User reviews

"4:30" is Kevin Smith's latest addition to his filmography, and it presents an interesting mix of elements that might leave audiences divided. The film revolves around its leads, who, while undoubtedly central to the narrative, come off as insufferable at times. It's a shame that Smith seems to struggle with creating truly likable characters, especially when compared to his earlier works where his characters resonated deeply with audiences.

In contrast, where "4:30" truly shines is in its side characters. These supporting roles inject much-needed charm and depth into the movie, saving it from becoming a complete letdown. It's in these moments and interactions that the film finds its rhythm and provides some enjoyable and watchable scenes.

While "4:30" may not reach the same heights as some of Smith's earlier classics, it still manages to surpass the last few lackluster entries in his filmography. There's a sense of improvement evident in this movie, a glimmer of the filmmaker revisiting his strengths and rediscovering what made his earlier works so beloved.

Despite its flaws, "4:30" offers a glimpse of Smith returning to form, albeit with some hiccups along the way. The pacing, dialogue, and character development may not be as polished as fans would hope for, but there's a raw honesty to the storytelling that is hard to ignore.

In conclusion, "4:30" is a mixed bag. While the leads may come across as insufferable and the writing lacking its past charm, the film is buoyed by strong performances from its side characters and an overall improvement in quality compared to Smith's recent endeavors. It might not be a perfect movie, but it shows promise and hints at a potential return to form for the filmmaker. With a rating of 5/10 stars, "4:30" is worth a watch for fans of Kevin Smith, but it may leave some wishing for more of the magic that defined his earlier works.

Kevin Smith FINALLY gets his mojo back in this one.

For the first time since Red State, or arguably Tusk, the film is shot with some sense of inspired visual creativity. The promise of the filmmaker Kevin Smith could be that was seen in Clerks II finally gets to fully bloom. The confused editing and flat cinematography that haunted Yoga Hosers and Clerks III is finally gone, and not only is it very pleasant to look at, but the slick charisma of Kevin Smith's characters has finally returned.

The worst offender might be that certain jokes and pieces of expository dialogue repeats itself a little too much for my taste, and the humor leans more towards the laid back low-brow style of humor prevalent in Mallrats, and less towards the frenzy of snappy zingers of Clerks or Dogma.

Where The 4:30 Movie truly shines, however, and becomes something truly special and memorable, is it's authenticity. The love story feels so personal, sweet and vulnerable, told with a unique voice that only Kevin Smith could pull off. The banter and chemistry between Brian and Melody reminds you of those truly charming, flirtatious interactions from Clerks, Chasing Amy and Clerks II.

Smith does something you might have never expected to see in one of his films, which is to completely let go of his dialogue on ocassions and completely surrender the film to the score by Bear McCreary, which gives it an eerie and bittersweet feeling of stepping into a nostalgic dream.

All in all, The 4:30 Movie feels like a beefed up version of Mallrats, with a very loose hangout movie structure that more than anything captures a vibe and a feeling that makes you go "You know what? That was very sweet. I'm glad you shared that with me, Kevin".

If you've been a fan of The Askewniverse since the 90s, and might've felt like he disappeared into a cloud of weed smoke for a while, I do wholeheartedly recommend you check this out. It didn't always connect with me comedically, but the voice you remembered that Kevin Smith used to have back in the 90s is so back, with a far more cinematically confident vibe this time. It starts and ends so strong, with scenes that most definitely deserve to be on the highlight reel of this man's career.

Everything you could possibly love or hate about a Kevin Smith movie is in here, and whether or not if you're fan, I think it's worth celebrating that unlike certain films he's put out recently that almost felt like a passive-aggressive attack on the audience, this is probably the first time since Zack & Miri Make A Porno that I can confidently say to myself that "THAT was a Kevin Smith movie!"

