Small Time

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

54%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 24

41%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 350

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Small Time Photos

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Movie Info

Small Time Trailer clip

Rating:

R (for some sexual references)
Genre:

Drama
Directed By:

Joel Surnow
Written By:

Joel Surnow
In Theaters:

Apr 18, 2014 limited
On Disc/Streaming:

Jun 2, 2014
Runtime:

104 minutes
Studio:

Anchor Bay Films

Cast

Dean Norris
as Ash Martini

Christopher Meloni
as Al Klein

Devon Bostick
as Freddy Klein

Bridget Moynahan

Amaury Nolasco
as Barlow

Xander Berkeley
as Chick

Garcelle Beauvais
as Linda

Ronnie Gene Blevins
as Greedy Bob

Charles Halford
as Redneck

Ken Davitian
as Wexler

Andrew James Allen
as Jason Sanders

Brendan P. Connor
as Bad Ass

Pramod Kumar
as Pakistani Man

Zuhair Haddad
as Pete

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News & Interviews for Small Time

Critics Consensus: Transcendence is a Sci-Fi Snooze

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Critic Reviews for Small Time

All Critics (24) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (11)

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

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

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

Apr 21, 2014 | Full Review…

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

Apr 17, 2014 | Full Review…

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

Apr 17, 2014 | Full Review…

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

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

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

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

Michael Sragow
Orange County Register
Top Critic
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.

Aug 29, 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]

Oct 14, 2016 | Full Review…

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

Oct 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]

Oct 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.

Apr 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