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Small Time Photos

Devon Bostick (right) as Freddy Klein in "Small Time."

(L-R) Devon Bostick as Freddy Klein and Christopher Meloni as Al Klein in "Small Time."

Bridget Moynahan and Christopher Meloni as Al Klein in "Small Time."

(L-R) Dean Norris as Ash Martini and Christopher Meloni as Al Klein in "Small Time."

View All Photos (22)

Movie Info

A young man (Devon Bostick) decides to skip college and join his father (Christopher Meloni) as a used-car salesman.

Rating:

R (Some Sexual References)
Genre:

drama
Original Language:

English
Director:

Joel Surnow
Producer:

KC Warnke
Writer:

Joel Surnow
Release Date (Theaters):

Apr 18, 2014 limited
Release Date (Streaming):

Dec 16, 2016
Runtime:

1h 35m
Production Co:

Asylum Entertainment

Cast & Crew

Christopher Meloni
Al Klein

Bridget Moynahan
Barbara

Dean Norris
Ash Martini

Xander Berkeley
Chick

Devon Bostick
Freddy Klein

Amaury Nolasco
Barlow

Show all Cast & Crew

News & Interviews for Small Time

Critics Consensus: Transcendence is a Sci-Fi Snooze

View All

Critic Reviews for Small Time

All Critics (24) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (11)

Small Time plays out in plodding fashion that seems engineered to keep the audience at arms' length.

April 21, 2014 | Rating: 1.5/4 | Full Review…

Linda Barnard
Toronto Star
Coming-of-age drama delivers some laughs, but loses its way when things gets serious

April 21, 2014 | Full Review…

Bill Edelstein
Variety
"Small Time" is agreeably sentimental meat-and-potatoes fare with strong dashes of humor, executed with a sincerity that's hard to resist.

April 17, 2014 | Full Review…

Stephen Holden
New York Times
Don't let the title of this indie gem fool you, "Small Time" has humor and heart big time.

April 17, 2014 | Full Review…

Betsy Sharkey
Los Angeles Times
"Small Time" has its heart in the right place, but its screenplay's in serious need of a tuneup.

April 17, 2014 | Rating: 2/4 | Full Review…

Sara Stewart
New York Post
Writer-director Joel Surnow, the co-creator of 24, makes an assured, tangy feature debut with this semi-autobiographical story.

April 17, 2014 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

Michael Sragow
Orange County Register
Humdrum in every sense of the word, Surnow's film may indeed be a passion project made for his own enjoyment; unfortunately, it fails to be of particular interest to anyone else.

August 30, 2019 | Rating: 1.5/5 | Full Review…

Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
The feature film debut of veteran TV writer Joel Surnow, has little to offer and barely transcends. [Full review in Spanish]

October 14, 2016 | Full Review…

Javier Ocaña
El Pais (Spain)
This film combines comedy with melodrama resulting unconvincing and nothing exciting. [Full review in Spanish]

October 14, 2016 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Francisco Marinero
El Mundo (Spain)
A film that runs out of gas while attempting to be minimally interesting. [Full review in Spanish]

October 11, 2016 | Rating: 1.5/5 | Full Review…

Rubén Romero Santos
Cinemanía (Spain)
Heartwarming and surprisingly sweet.

May 22, 2015 | Full Review…

John Noonan
FILMINK (Australia)
Filled with humor and heart, it's an insightful, endearing father/son coming-of-age comedic drama, destined for well-deserved popularity on the DVD shelf.

April 21, 2014 | Rating: 6/10 | Full Review…

Susan Granger
SSG Syndicate

View All Critic Reviews (24)

Audience Reviews for Small Time

Jul 15, 2014

This sweet family drama is written and directed by Joel Surnow. Steady, safe, with good dialogues and chemistry between the actors Dean Norris, Bridget Moynahan and Christopher Meloni, it will please you and make you feel good. This is a film that is about people, just an interesting story about seemingly normal folks. The life of Al Klein (Christopher Meloni)-a divorced used car salesman whose ethics are extremely limited to say the least, seems washed away! He and his partner, Ash (Dean Norris), are smart talking car salesmen who will say almost anything to close a sale (and they are very good at what they do). A big change comes to Al, when his son, Freddy (Devon Bostick), graduates, and decides not to go to college at Cal Poly (one of the top schools in the country), and wants to move in with dad and go to work with him selling cars... The smooth screenplay was matched by smooth directing and this wonderful character-driven story presents us with a real character growing in realistic way, with reasonable change. It had it's funny moments, even as a drama. Add it to your list! This film would make an excellent date night. Women seem to really like Meloni and the film has a lot for the guys as well. Intelligent and well worth your time.

Panta O Super Reviewer