The 4:30 Movie (2024)
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2025-09 to 2026-08
A teenager's quest to see a movie with his crush leads to a series of comedic mishaps and a lesson on friendship.
The story
In 1986, New Jersey teenager Brian David calls his crush, Melody Barnegat, to ask her out to the movies. She agrees to see a 4:30 showing of the movie Bucklick. Brian meets up with his friend Belly, an awkward wrestling fan, and Burny, a self-proclaimed ladies' man. The group heads to Atlantic Cinemas, run by an egotistical manager named Mike who loves banning people. As they attempt to navigate the theater and sneak into multiple screenings, they face various obstacles, including being kicked out and banned, while Brian struggles to balance his desires for Melody with his loyalty to his friends.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 1986, New Jersey teenager Brian David asks his crush Melody Barnegat to a 4:30 showing of the R-rated comedy Bucklick. He meets his friends Belly and Burny, who plan to sneak into multiple movies. At Atlantic Cinemas, they encounter the egotistical manager Mike. During the first film, Astro Blaster & The Beaver Men, Belly is kicked out for exposing himself, and Burny helps him sneak back in. Later, Burny hits on some girls who agree to have sex in the theater. Brian receives an 'Emergency Breakthrough' call from his mother, then another from Melody, who cancels the 4:30 showing for dinner. The group tries to see a later showing of Dental School, but find it sold out and are eventually banned for life from the theater after a confrontation with pre-teen girls. After a fistfight in an alley, Burny reflects on his friendship with Brian after a talk with his favorite wrestler, Major Murder. Meanwhile, Brian bonds with a female usher who inspires his filmmaking ambitions. Brian confronts Manager Mike to lift the ban; Melody defends him and gets banned too. Burny crashes his truck into Mike's car as a distraction, allowing Brian and Melody to sneak in. They are caught by Melody's mother, but eventually walk hand-in-hand in a park, with Brian reflecting on their day.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 88
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Kevin Smith
- Writers
- Kevin Smith · writer; Kevin Smith · director
- Cast and characters
- Austin Zajur; Nicholas Cirillo; Reed Northrup; Siena Agudong; Ken Jeong
- Genres
- comedy; coming-of-age; semi-autobiographical
- Themes
- coming-of-age; friendship; ambition; romance
- Tone and mood
- semi-autobiographical; comedy
- Premise and plot tags
- teenagers; movie theater; sneaking into movies; romance
- Source material / true-story basis
- Kevin Smith's experiences
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 52 · scale: 100 · review count: 12
- Production trivia
- Filming took place at SModcastle Cinemas, a New Jersey movie theater that Kevin Smith co-owns.; The film was approved for filming during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.; The film's budget was $3 million.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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