'Small Engine Repair' is a black comedy drama that follows a trio of friends, - Frankie, Swaino and Packie as they reunite one evening and things take a turn for the worst as Frankie harbours a hidden agenda, exacerbated by the arrival of Chad, an entitled young jock.
The film opens with Frankie calling Swaino as he makes his way home on being released from prison. At his house he meets up with Packie and Swaino who hand off Crystal to Frankie, - his young daughter that the two friends had taken care of whilst Frankie was imprisoned.
Years later, Crystal now nearing the completion of her secondary education, she talks with Frank about going to college in California. This causes an argument between the two, as Frank is weary of Crystal leaving Manchester, New Hampshire and being closer to her mother, Karen. Eventually, the two reconcile as Frank realises that Crystal prefers UCLA and it is a better choice for her. That evening Swaino and Packie come over and the four of them have dinner. Later, Karen comes by to pick up Crystal for a night out and the guys go for a drink at a local bar. As Swaino and Packie try to pick up a couple of girls a fight breaks out, Frank gets involved and Crystal witnesses her fathers anger issues first had. The fight causes a rift between Frank, Swaino and Packie and the three of them do not meet for three months.
One day Frankie contacts both Packie and Swaino and tricks them into meeting with him at his repair shop and eventually the three agree to spend the evening together drinking, dining and hanging out. Later, Frankie says he is expecting Chad - a young guy he met playing pickup basketball, to come by and drop off molly as he hadn't done MDMA before. When Chad arrives, the trio get to know the young man, and find out he is the son of a wealthy and influential lawyer. Over the course of the evening, Chad shares a story with Swaino and Packie about a girl he had been DMing with and who he got to send him nude pictures. Chad had shared the images with his fraternity mates, and the pictures were further passed around, and the girls reputation grew as she became known as 'pancake' due to the size of her nipples. After that Frank confronts Chad about the even and it is uncovered that the girl in the photos was Crystal. The ordeal had lead to Crystal being teased and ostracized as the photos had gone viral, leading to her attempting suicide by overdose.
Frank then reveals his plan to shoot and dismember Chad and had asked Swaino and Packie to be there to help him do it. The two eventually agree, but before Frank can pull the trigger, Karen arrives at the repair shop. As Karen barges in, not having been in touch with Crystal for two weeks, Frank tells her what happened, and she proceeds to take her anger out on Chad. Afterwards, realising that Frank is unable to kill him, Chad threatens to sue Frank, leading him to deciding to turn himself in. Karen refuses that decision, and says that they can't walk away from the situation without retribution. The gang come up with a plan - to take a lewd picture of Chad that they could blackmail him with in order to keep silent. After taking a photo of Chad seemingly fellating someone, they let him go. The film concludes on the foursome standing over Crystals bed in hospital, waiting for her to wake up from her coma.
'Small Engine Repair' is a dark comedy that tackles a number of sensitive subjects, namely toxic masculinity, fraternity and class inequality. The story opens on a sombre and serious note, establishing Frank as a man with a difficult personality, as someone who is trying to reconcile his anger issues whilst trying to do right by his daughter. The opening serves well as a segue to the time jump for when we see Crystal and Frank years later, with Crystal now grown up and ready for the next stage of her life, namely going to college. Her transition serves well as an introspective into Frank's world, showing how Crystals choice for a school far from him results in a difficult to deal with situation, causing for him to lash out, but eventually reconcile the thought, as he has his daughter's best intentions at heart.
The film then focuses on uncovering the dynamic that the trio of friends share, with Swaino representing a somewhat tough and loud-mouthed person, Packie acting as an introspective individual, yet at times suffering as the groups whipping-boy and Frank illustrating a strong yet quiet persona, unless provoked, at which time he exemplifies a raging bruiser who is tough to stop. The first part of the film does well in setting up the group relationship, at the heart of which is a shared love for each other and for Crystal. Besides having grown up together, the guys' relationship is strengthened by their shared care for Frank's daughter, as they have collectively raised her and regard her as family.
The drunken brawl at the bar serves well to illustrate how quickly and aggressively emotions can erupt, as Swaino and Packie tear each other down verbally as they try to pick up women and how that leads to a violent outburst in order to compensate for a bruised ego. In turn, that leads to Frank getting involved, and as he loses his temper, he eventually blames Swaino and Packie for losing control, which leads to a rift between the friends.
After some time, as Frank decides to take action in order to exact revenge on Chad for what his actions have caused Crystal to do, he decides to reconcile with Swaino and Packie as he feels he cannot carry out his plan on his own. Frank openly says that to his friends, and besides the physical effort that carrying out the plan would require, he expresses that he couldn't do it by himself, showing his reliance on his friends by way of emotional support. After it is revealed to Swaino and Packie that Chad inadvertently caused Crystal to attempt suicide, Packie agrees to help Frank immediately, whilst Swaino struggles with coming to terms of the plan. Eventually, the three are set to end Chad's life, only to be interrupted by Karen. Here, the film turns about and further develops the characters by allowing them to explore other means by which they can exact revenge on the young jock and provides insight into the determination and length to which the group of friends is willing to go to avenge Crystal. Through the chaotic evening that the friends spend together, the film is able to explore a multitude of issues relating to fraternity, showcasing the best and worst of what male friendship can give rise to.
The film is written and directed by John Pollono, adapted from his award-winning play, and boasting an impressive cast of himself, Jon Bernthal, Shea Whigham, Jordana Spiro and Ciara Bravo. The cast deliver a lived-in feel to their friendship, effortlessly creating an atmosphere that feels like the result of a life-long friendship and serves well in establishing the character dynamics with ease, demonstrating a relatable image of a dysfunctional family. The film triumphs in delivering effective comedic beats throughout, largely as a result of the friends ripping on each other, influenced by the film creator's New England background.
'Small Engine Repair' is comedy that masterfully navigates the hilarious highs derived from the lively and intricate friendship between the main characters, whilst also addressing sensitive issues such as toxic masculinity and bullying. With well-timed comedic beats and truly heartfelt moments of introspection, the film walks the audience through a moving story of friendship, revenge and remorse, delivering a touching and indelible experience.
Score: 4/4
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