I am someone who admittedly has a lot of really dumb films in my “desert island” list, or the favorite/comfort films list. I enjoy many teen movies from my day, from bigger hits like She’s All That and Varsity Blues, to even some lesser hits, like Get Over It. but, as I age, I should be aging past teen films, and yet, here comes Snack shack, which surprisingly is really good. the first indication that this is something special is that it is an independent feature that got a theatrical release, instead of being banished to streaming. That means we got an audio description track by International Digital Center, written by Liz Gutman, and narrated by Kimberly Chatterly. The film is set a little big in a certain period of time, which I’m sure to gen Alpha made it feel like some blast from the past, but really just felt like home to my age range. I hadn’t heard the phrase “risk it for the biscuit” in at least 20 years. But, Snack Shack authentically takes its slice of life, where people aren’t always on a smart phone, and able to just enjoy being a teenager, and really puts that front and center.

The movie follows two best friends (Conor Shirley and Gabriel Labelle) who are constantly scheming on how to make money on the side, and who are preparing to have a fun filled summer. However, after one of their sets of parents catches them doing some of their schemes, it becomes the directive that they get a real job over the summer. That leads to the two of them figuring out a way to buy the dilapidated Snack Shack at the local pool, which sets forth more and more fun between these two friends. Then girls show up, and girls always complicate things, and the film transitions rather well from sophomoric teen humor to a true coming of age story that ends on a rather downbeat.

First, I loved the score to this film. It’s not usual for a film like this to have a score that I even really notice, but not only did I notice it, but I thoroughly enjoyed how it complimented the film. Conor Shirley, the least experienced of the main cast, is really a star in the making here. He shares so much back and forth with LaBelle, but also plays with the other characters, including a terrific Nick Robinson, and an always reliable David Costable.

This feels like one of those films that might be partially true, or inspired by the adolescence of the writer, who uses this script to convey a message that not only reaches an older audience that relates to this specific moment in time before everyone was doing it for the gram, and also speaks to the teen audience who will likely get a lot out of this journey.

Delightful, emotional, and way better than I thought it would be. Snack Shack is a film you shouldn’t miss this year.

Final Grade: A-