Iconic writer / director Kevin Smith's '80s-based autobiographical "The 4:30 Movie" (prequelling his "Clerks" trilogy) spans a pivotal day in teen Austin Zajur's life that doesn't run smooth after he planned spending it with buds Reed Northrup & Nicholas Cirillo (and crush Siena Agundong) at douche Ken Jeong's cinema. Its light dramedy is laced with ample movie-nerd references, fun fake film trailers, and cameos from Smith faves like Justin Long, Rosario Dawson, Jason Lee, Jason Mewes, Jason Biggs, & Harley Quinn Smith (his daughter). While not matching the similarly themed "I Like Movies", Smith fans (including all fellow cinephiles, right?) will for sure adore it.

Couldn't sit through the 2nd half of the movie, except of one joke where a character wishes death upon another was the only moment that made me giggle, other than that everything was so unnatural and cringe, not even guest appearances of Justin Long nor Jason Lee could have saved it. Clerks and Mallrats fans stay away and rather go see Chasing Amy on a loop, this is borderline criminal on pair with his Yoga Hosers attempts at humor. I dont know what the cause behind this trend, age? Times of political correctness? If that's the case I would appreciate more attempts in vein of Tusk and Red State going forward. Stick to horror genre Kevin. Thanks your fan.

It seems Kevin is afraid of himself.

Let me explain, we got a bit of the old Kev back in Clerks III, with great dialogs, tons of laughter and an elegance and profoundness to the lines that rivaled his early work.

It wasn't Red State (by far Smith's undefeated Magnum Opus) but at least it looked like he was starting to come back.

And then we get this movie that while cute, it felt like it was afraid of having an edge. 3 or 4 jokes cut through but the rest? Geez...

There's only so much that cameos can do if you don't have anything to say. And Kevin Smith does t seem to have anything important to say... or he's afraid to say anything at all.

Does he think they're going to mock him? Does he think the audience will not "get it"?

He was on his way to be a great writer and a great filmmaker, and for the most part I think he still can be. But he needs to get out of his own way, dig deep and say what he really wants to say.

That or he ran out of things to talk about because he has been podcasting for more than a decade.

Watch the movie for completionism. But that's about it.

It is the summer of 1986 in a seaside New Jersey town. Teenager Brian David is taking Melody Barnegat out to the 4:30 movie, but it's rated R. He joins his friends, Belly and Burny, in going to the theater. They buy tickets to a comic book movie and sneak into the R-rated movies.

Kevin Smith is doing a coming-of-age movie and it's actually pretty good. He brings it back to the 80's which is his coming-of-age time. The nostalgia is thick in this one. The soundtrack is so 80's. When the Chaka Khan song comes on, I am struck by his take on Bohemian Rhapsody from Wayne's World. There are a lot of good laughs. The kids mostly work although I don't buy Siena Agudong as a plain Jane. She is super sweet and that does fit the role. The kids are all sweet even with all the sexual matters. The famous faces are more of a mixed bag. A lot of them are trying to go full wacky and that overwhelms the movie. I accept Ken Jeong for who he is, but Justin Long goes too far. As for the fake movies, they are fun in small doses, but Astro Blaster & The Beaver Men do overstay their welcome. All in all, this is very sweet and very nostalgic and mostly works.

Brian David is in love with Melody Barnegat and asks her out to catch a 4:30 show of Bucklick, an R rated comedy film. He hadn't spoken to her for an year after he had got too scared while making out with her in the pool. She has decided to give him another chance but Brian's best friend Burny is not at all happy with this development as he along with Belly wanted to do theater hopping all day. Things take a turn when Belly is banned for life by egotistic theater manager yet they sneak him in. Their day's plan gets to be reshuffled to accommodate Melody but things take the worse turn when all 3 get banned. How does Brian and Melody's date turn out to be on this messy day? How does the friendship triumph over the egotistical manager? How the movies play an impactful role in all of this, forms rest of the story.

