Small Engine Repair

Read through some of the more negative reviews and a common interpretation emerges; a tale of toxic masculinity.

This is really a story of childhood shared amongst three best friends who eventually grow up to help raise one the three's daughter through tough times.

It's a tale of unwavering support by friends through the darkest days from childhood to adulthood. We all have those friends that would do anything for us and us for them, it's something boys cherish and men hold on to. It's a story of that.

Watch this with an open mind, a sense of dark humor, and some humility; yes, it may offend you at times, but appreciate that some actions change lives forever and that some loyalties run thicker than blood shared but rather blood spilled.

This movie has great actors and the chemistry between them strong. The story is heavy dialogue but it keeps the story on point. This one is a slow build that is worth watching. It really surprises me, which rarely happens with movies.

A real slow burner of tension-well acted and intense-like a very dark hybrid of Trailer Park Boys/The Iceman Cometh/Death Wish. I don't like to read reviews that give away the whole plot (especially with a surprise like this) or watch trailers that do the same thing-I have no idea why IMDB needs long descriptions of the plot written down by every viewer-the best movie experiences are when you walk in knowing nothing. Anyway-this movie was a real throwback to the old days of movies-no fake characters inserted to fill a Diversity Equity Inclusion quota, no fake looking actors not matching the character.

Never heard of this film til last night and I have to say I enjoyed it.

An interesting drama following the lives of three friends their relationship and their issues. One thing this film does fantastically well is dialogue. The writing is phenomenal which is important considering how heavy in dialogue this film is. There is very little to no action and relies heavily on the acting and chemistry of these actors. Fortunately though the three leads Jon Bernthal, Shae Whigham, and John Pollono all deliver great performances.

Though all these positives aside this film falls apart for me in where as very little to nothing happens. When the plot finally begins to come to a head it leaves something to be desired.

While this was a very well done film it took to long for things to finally happen and when things finally did happen the pay off wasn't all that rewarding.

IMDb: 7/10 Letterboxd: 3/5

Watched on Hulu.

I don't understand the ultra-low or the ultra-high reviews. It's a very good script about family, violence, regret, redemption etc. Could it have been better? Yes. Maybe 20-minutes shorter with better editing, but for crying-out-loud, it's far above virtually everything on network television or comic book movies.