For the last few years, Kevin Smith has been fascinated by exploring his past. Nostalgia isn’t new for Smith, who has returned to his old favorite characters time and time again, and his films have always been filled with discussions of entertainment from decades prior. But ever since his heart attack in 2018, Smith has been even more reflective on his life, which has certainly come through in his films. In 2019’s Jay and Silent Reboot, Smith directly addressed the beauty of being a father by giving one of his most iconic characters, Jay (Jason Mewes), an estranged daughter (played by Smith’s own daughter, Harley Quinn Smith), and also seemed to question his involvement in telling a story like Chasing Amy. In Smith’s last film, 2022’s Clerks III, Smith returned to the characters that he started his film career with, having Randal (Jeff Anderson) and Dante (Brian O’Halloran) make their own movie in the Quick Stop, while also having this duo deal with heart attacks of their own. After a string of strange horror films, it was great to see Smith return to stories that were more personal to him.

With his latest film, The 4:30 Movie, Smith crafts a movie that feels like his most biographical since Clerks, creating a teen movie about simply hanging out at the movies, having friends that you frequently clash with, and thinking about a girl you wish you would’ve asked out. If Smith had a childhood even close to the one like we see on this one day of a 1986 New Jersey summer, it’s easy to see how he became who he is today and made the films he has. Smith has always been best when he wears his heart on his sleeve as he does with The 4:30 Movie, a film whose earnestness tries to iron out some of the usual problems with Smith’s films, but with mixed results.

What Is ‘The 4:30 Movie’ About?
Clerks III’s Austin Zajur stars as Brian David, a sixteen-year-old kid who spends his days sneaking around from movie to movie at his local multiplex and recording his thoughts in a tape recorder wherever he goes as a writing exercise. His friends are usually also along for these movie trips, as Burny (Nicholas Cirillo) is the ladies’ man of this trio, while Belly (Reed Northrup) seems to always be getting in trouble.

Brian David throws his friends for a loop when he invites his longtime crush, Melody Barnegat (Siena Agudong), to come with them to a 4:30 movie. Brian and Melody had a little thing last summer, but it took this long for Brian to get up the nerve to ask Melody out. When she says yes, Brian has to find a way to get them into the R-rated film, avoid the wrath of the frustrated theater owner, Manager Mike (a scene-stealing Ken Jeong), and reckon with his friend’s frustrations over this new girl disrupting their dynamic.

Smith’s films often make low-stakes situations still feel grand for his characters, which is a nice fit for his first attempt at a relatively straightforward teen comedy. Smith starts the film by introducing us to Brian David and Melody Barnegat through Brian finally calling her and asking her out. It’s awkward, it’s cheesy, but it’s sincere and honest in a way that makes this feel based on a real-life incident from Smith’s youth that he’s played over and over again in his head since. When Melody says yes to hanging out later that day, Brian’s victory is palpable in its importance for this character, a lovely moment to start from that shows the heart Smith wants to bring to this story.

Kevin Smith’s Usual Issues Pop Up Again With ‘The 4:30 Movie’
Image via Saban Films

It’s when these three friends get to the multiplex that we start to see Smith’s usual antics start to pop up. These friends make jokes that often don’t land, including a runner of characters pointing out saying things that will clearly be wrong in the future, like how end credit scenes are a thing of the past, and how Bill Cosby will always be a legend. The theater is packed with occasionally entertaining single-scene cameos that seemingly exist to pad out the film’s runtime, which barely makes it to 76 minutes anyway. Smith also throws in fake trailers that tend to rely on the usual dick and fart jokes he loves so much. Oddly, the most intriguing of these is an effectively simple horror trailer that doesn’t rely on Smith’s expected gags—and feels like a remnant of Smith’s horror past. But Smith even throws in a fake movie within his movie, as we get glimpses of Astro Blasters and the Beaver Men, a Flash Gordon ripoff starring Diedrich Bader and Logic. This is all slightly amusing at times, but makes it seem as though Smith doesn’t have enough story to fill out an entire film.

Especially in this middle section, we can see the flaws that often hold back Smith’s work. As previously mentioned, The 4:30 Movie is an extremely short film, but it often feels longer than it should. Smith lets gags linger for far too long, and scenes don’t quite know when to end. Smith’s writing here often doesn’t have the pop it needs, particularly since most of the barely-there story fades away in lieu of cameos, fake movies, and random jokes that miss the mark. It’s almost as though in this big-hearted young love story, Smith feels the need to throw in the elements of his films that he knows his audience will want, rather than doing what’s best for the story.

This sort of creating a film within an echo chamber has long been an issue for Smith. As writer, director, and editor, Smith has free rein to do whatever he wants and play to his audience that he knows will come to support his work regardless. There’s something fascinating about a filmmaker still having the ability to make exactly the film they want to make in this way, but The 4:30 Movie shows signs of Smith exploring something beyond his usual fare only to again get caught in what he thinks the audience wants from him, for better or for worse.

‘The 4:30 Movie’ Works When It Focuses on the Teen Romance at the Center
Image via Saban Films

But once Brian David and Melody Barnegat meet up for their date and the rest of the characters and gags start to fade into the background, The 4:30 Movie once again regains that sweetness and young joy that it began with, and showing a lighter, charming side to Smith that he should embrace more often. Zajur and Agudong are quite lovely when they’re put together, and both excel at presenting a version of young love that is borne out of genuine awe for the other person. Zajur shows a passion for movies that is endearing and gives us a glimpse of what a young Smith must’ve been like at this age, uncertain of what he wanted to do with his life, but knowing that adoration of cinema is there. Agudong could’ve been little more than the object of affection for Brian David, but she shows genuine care for this weird film nerd who was too shy to make his feelings known. The 4:30 Club finds its humanity again in its third act, and makes one wonder if a sincere, straightforward romantic comedy should be in Smith’s future.

One of the final credits during The 4:30 Movie comes from Smith, who says, “The Director would also like to thank the Audience for giving him an extended adolescence.” After this film, this seems like a double-edged sword. On one hand, this gleeful look at childhood is at its best when it keeps things simple, exploring the emotions of young love and discovering who you want to become as a teenager. On the other hand, it’s Smith playing directly to this same audience that shows signs of adolescent choices that he should’ve left behind long ago.The 4:30 Movie is often a flawed but earnest teen comedy that feels based on real experiences and is better for it. Yet when Smith falls into his usual gimmicks, it only hurts the lovely story being told around these odd jokes and unnecessary cameos.

The 4:30 Movie comes to theaters in the U.S. starting September 13. Click below for showtimes near you.

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