''Small Engine Repair'' is a 2021 American

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film written and directed by

John Pollono John Pollono is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor. He is best known for writing the 2017 film '' Stronger'' and the plays ''Small Engine Repair'' and ''Lost Girls'', which premiered Off-Broadway in 2013 and 2015, respectively. As an ...

based on Pollono's

play of the same name Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

Plot

The seemingly casual reunion of three old friends at an out-of-the-way repair shop masks a hidden agenda fueled by the arrival of a privileged young yuppie.

Cast

Jon Bernthal Jonathan Edward Bernthal (; born September 20, 1976) is an American actor. Beginning his career in the early 2000s, he came to prominence for portraying Shane Walsh (The Walking Dead), Shane Walsh on the AMC (TV channel), AMC horror series ' ...

as Terrance Swaino **Hunter Jones as Young Terrance Swaino *

as Frank Romanowski **Zachary Hernandez as Young Frank Romanowski *

Shea Whigham Franklin Shea Whigham Jr. (born January 5, 1969) is an American actor best known for portraying Elias "Eli" Thompson in the drama series ''Boardwalk Empire''. He also appeared in the first season of ''True Detective'' and the third season of ' ...

as Packie Hanrahan * Spencer House as Chad Walker *

Jordana Spiro Jordana Spiro (born April 12, 1977) is an American actress, director, and writer. As an actress, she has starred in numerous films and television series including Netflix's ''Ozark'' and TBS comedy television program ''My Boys''. Her debut feat ...

as Karen Delgado *

Ciara Bravo Ciara Quinn Bravo (; born March 18, 1997) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress, starring in the Nickelodeon series ''Big Time Rush'' and the Fox series ''Red Band Society''. She also appeared in the Nickelodeon televisi ...

as Crystal Romanowski **Nina Peterson as Young Crystal Romanowski ***Addie Bernthal as 4-Year-Old Crystal Romanowski *

Josh Helman Joshua Helman (born 22 February 1986) is an Australian television and film actor. Helman played William Stryker in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', and its sequel, '' X-Men: Apocalypse''. He has also appeared in the 2015 installment of the ''Ma ...

as Anthony Romanowski * Michael Redfield as Tommy Hanrahan *

Ashlie Atkinson Ashley Elizabeth Atkinson (born August 6, 1977), known professionally as Ashlie Atkinson, is an American character actress who works in movies and television (with over 90 credits) – as well as in theater. Atkinson is known for her work as Ace o ...

as Diane Swaino *

Jenna Lamia Jenna Lamia is an American actress, writer, and audiobook narrator. Career Acting Lamia began her acting career in New York City, where she appeared on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's ''Ah, Wilderness!'' at Lincoln Center. She soon moved on to tele ...

as Patty Swaino * Joshua Bitton as Lawrence Swaino * Shannon Esper as Judy Swaino *

John Rothman John Mahr Rothman (born June 3, 1949) is an American film, television, and stage actor. Life and career Rothman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Elizabeth D. (née Davidson) and Donald N. Rothman, a lawyer. He is the brother of film ...

as Mr. Walker * Ajna Jai as Afnahn * Tom Draper as Mikey, The Bartender * Jennifer Pollono as Dottie *

James Badge Dale James Badge Dale (born May 1, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for playing Chase Edmunds in '' 24'', Robert Leckie in '' The Pacific'', State Trooper Barrigan in Martin Scorsese's ''The Departed'', Luke Lewenden in '' The Grey'', Eric Sa ...

as "Badge" *

James Ransone James Finley Ransone III (born June 2, 1979) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Ziggy Sobotka in the second season of the drama series ''The Wire'', United States Marine Corps Cpl. Josh Ray Person in the war drama min ...

as P.J.

Production

First announced in January 2019, a film adaptation of the play ''Small Engine Repair'' was produced early that year. Production began in February 2019 outside of New York City, namely in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

and

Tappan, New York Tappan ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Orangetown, Rockland County, New York. It is located northwest of Alpine, New Jersey, north of Northvale, New Jersey and Rockleigh, New Jersey, northeast of Old Tappan, New ...

. Although, some establishing shots were taken in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Hamp ...

, the city where the film takes place. The film was penned and directed by John Pollono and produced by Peter Abrams, Jon Bernthal,

Rick Rosenthal Richard L. Rosenthal, Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American film instructor and director, known for directing '' Halloween II'' and '' Halloween: Resurrection''. Early life, family and education Rosenthal was born in New York City, the son o ...

, and Noah Rothman. Pollono and Bernthal reprise their roles from the original production and Shea Whigham and Spencer House portray Packie and Chad, respectively. Michael Redfield and Josh Helman, who both starred in the original production, are in the film as new characters. Additionally, Jennifer Pollono, the original costume designer, and Sophie Pollono, her daughter with John Pollono, also have roles in the film.

Release

The adaptation was slated to premiere in March 2020 as part of the

SXSW Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, T ...

's Narrative Spotlight. Following the cancellation of the festival that year, the premiere was put on hold. The film instead premiered on the 2020 SXSW Online Festival. ''Small Engine Repair'' was released in theaters by

Vertical Entertainment Vertical Entertainment is an American film distribution and production company founded by producers Richard B. "Rich" Goldberg and Mitch Budin in 2012. History In 2012, Rich Goldberg & Mitch Budin founded Vertical Entertainment, a film distribut ...

on September 10, 2021.

Reception

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an 78% approval rating based on 49 reviews with an average rating of 7.2/10.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 9789042 2021 films 2021 black comedy films 2021 independent films 2020s English-language films American black comedy films American films based on plays 2021 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films 2020s American films Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic