Snack Shack is a 2024 Coming of Age film written and directed by Adam Carter Rehmeier (Dinner In America). It stars Conor Sherry, Gabriel LaBelle, and Mika Abdalla.
AJ and Moose are two 14-year-old best friends who can't stop coming up with schemes to make money, from betting on dog races during field trips to selling their own home-brewed beer at parties. This summer, they buy the rights to run a snack shack at their community pool, but when a beautiful girl moves in next door to AJ, their friendship and business are sorely tested.
Snack Shack provides examples of:
- Author Appeal: AJ and Moose's schemes are all based on Rehmeier's actual exploits with his own best friend in Nebraska City in the early 90s.
- The Bully: AJ and Moose are routinely preyed upon by the Carmichaels, two juiced-up athletes.
- Bully Hunter: Shane, a Gulf War veteran, protects AJ from the Carmichaels and other bullies.
- Calling Parents by Their Name: When out of the home, AJ calls his mother "Jean" and his father "the Judge."
- Cannot Spit It Out: AJ is smitten by Brooke but cannot bring himself to make a move. Shane has to give him a pep-talk to take the plunge.
- Cerebus Syndrome: The film is mostly a comedy but takes a more serious and dramatic turn in the third act.
- Creator Provincialism: The film takes place in Nebraska City, where Rehmeier grew up and did many of the things that AJ and Moose do. The film was shot on location in Nebraska City.
- Dramatic Irony: AJ and Moose chat away obliviously while we see the Carmichael brothers sneaking up on them in the background before ambushing our heroes.
- Drives Like Crazy: Shane's reckless driving is the subject of jokes throughout the film. He's seen drinking a beer at the wheel, doing donuts, peeling out, and running red lights. In the end he's killed in a car accident.
- Groin Attack: AJ hits a Carmichael brother in the groin with a garden hose to protect Shane while Shane is dealing with the other brother.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: AJ and Moose are best friends and do everything together. They describe each other as a "package deal." When AJ admits that he's planned a five-week hiking trip with Shane, Moose objects that it wasn't cleared with him.
- Insult of Endearment: Brooke starts calling AJ "Shit Pig" from the moment she befriends him. AJ objects several times, and even Moose reacts with confusion when he hears her call him that for the first time. In the end, she has it embroidered on a hanky for him as a going-away present, and he seems to have made his peace with it.
- Karma Houdini: The Carmichaels get the last laugh against our heroes by trashing the snack shack.
- Love Triangle: Both AJ and Moose are smitten by Brooke. She dates Moose because he makes the first move but is more interested in AJ.
- The Magic Poker Equation: AJ wins a vital poker game with five aces.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: The Carmichaels get AJ and Moose alone and pummel them in retribution for tossing trash in their car.
- Odd Friendship: AJ is a 14-year-old who gets bullied, while Shane is an adult Gulf War veteran and former jock, but the two hang out quite a lot, and Shane even convinces AJ to come on a five-week hike in Alaska with him.
- Period Piece: Released in 2024, the film takes place in 1991. Characters reference the recent end of the Gulf War, and yellow ribbons are still seen strung up around town.
- Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: AJ and Moose fall out because Moose catches AJ on a date with Brooke, who had been dating him.
- Running Gag: AJ and Moose are prone to getting into playful wrestling matches over random quarrels.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: AJ and Moose swear profusely when away from their parents, even when manning the snack shack around little kids and parents. At home, AJ gets reprimanded for saying "frick."
- Smoking Is Cool: AJ and Moose smoke as one of the many very adult things they do while away from their parents despite being only 14.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Shane's reckless driving is played for laughs throughout the film. In the end, he's killed in a car accident.
- Third-Act Misunderstanding: AJ rejects Brooke because he saw her with some jarhead, only to find out from Shane later that he's her brother.
- Young Entrepreneur: A defining trait of the teenage AJ and Moose is their inexhaustible appetite for moneymaking schemes.
