‘Snack Shack’ fails because of a lack of identity

The new teen comedy “Snack Shack” suffers from a personality disorder. At times the tale of two annoying teens living in Nebraska City tries to be a risqué comedy. Then it turns into a slapstick fest before landing with a thud as a serious coming-of-age movie.

Had director/writer Adam Rehmeier (“Dinner in America”) shown a little self-constraint with his genre hopping the end result would have been better. What he has produced is cinematic chaos but not in a good way.

It is the summer of 1991. Best friends AJ (Conor Sherry) and Moose (Gabriel LaBelle) split their time between abusing each other physically and verbally and trying to come up with get-rich-quick schemes. Those range from off-track betting to making their own beer.

Between bouts with high school bullies (who look to be more than 30 years old), the friends jump on the chance to run the local pool’s rundown snack shack. The only flaw in their plan is the arrival of the provocative summer visitor Brooke (Mika Abdalla). The only thing that can separate too close buddies is a love interest.

The first part of “Snack Shack” comes across as a tribute to the John Hughes teen movies of the ‘80s. Moose could be a cousin to Anthony Michael Hall’s scheming character in “16 Candles.”

That’s the direction Rehmeier should have maintained. There have not been a lot of films aimed at the teen market in recent decades. The few that have been made – such as “Lady Bird” – have been more dramatic in nature. There has just been a lack of goofy stories about growing up.

Rehmeier begins to lose his way as the friends land the job at the “Snack Shack.” Instead of capitalizing on the unique mix of youngsters who go to a public pool – as in “Caddyshack” – the director opts for frantic scenes of youngsters trying to buy snacks.

The biggest joke in those segments is how AJ writes a curse word using ketchup on the hot dogs being sold to the pool patrons. They are so happy to see the profanity, the youngsters are willing to pay more for the hot dogs.

Their mentor in the endeavor is Shane (Nick Robinson), a slightly older friend who has returned home after being sent to Kuwait. He’s always around to hand out sage advice or to take care of a bully when needed.

Initially, their plan works. The friends are raking in the dough, and they see the money as the start of a financial empire. Then Rehmeier makes a dramatic turn to the dramatic. The silliness gets replaced by the romantic struggle between the friends, a massive tragedy and loads of heartbreak.

Those elements are handled well, especially the work by Sherry. The mop-top actor presents the same kind of innocence that made Michael O’Keefe’s character in “Caddyshack” such a likable character.

What causes the viewing whiplash is watching the film go from a full-blown comedy to a tearful tale of teen angst. These elements are so different that it takes a seasoned hand to blend them smoothly. Rehmeier doesn’t show such a directing skill. His approach is more of a jerking motion that tends to confuse more than support the story trying to be told.

He even makes the mistake of missing the opportunity to make this film memorable simply for its soundtrack. There are a couple of ‘90s tunes but the movie should have been a songbook of the era. Anyone who has ever been to a public pool knows the tunes never end.

His last mistake was not knowing his audience. This is a story aimed at teens but because of the language, sexual material and other elements it is rated R. That means the demographic meant to see it will have to get their parents to go with them.

The best solution is to bypass this film as it can never decide if it was to stay in the shallow end of the pool of comedy or take a deep dive into drama.

Movie review

Snack Shack

Grade: C-

Cast: Conor Sherry, Gabriel LaBelle, Mika Abdalla, Nick Robinson, Gillian Vigman, David Costabile.

Director: Adam Rehmeier

Rated: R for language, sexual material, alcohol and drug use, smoking

Running time: 112 minutes.

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