Kevin Smith has once again reached out to his actual comfort zone to deliver yet another film that is instantly relatable. For someone who loves movies, sharing that emotion with his audience and connecting with it, isn't much of a challenge. This might not be Clerks or Mallrats, the characters still drive the story and they do the trick. Belly eats his up his big moment and it works really well. All the nostalgic film references and ofcourse overly repetitive jokes about films and celebs' future while knowing the predictions turn exactly opposite, are still fun. The simple story of theater hopping and the aim to make it to the 4:30pm show with constant challenges thrown in the form of the theater manager while emphasising on the friendship as well as first love, Kevin Smith is at ease in terms of making. In the end, that little conversation between Brian and Usher, is what truly stayed with me - we are filmmakers, we just haven't made our movie yet. For all movie lovers, it is worth catching The 4:30pm Movie.

A very short movie that is padded with homages for movies from the past that never existed - can you really not play any trailers from real movies from the past you can make fun of? What's with the fake trailers? What was the point? Just to vaguely bring some nostalgia to the table and satirise the quality of the movie scene in the 80s.

And once again, Kevin Smith finds himself to use his movie as a platform to criticise other movies or franchises...basically if a letterboxed user was a director. This is what it would come out. Does anybody have Kevin Smith's user on here?

The actors have their limited charm in this, but they were the correct choices. This is thin and forgettable.

It sucks! It doesn't JUST suck, it's actually kinda bad and I LOVE Kevin Smith! Like I get legit excited to see his stuff but Im super disappointed - do without spoilers, the entire first act is essentially talking about sneaking into an theatre, and idk if he's trying to explain a very simple concept to people born after 2000, or it's just 'Chuffa' ( 1. See Kevin I am a fan! I remember your Bruce Willis story when you directed him in Cop Out and 2. Shout out to Bruce Willis, thank you for the years and years of entertainment) - but take that in addition to flagrant attempts at manipulation of human nostalgia (which has become a way to leaned upon crutch after it hit big with Stranger Things) and it comes across as very desperate and simplistic in a very, almost offensive way - and oddly enough it was billed as" Kevins most personal film to date " (well it sure has enough of his friends in it ffs) (who can't act I might add, but it isn't endearing) but yet it's not autobiographical either soooo.... And yes I spoke directly to Kevin earlier cause I know he's gonna read this, I KNOW this because having read the day one reviews here on imdb, I can see that several of them are made from, let's say... 'inside the Smith camp' if u get my drift - and again listen I love the guy and have enormous respect - I WAS 16 in 86 so this has extra meaning to me and I should be susceptible to the nostalgia draw - but it's not enough and I think he knows it - I'm sorry, I expected better from such a genius.

I love the way that Kevin Smith makes movies. He doesn't do much more than create lovable characters, give them some great dialogue and throw in a relatable problem or 2 for them to deal with. Unfortunately 'The 4:30 Movie' is not his best work.

It still has all the ingredients we have come to know and love from Smith, but it is missing one thing - humour. I found that I didn't laugh enough. There was no 'Randal Graves' type character where I couldn't wait to hear what would come out of their mouth next.

The movie is far from a total misfire though. There are a lot of clever references to the time-period, some good dialogue and a lot of fun cameos from familiar faces from the View Askewniverse. 6/10.

The film starts and ends with a very, very weak "rom com" storyline. In total, this accounts for perhaps 15-20 minutes of the film's total run time. In between that, there's a good hour+ of just pointless, repetitive 80s references and "jokes" related to the future. The base "rom com" storyline isn't really very interesting or engaging, but that's really a minor aspect of the film.

Imagine... You travel back to 1986... and make as many statements that will prove to be inaccurate in 40 years... That's the BULK of this film.

While there's a very weak base story, most of the film is just trying to crack jokes about things that will eventually be proven true after 1986... example "There'll never be another Star Wars. Can you imagine.. they make tv series based on minor characters?!?" Those kind of "jokes". Only POSSIBLY slightly amusing because anyone watching this film would know different. They aren't "jokes" or "funny" in themselves.

The film is a series of repetitive 80s references, using only the most prominent trends of the 80s that were annoying then -- and in EVERY conversation, multiple times -- seems Smith was hard-pressed to write a single line of dialog that wasn't either referencing the 80s or miserably attempting some "joke" based solely on some future truism.

This appears to be a film targeted at 13-15 year olds.. who will miss all the (way overused) 80s references and, once in a blue moon, MIGHT find the statements about the future amusing.. but that's stretching things.

Oddest thing was the reference to needing to be 18 years old to see an R rated film.. That's never been true. It's always been 17, not 18. It states it right in the MPAA rating screen at the beginning of a film. All my life it's been 17.. and I'm the same age as Smith. Really? I mean Smith is in the film industry and he gets this wrong?? Kind of shows how much thought was put into the script.

I didn't find this film funny or even slightly amusing in ANY way... and it wasn't that interesting. This is quite possibly Kevin Smith's worst film ever. I typically love Kevin Smith films. I'll NEVER sit through this one again.

----- Pass ------

I really enjoyed this movie. The cast is a mix of unexpectedly good newcomers and funny cameos from regulars in Kevin's movies. There is a sweet side to the story that we haven't seen from Kevin since Jersey Girl and it works.

Austin Zajur gives a performance way above what you would expect and the cast has great chemistry.

I was lucky enough to get to watch this movie with Kevin at his place and it was an amazing evening. I'm going to see it again this weekend on the big screen.

The movie isn't drawn out or heavy and it is a great time. Highly recommended for anyone who grew up in that era or wished they did.

While it could have benefited from a few (dozen) fewer cameos, a couple of them were kinda funny I guess, and the mid-80s vibes were pretty on point which went a long way towards saving the movie from being forgettable, but only just.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the performances of the 3 leads - Bri, Belly, and Burny - as well as Siena Agudong as Melody Barnegat - and the story felt incredibly relatable (aside from the 'funny' shenanigans the kids got up to), but again the cameos are just too distracting.

I don't know, maybe Kevin wanted to go for the goofy angle rather than the feel-good angle, but if that's the case then maybe he should have leaned harder into that? As it is, it's hard to recommend this movie unless you're a die-hard Kevin Smith fan. Which is a shame because the 4 main kids are pretty great with what they've been given.

Put aside this is from director / writer Kevin Smith and judging 'The 4:30 Movie' on it's own merits you still don't come back with much to show for it. Very few laughs, slightly annoying characters and knee deep life sentiment as the plot charts a course of young romance. A downward trajectory of a man who once made witty comedies continues via tired inspiration.

New Jersey teen Brian (Austin Zajur) rekindles with his crush Melody (Siena Agudong) as plans are made to sneak into the 4:30 showing of a R-rated film together (hence the title). In the meanwhile, he hangs out with his best friends on route to a day at the movies. Here friendships and a possible relationship will be tested by egomaniac manager Mike (Ken Jeong).

I'll give a cast of young actors credit for making their characters feel down to earth if nothing else. However a story tracing the directors early life is equal parts cliched and meandering. With nothing new to say, very few comedy setups it has the entertainment factor of an afterschool special and about as much emotional depth as one too.

This isn't about the 80's neither. Ditto society's affection for going to the movies (kids are sneaking into films they didn't pay for, but hey that's okay?). What does it have to say about growing up or interactions with the opposite sex? Nothing you haven't saw or heard done better. It's coda? Awfully close to self-aggrandizing as in "Here's my life! Look at me! I made it in Hollywood after all!".

A lot of critics think 'The 4:30 Movie' is a move in the right direction for Smith and I couldn't disagree more. This was a tale in boredom and eventually I gave up hope it would get better. A handful of cameos don't elevate things. With nothing insightful, no killer dialog and few laughs the hardcore fans are saying this is a return to form. It really ain't.

It's definitely not for everyone, one should be a Kevin Smith's fan in order to like it. Or at least, a fan of this genre (Coming of age, comedy/drama/romance movies).

It was slightly better than i expected. In fact, i believe that some reviews are unnecessary harsh. This is a sweet movie, characters are very likeable and the young actors did a good job. I understand the reasons some might find it boring or uneventful but why dislike these kids? There are many movies nowadays with insufferable/dumb characters. This movie is definitely not one of them.

This is a simple story, nothing groundbreaking, and it's absolutely forgettable. I watched it a few days ago and i already sort of forgot what happened. But it was a fun ride and i would even say it was a breath of fresh air, because i have watched too many sad/nihilistic/cynical and bitter movies the last years. Nothing wrong with that but nothing wrong with sweet/naive/hopeful movies too. A balance is needed. And movies like these are heading in the right direction.

*As My Gossiping Neighbor Told It Teenagers sneaking into theaters, hopping from one screening to another, watching cheesy 80s B-movies while waiting for a girl to show up. What could possibly go wrong? And even if it does, slap a song over the end credits, and boom-you have a movie.

* I Don't Want to Get Serious, But... If someone tells me Kevin Smith is not the same filmmaker he was in the 90s, I won't argue. Clerks was one of a kind. Well, two, if you count Jay and Silent Bob. But love him or not, Smith is still one of us, and he proves it with this heartfelt tribute to cinema.

The film has a light, even chaotic tone, but the scene between the usher (Genesis Rodriguez) and Smith's stand-in (Austin Zajur) really hit me. Two cinephiles who live for movies, talking about directors, actors, and stories... exactly what we do here.

...And it features one of the best declarations of love a movie buff could ever make: "You are the coolest person I've ever met, and all I want to do is watch movies with you." What else is there to say?

* The Cat's Recommendations + You'll like this if cinema is your temple, dark theaters are your second home, and stories about friendship, nostalgia, and film references make your heart skip a beat.

• Avoid it if long conversations about movies bore you, you dislike chaotic narratives, or you expect a traditional plot structure.

The disappointment continues. Kevin Smith's low budget movies prove he's become so insecure that he's rather put out low value trash that his fan base guarantees to make profitable, instead of taking the kind of big swing that made him famous.

If Kevin were the person he professes to be, he would have directed a DC or Marvel motion picture. He tells fans that special effects are a skill he doesn't possess, but there are plenty of directors with limited to no experience doing quality projects with CGI. After cop out tanked, it was clear Kevin didn't want his name attached to any financial loss.

For this film, Kevin tried to recreate an episode of Smodcast where Emo Kev rides his bike recording thoughts about life. Unfortunately, it's all wrapped up in a foul mouthed, pop cultured mess that sexualizes teens.

Let's be honest, life is X rated, but when you tell a story about high school sophomore's, you are not going to get a PG rating with illicit sex talk and acts. I was also having a real hard time with one of the main characters, he was playing 16 and looked 30, upon looking him up, it appears I was not far off. At first look, I thought he was an uncle or much older brother, he certainly didn't look the same age as his co-stars.

Someone close to Kevin needs to help him get back on track. His movies miss Scott Mosier and the vulgarity, need to be replaced with better story and writing.

I was, at one time, a big fan of Kevin Smith's work. It was always amateurish but that was part of the charm. Terrible editing and abysmal acting were often overcome by terrific writing and striking, relatable characters.

But somehow, Kevin has achieved the miraculous and confounding achievement of having the quality of writing consistently decline and the characters become ridiculous charactatures of people with no redeeming or interesting qualities.

Worse yet, his directing skills seems to be devolving into something so far removed from directing as to be unrecognizable. You'd think, that even by accident, he'd improve just by virtue of putting in the time and effort. But nope! He gets worse with each outing.

Kevin seems to be conpletely impervious to improving his skills. It's time to stop humiliating himself and stick to selling comics and toys to adult men.

It is very disappointing, but after decades, there is just no there, there. This is a dead tree that is long past any chance of bearing fruit.

I gave it two stars because there were a few minor chuckles and couple moments where the leads didn't overact so horrifically, that the movie was almost approaching watcheable for a moment or two.

Almost!

What a monumental waste of time producing this garbage was. Steer clear. It's crap.

