This coming-of-age gem is the most underrated film of 2024

The article contains spoilers for Snack Shack.

The summery coming-of-age film enchanted audiences and critics alike for decades. From the popular baseball film The Sandlot in the 90s to the sun-drenched mermaid movie Aquamarine In the 2000s, the subgenre flourished well into the 2010s and beyond. There was a timelessness to these films that kept them in the pop culture lexicon and in the hearts and minds of film lovers. After all, every adult was sixteen themselves at some point, and teenagers wanted to see films in which they could see themselves in the characters and the struggles they went through. Summer in particular seemed like the perfect season to explore such themes and characters. With school closed, the possibilities for the shenanigans and adventures the characters can have seemed endless.

There was one such film in 2024, one with a limited theatrical release that seemed to stay under the radar of most moviegoers despite positive critical reviews. Those who couldn’t see it in theaters have either never heard of it or have been waiting to be able to stream it at home. However, when it finally found a streaming home on Prime Video, it finally seemed to find its audience and quickly became the shining example of the year’s biggest underrated gem. Snack Hut has established itself as a summer coming-of-age classic Thanks to its lovable and realistic characters as well as the perfectly designed seasonal and regional atmosphere.

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Snack Shack has flawed but lovable main characters

It takes place in Nebraska in the summer of 1991 Snack Hut followed best friends Moose and AJ as they bought the local swimming pool snack bar in one of their desperate get-rich-quick schemes. What followed were the typical teenage movie beats: first love, first deeply personal loss and first major friendship dispute. Nothing that hasn’t already happened in these types of films, but Snack Hut He wisely focused on a core component of any great film to engage the audience in the plot: the characters. Although none of them were ever perfect and flawed, they were still endearing and relatable to many.

AJ, portrayed by Conor Sherry, anchored the film perfectly. Like many teenage film protagonists, he was a little awkward, a little insecure, and a little chaotic when talking to girls his age. Although he always followed his best friend Moose’s plans and schemes, he was certainly not the ringleader. He was a likeable character, a typical protagonist in films of this type, but thanks to Sherry’s sincere performance, he was a character that was easy to fall in love with. His best friend Moose, perfectly portrayed by rising star Gabriel LaBelle, was recently seen in Saturday eveningwas the perfect opposite of AJ. Quick-thinking but not always thoughtful, funny but not always as serious as he should, Moose was a wonderful foil to AJ, but their differences only made their friendship stronger. The chemistry between the actors was wonderful and they were able to interact with each other in a believable and endearing way. They truly felt like lifelong best friends, so much so that it felt like a huge sigh of relief after they made up after an argument.

SNACK SHACK (2024), starring Gabriel LaBelle, is now available to stream on Prime Video! ðŸŒ
pic.twitter.com/GiCno52zTA

— Gabriel LaBelle Updates (@labelleupdates)
September 5, 2024

Two supporting characters who shook up her world were the cool new lifeguard Brooke, played wonderfully by Mika Abdalla, and her older brother figure Shane, played by the always good Nick Robinson. Brooke found herself at the center of a love triangle between the two boys, which eventually led to a massive rift in their relationship. First love and heartbreak always hurt deeply, and although the boys’ relationships with her were messy, they were sincere, and it was heartwarming to see the two reconcile while still maintaining a relationship with Brooke. It was refreshing to see a female character insert herself into the central story, similar to Sloane Peterson Ferris Bueller’s day off.

Brooke left town with two touching gifts for AJ and another kiss, leaving the door open for the audience to decide whether they want to stay in touch. However, Shane had a much sadder ending. When he died in a car accident, part of Moose and AJ also died. The first major loss in her young life, her grief was palpable on screen, a testament to LaBelle and Sherry’s achievements. Losing a friend can be unbearable at any age, but especially at 16, when so many teenagers thought themselves and their friends were invincible. The only spark of hope after Shane’s tragic and unfair end came from Brooke, who left AJ with a picture of him and Shane by the pool, their time together frozen forever.

“Snack Shack” captured the highs and lows of a Midwestern summer

The summer atmosphere in Nebraska was captured perfectly Snack Hut. The vast blue sky above the characters’ heads felt endless, especially during the twilight scenes where pink and lavender painted the cornfields and grass below. At the municipal swimming pool, you could smell the chlorine smell of the bright blue water, feel the scratch of the concrete beneath your bare feet, and feel the stickiness of spilled Coke and ketchup dripping down your fingers.

The city swimming pool, the movie theater, and a street full of shops were places Moose and AJ could go without a license, and the film took advantage of everything they could from those locations. Snack Hut wasn’t writer/director Adam Rehmeier’s first foray through the Midwest. His 2020 film Dinner in America followed its characters on a road trip through the same region.

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The fictional city Snack Hut was in a certain way alive and almost tangibly located. When Moose and AJ walked the worn streets, or when AJ sat on the roof and felt the summer breeze on his face, Rehmeier and the crew did an incredible job making every little detail feel real, as if the audience was watching it would feel the golden sunshine and cold water of the pool on their skin, just like the characters. Nebraska may not be Los Angeles or New York City, but there were many small towns full of heart and beauty. The Midwest suburbs could have been a prison for AJ and Moose, but instead they were a magical place full of opportunity and the place where they made so many memories together. Even town girl Brooke eventually became familiar with the place.

The Midwest had an undeniable charm. The suburbs gave way to rural farmland within minutes. The sky seemed to last forever, bright blue during the day and an explosion of melted pastels as the summer sun finally set. To some, the town swimming pool may not look like anything special, but to the characters and even some spectators, it was special, a place to make money while making memories. Summers may be humid and long, but they also possess a kind of magic that can only be found in the Midwest Snack Hut benefited from a region of America that is woefully underutilized in the film industry.

“Snack Shack” will hopefully be the first of many more summer movies for teens to come

Every summer I grew up felt full of promise, as if those three sun-drenched months held nothing but adventure, fun, and life-changing moments. For many, being a teenager felt much the same: first love, loss, and big life experiences all happening in just a few years. AJ and Moose’s summer experiences in 1991 captured this feeling perfectly. The teenage years were full of ups and downs. Even with your first kiss you experienced a deep loss. Friends changed and fought, came and went, while others stayed and deepened the friendship.

As a teenager, everything felt monumental, and honestly, everything Was monumental. This was the first time so many people experienced milestones, the good, the bad and the heartbreaking. It was the first time they had felt so many complicated and painful feelings at once, and in the heat of summer everything felt so much bigger and endless. Moose and AJ weren’t the first teenage characters to have their experiences and life-changing summer showcased in a summer coming-of-age film, and they certainly won’t be the last, but they had the most fun to look at them.