disappointment media
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About

SMALL ENGINE REPAIR -- A Script with a Misfire

9/10/2021

0 Comments

 
Review by Dan Skip Allen
Picture
It's always good to see new filmmakers making films. It's those filmmakers who go on to be the next big filmmakers we as film fans or critics look forward to. Seeing the films from up-and-coming filmmakers can be a surprise or a disappointment. They may still have work to do to get better, but sometimes they may have struck gold right off the gate. Small Engine Repair is in the middle of that range. It's not a bad film by any means, but it doesn't stick the landing. If it did it could have been a very good film. 

John Pollono does double duty in this film. He directs and stars in it. Frank (Pollono) and his family live in New Hampshire. He has a daughter (Ciara Bravo, Cherry) and an estranged wife. His main focus in the film is his two buddies Swaino (Jon Bernthal) and Packie (Shea Whigham). After a bar brawl, they have a falling out. Frank decides to get the gang back together though after three months apart from each other at his small engine repair shop. This is a very fateful decision by him, though.

This film is an interesting one because of the friendship aspect of it. These guys drink together, watch ball games, go to various family functions and act as surrogate fathers for the other guy's kids. This is the epitome of what friends are for: to hang out with each other, pick on one another and tell stories about the past. One such story was about the 1986 World Series. I have a soft spot when it comes to that. Of course, my Red Sox lost in the most tragic way possible. when the ball rolled under Bill Buckner's legs, the Mets won game 6 and later went on to win the World Series in game 7. The curse of the bambino lived on for another sixteen years.
Picture
Small Engine Repair has a very interesting premise to it. These three friends are seeking revenge for something that had happened to a loved one of theirs. At its core, it is a simple idea. It gets bogged down with all kinds of crazy dialogue the scriptwriters threw in there that wasn't necessary. Just follow through with this revenge plot. Don't go all holier than thou on me just because it's not the simple thing to do. Go through with the obvious idea and make it work in the end. It's not hard to do that. Pollono does the best he can with what he has to work with, but it could have been better.

The cast in the film was very good — they acted out their parts very soundly. The direction by Pollono was serviceable with what he had to work with. The script is the biggest issue with this film. The screenwriter tried to be too safe with the story when they should just go to the next level. People would have been fine with that. It's the year 2021. We've seen violent revenge films before. This one had a nice twist to it but the screenwriter just wouldn't pull the trigger on it, pun intended.

Small Engine Repair is now in theaters and on VOD.

Rating: 2.5/5
               
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019

    Authors

    All
    Adam Donato
    Alan French
    Allison Brown
    Borja Izuzquiz
    Camden Ferrell
    Cole Groth
    Daniel Lima
    Dan Skip Allen
    Erin M. Brady
    Jonathan Berk
    Joseph Fayed
    Josh Batchelder
    Paris Jade
    Rafael Motamayor
    Sarah Williams
    Sean Boelman
    Tatiana Miranda

disappointment media

Dedicated to unique and diverse perspectives on cinema!
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • The Snake Hole
  • About