Utilizing all of his nostalgic wonder, Kevin Smith establishes The 4:30 Movie as a true 80s teen movie. The 4:30 Movie is a charming, delightful movie that might possess the DNA of his raunchy Jay and Silent Bob outings but has a stronger genealogy to the films of John Hughes, Amy Heckerling, and Savage Steve Holland.

The 4:30 Movie is a coming of age story filled with teenage fantasies, awkward adult encounters, and the realization of one's passions.

Similar to how Smith crafted his love letter to fans with Clerks III, The 4:30 Movie represents a stronger, smoother style of storytelling. The jokes remain ever-constant, as do the wacky situations, but Smith has matured. He still maintains a fantasy version of his corner of Jersey but has filled it with more than just stoned-out losers and Gen X-ers that really do not want to be in the retail business. With 4:30, Smith has proven his thesis that movies help you deal with life. And with a little cinematic magic, life in Leonardo, New Jersey, regardless of the decade, is not all that bad.

I usually like Kevin Smith movies but for the life of me I could not get into this movie. The main characters were terrible, and I felt bad for the View Askewniverse alumni that popped through in short phoned-in cameos.

I saw this for free snd still want my money back.

Avoid this one if you're a Kevin Smith fan.

This had the potential to be so much better than it was, and I'm honestly curious as to where exactly this project went sideways.

Was the script bad to start with, or was the letdown in the execution?

We're the main characters meant to be this annoying?

Who decided this much Ken Jeong was a good thing?

Did the cameos owe Smith a favor?

What in the hell happened to Kevin Smith? I thought that experience makes you improve. Not get worse. Well it's worse in his case... much worse. You can only take the "independent movie" shtick so far. After 25 years, it's time to make a movie that doesn't suck like most independent films. The acting in this movie makes the other independent films look like Oscar winners. The writing too. What the hell was with that writing?! Did those actors do this for free? I hope so. It would be shameful to think that they were paid for those performances. If you can save the money, then do it. You'll be glad you did.

So, Kevin Smith had a nice run in the mid-90s. He had his schtick, quirky characters saying quirky things flavored with stoner humor. Mallrats and Clerks were funny even if the material was fairly derivative.

As the 90s wore on his films got worse and progressively more annoying. By the mid-2000s, the films were terrible. He was no longer an "A-list" director. Unfortunately, nobody told him that. So, he gave up on new material and devoted himself to making sequels of his early hits.

So, he was far more talented than Corey Feldman, but they had one thing in common, stuck living in the past. Both are now laughing stocks in the eyes of mainstream commentators.

Please Kevin, your act is stale.

This feels more like Kevin Smiths true to form than anything he's made in the past 20 years. It's charming, heartfelt, and just the right amount of saccharine to let you feel good again. While it seems Smith has kept him and his friends in the movie biz there was definitely not as forced as his films' past. I hope his career continues in this direction the movie is heading.

Oh, unlike Smith's movies .. I guess I need more characters. Too bad I don't have any simi-talented and available friends to fill this review with. 69 -nice- characters left to go, now it's 31. I wish THIS limit did not exist. Good. Met the limit. Bye.

A kinda entertaining but sometimes cringe comedy movie by the controversial director Kevin Smith is an ok cheap movie.

The kids some are funny and some others are kinda bad but its ok that was the intention, Smith isn't trying anymore with the script and it's alright

The plot is just the classic story about teens want to have s e x and the journey to do it

It has a lot of movie references for you movies nerds, star wars, rocky and that stuff that make you geek shorts wet

Overall a very mid coming of age story tbh nothing new and disappointing for some folks but not for me because im not the biggest fan of Smith cinema.

The two minutes or so of Justin Long were the best two minutes of the movie. I've watched that part at least 10 times now - that guy is so underrated. Overall, I'd say the movie was fine until the phone call from the mom - from there until the end, it was a struggle to stay interested, becoming more filler and less killer. It's as though Kevin Smith got to a point while writing the screenplay and thought: crap, I'm having too much fun, I need to take myself more seriously. Other than Justin Long, I think most of the other 'cameos' were just friends showing up for the sake of showing up. Even the outtakes were a bit on the lame side.