Rising Actress Mika Abdalla Eats Up Role in New Retro Comedy ‘Snack Shack’

While movie studios have doubled-down on blockbusters, superhero flicks, and projects with budgets higher than some small countries, some have still prioritized more low-key movies that reflect the human spirit. This descriptions seems to fit Snack Shack, a new comedy that hits theaters on Friday, March 15th.

One of the actresses in Snack Shack is Mika Abdalla, a rising name in both film and TV. A 23-year-old first-generation American actress of Bulgarian, Lebanese, Greek, Italian and German descent, Abdalla has been seen in everything from the CW show The Flash (as Tinya Wazzo) to the Hulu original movie Sex Appeal. I got to chat with Mika in lieu of Snack Shack coming to theaters.

WARNING: THE TRAILER BELOW IS A RED-BAND TRAILER, MEANING CLIPS THEREIN INCLUDE GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

Set in 1991 Nebraska City, Snack Shack revolves around two best friends (played by Conor Sherry and Gabrielle LaBelle) who jump at the opportunity to buy and run a dilapidated "snack shack" at the neighborhood pool. Enter Mika Abdalla's Brooke, who catches both of their eyes and threatens their friendship.

This is material rife for a John Hughes movie, and, thanks to her father, Abdalla was raised on a plethora of like-minded comedies from the 1980s and 1990s:

I watched a lot of these 80s and 90s coming of age movies with my parents. My dad was like a big John Hughes, you know, freak, and [....] I watched a lot of Better Off Dead, Dazed and Confused, Sixteen Candles [....] those kind of things. Those films I really grew up on.... Weird Science, Pretty in Pink... - Mika Abdalla

Abdalla noted that while Snack Shack definitely fits the bill of an R-rated comedy, it has a great deal of heart and subtle humor (as lightly seen in the trailer above). Moreover, Abdalla also touched on some of her other roles, including her acting debut in Barney and Friends all the way back in 2008.

She also revealed that her dream collaboration would be with director Damien Chazelle, the filmmaker behind Oscar-winning films such as Whiplash and La La Land.

Take a listen to my interview with Mika Abdalla below, and keep an eye out for Snack Shack, in theaters on Friday, March 15th and set to stream on Paramount+ in April: