiousity is going to get the better of you to start googling and hunting down the aforementioned work, but I implore you not to for your own good. Know that “Snack Shack” is a much improved example of Rehmeier’s talents, and feels like a more personal film considering he also grew up in Nebraska City. There’s a lot to like here; the leads are charming and charismatic, the 90s teen comedy vibes feel authentic, the setting lends itself to the kind of small town life and hijinks that ensue, and there are some solid emotional stakes. The problem is the film wants to be everything from this era, exploring a multitude of themes and genres without every letting a singular element take over. Every emotional beat is undercut by comedy, every coming of age moment is overshadowed by a romcom trope, every family drama cliche is sliced by teen comedy shenanigans and so on.
“Snack Shack” suffers being a coming of age story, a teen buddy comedy, a 90s teen comedy, a romcom, and a family drama all thrown together in a hodgepodge hybrid of genres. It’s unfortunate because each one shows incredible promise, with both leads demonstrating their ability to seamlessly transition from each with relative ease despite that fluidity being hindered by an overstuffed script. These genre clashes are best exemplified by its book ends, opening with our protagonists smoking cigarettes at the dog tracks in Iowa placing bets before a field trip and ends with a much more dramatic tone that feels like it was from a very different film. The duo starts so fantastically above their age (their meant to be 14 but act and speak like their 20) and end as if they’re just starting to realize life happens to them whether they want it to or not. This would be effective if they weren’t constantly being thrust into events and scenarios that far exceed their characters and ages, which even calls into the question the romance that comes between their friendship.
It’s unclear how old Brooke (Abdalla) is supposed to be, but it is clear that she is closer in age to their older college friend and older brother figure Shane (Robinson) who comes back to town during summer break and also plays a significant role in the friends’ lives. “Snack Shack” doesn’t need this disparity, with everything working better if both AJ and Moose were aged up to 16-17 instead of being far too young to get into anything they do in the film. Typically, minimal age gaps like this don’t bother me, but there’s enough tonal confusion baked into the narrative construction that it inevitably draws attention to itself. The fact that they are even able to buy the shack to begin with feels outlandish even for the small town setting, and “Snack Shack’s” messy construction gets in the way of believing their “wise beyond their years” characterizations. This again undercuts the more emotional beats that come in the third act, where “Snack Shack” takes a sharp turn from comedy to drama without warning or balance of both beforehand.
Still, despite all of its misgivings, both Sherry and LaBelle have incredibly charming chemistry, with LaBelle in particular pulling away from his breakout role and diving into the foul mouthed and narcissistic best friend. He’s the kind of guy who beat up young Fabelman, and his now shredded physique puts him in the jock category rather than the wimpy kids. Both boys have terrific comedic timing, and pair really well together. So well they become the best parts of “Snack Shack” even if the script and pacing isn’t doing them any favors. And despite it all, I still found myself engaged in the story, noting familiar beats and cliche that work better in more capable hands but work just enough here to stick it through to the end.
It’s clear Rehmeier has a vision, a desire to bring his upbringing to life with “Snack Shack.” And he shows he more than understand the different genres he mixes here but doesn’t quite have the recipe down yet. I’d like to see him continue down this path and perfect some of the narrative clashes he shows in this particular effort. There’s a good movie in here, and my hope is that he takes the time to flesh it out in whatever he does next.
Anything is better than returning to “The Bunny Game.” Seriously, “Snack Shack” is by far and away the better choice to watch and road to explore. Trust me on this, you don’t need both in your life.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars
“Snack Shack” is in select theaters March 15th. You can watch the trailer below.
