In terms of movies set in Nebraska, there really aren’t many that come to mind. Alexander Payne’s films such as “Election” (1999) or “Nebraska” (2013) are notable, as is 2022’s “Bones and All”. The 2024 film by Nebraska native and director Adam Reheimer, “Snack Shack” is the newest addition to the list.
“Snack Shack” follows the story of two best friends in Nebraska City as they operate the concession stand at their town’s local public pool. While the titular snack shack is the main driving force behind much of the plot, the film also digs deeper into love, coming of age and friendship.
The film stars Connor Sherry, Mika Abdalla and “The Fablemans” star Gabriel LaBelle. LaBelle and Sherry deliver the on-screen chemistry needed for audiences to believe that the two really are best friends, having energetic and laugh out loud moments enough times throughout “Snack Shack” to really sell their performances. While the two can easily nail the funny and happy best friend schtick, they are also able to sell the more emotional moments of the film, especially LaBelle. Abdalla also holds her own throughout the film, although her performance did not require quite the amount of heavy lifting that LaBelle and Sherry’s roles did.
The supporting roles also did quite well in “Snack Shack”. “Love Simon” (2018) star Nick Robinson plays the classic coming of age trope of the ‘cool older kid’, while David Costabile and Gillian Vigman play the parents of Sherry’s character. The performances of all three were well done, though again, they did not require much grunt work. Costabile and Vigman had a back and forth that was easy to watch, while Robinson was easy to root for.
“Snack Shack” is definitely a film made for Nebraska audiences. It shows locations in both Nebraska City and Omaha that are easily recognizable to the eye of someone who has spent significant time in the state in their life; it also namedrops nicher things significant to the setting that Nebraska audiences could pick up on. To someone who has no ties to Nebraska, however, these references might be unnecessary or a little perplexing.
While “Snack Shack” is a fun watch, it is not breaking new ground or doing anything that hasn’t already been done ten times over. The film is chalk full of overdone tropes, usually ones that are seen in coming of age media or teen flicks. The trope of two friends going after the same girl certainly can be made interesting, but the film didn’t add anything new to the idea. A main character moving away at the end of the summer, the role model figure dying tragically and a gang of big bad high school bullies are overused ideas that “Snack Shack” tries and fails to make unique.
There are definitely better coming of age films. There are definitely better films set in Nebraska. Even though “Snack Shack” did not push any boundaries or make any bold statements, it did do one thing very well: be fun. Certainly not every film needs to be fun or lighthearted to be enjoyable, but in terms of a coming of age comedy film, it definitely helps. “Snack Shack” manages to fall perfectly into the middle ground of being fun and also being a pleasant viewing experience, especially for Nebraska audiences.
