Movie Review: Small Town Saturday Night (2010)

September 18, 2010 / Leave a Comment

SMALL TOWN SATURDAY NIGHT

BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
SEPTEMBER 18, 2010

Everyone has a dream. Rhett Ryan’s vision (Chris Pine) is to be the next big Nashville country singer. Rhett has talent, but from a small town, he must choose between the life he will leave behind and the life of following his dreams.

Since receiving a starring role in “Star Trek,” Hollywood will not let you forget who Chris Pine is and how well “Star Trek” did. Nevertheless, Chris Pine has been impossible to deny. The man sweats charisma, and with every line of dialogue he spouts, he appears more genuine and talented. Without Pine, however, the film would dismally fail.

Poured on top of the main storyline are the lives of those around Rhett Ryan. Rhett’s girlfriend, who he will end up leaving behind, Samantha (Bre Blair), and her daughter, Megan (Kali Majors), whose father is the local sheriff, Tommy Carson (Shawn Christian). Tommy and Rhett do not see eye to eye, and Tommy presents the reason for Samantha not wanting to leave with Rhett. It sounds more complicated than it is. None of these characters add much to the film besides an obstacle course for Rhett to maneuver through.

Donnie Carson (John Hawkes), recently released from jail, adds very little to the storyline besides an explosive force against sheriff Tommy. His wandering nature and lack of character lose their appeal several minutes into the film. John Hawkes does his best with this role but chalks it up to poor writing about why his character falls off the map.

The other rather pointless portion of the film involves Rhett’s younger and less famous brother, Les Ryan (Adam Hendershott). His struggle to fit in and be accepted gets contradicted by his overprotective and anti-privacy-oriented mother, played by Lin Shave. She played the same overprotective, chain-smoking, and Jesus-loving mother from the 1999 film “Detroit Rock City.” Though the conclusion of this portion of the film has a nice twist that makes you genuinely feel for Hendershott’s character, the fact that any of this was supposed to compare to Chris Pine’s story and performance is ridiculous.

In re-analyzing, the film could have used a different structure. Instead of meshing all the stories together, it could have been broken into five or six parts, following each character separately through their arc, like the films “Crash” and “Go.” Each character has time to shine, while the other characters merely show up. Then, when we reach the climax of that character, we move on to the next, constantly being reminded that Rhett Ryan is the leading cause of our concern. Instead, we get an utterly disorienting chain of events, never entirely living up to their potential.

“Small Town Saturday Night” is a personal piece from first-time film director Ryan Craig. Whether it is or not, the film leaves little to be desired, all while showcasing the extreme talents of Chris Pine. “Small Town Saturday Night” could have been something special if the film had found more well-known actors and actresses and fit into a new structure. Instead, it is small-time and will ultimately be passed over by most viewers, save for the tagline on the case of the film: “Starring Chris Pine from Star Trek.”