I bought a ticket for this not knowing anything about Adam Rehmeier’s work, although since then I have watched Dinner in American and Snack Shack. Both films are quite fun and capture a portrait of suburban America of decades past. Both also follow flawed yet relatable protagonists who are living their youth just like everyone else. There is a very summer-y bright tone to his films that I enjoy and appreciate (especially in the case of Snack Shack), although I don’t find I get more out of his movies besides the comedy itself especially when his stories end up taking a more serious and melodramatic turn. They hit a lot of the usual story beats and notes you would expect from a coming-of-age movie, but are not there to innovate or reinvent the wheel. They serve well as pastiches that a lot of young audiences can probably attach their own emotions and experiences to.
This is relevant in the case of Carolina Caroline, which is Rehmeier’s foray outside of his usual comedy fare and more into sexy crime thriller territory. There are definitely a few laughs to be had here, but for the most part this plays it a lot more serious as it centers on the burgeoning Bonnie and Clyde-type romance between our two lead protagonists. Both of them are played by Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner who have a good thing going on in this – the chemistry between the pairing works decently well here.
It starts off well for the most part, but I find though that with this change in direction, the flaws become a lot more apparent once you no longer have the comedy to mask them. Of course, the story becomes quite predictable – they are successful at doing the robbery thing the first few times, but eventually through a combination of mistakes and bad luck they are exposed and now have to be out on the run. Of course, they make mistakes that are very avoidable. She does not bother to change her disguise once even when she sees herself on the news. I suppose there’s a possibility she could be pulling a Le Samouraï move – like it’s the honor of an assassin to wear the same clothing like that of a samurai – but I don’t think that is what is happening here. She does finally change her disguise towards the end, but only after all the consequences of that mistake have already happened.
After all that was said and done, I think this movie falls in line quite well with Rehmeier’s other work – it’s well-shot and made, and involves a lot of the usual tropes that you would expect (in this case, the Bonnie and Clyde trope). It makes for decent entertainment, but isn’t going to give you more food for thought.