Matthew McNaughton
This is a very interesting movie. It's part documentary, part narrative, and part confusing. (I really, really feel like the 2002 "Scooby-Doo" movie takes place during one of Matthew Lillard's bad trips.) The two protagonists, Heroin Bob and Stevo, are a great pair. I loved watching their story arcs rise and fall. I don't really know how accurate the movie is about growing up punk, but I was also raised a little bit on punk (and ska). I liked the music in the movie, even all the hating on British bands. It was also funny as hell to see Jason Segel play a dweeby guy. While I can't say for sure whether or not I liked the ending, it did make me tear up a bit, which rarely happens. Overall a good film. (And I love love love the song "Beat My Guest" so thanks for including it.
andrzej5914
The movie was made in 1998 and somehow I missed it then because of my other commitments, but when I found it on Netflix last night I immediately put into instant queue and watched it with my wife the same evening.I became a hard core punk rocker around 75 or 76 when I first heard of Iggy Pop and the Stooges and Television. At first I was like Bob, Mohawk and all. I did it for 2 reasons, to fit in with my new found friends but more importantly to tick off my dad. I was only around 16 at the time and rebellious.Couple of years later I became more like Steve, full head of hair but colored different ways whenever the mood struck.We attended many clubs in Chicago to see some great and not so great bands. We also got to see some bands in bigger venues as well as the Sex Pistols in Houston in 78 (well, for about 3-4 songs anyways) as we got chased by the cowboys after a fight broke out between the band and the cowboys. Anyways I know what I'm talking about and this movie showed some strong accuracy.I only give it 8 stars because I thought the soundtrack could have been better and there were some issues with continuity.Other than that I highly recommend this small flick and guarantee you won't be bored. Most actors were great. It pretty much stayed true to what the punk scene was all about back then, just like "Hooligans" is pretty much true dealing with the football hooliganism in the UK. It made me wish I was that age again and had another chance to relive that period of my life. It was fun and exciting time.
thesar-2
My supervisor all-but forced me to watch this "punked" out movie. He even gave me a lesson in "Punk Groups" in which I asked him to name some, well, more main stream punk bands to get a feel for his type of music. Well, it turns out, not only his taste in music (or the groups he mentioned,) such as Green Day and The Offspring, happen to be in my top bands of all time, so does his taste in movies.I wouldn't go as far as I would say I loved SLC Punk…but damn, it was really, really good.The movie was a complete surprise to me, refreshing, original and a great kick-start (that unfortunately, never happened) to Matthew Lillard being a front-runner/lead star. The movie had humor, heart, tension (man, you never know when one of the punks/posers were going to burst out into insane violence) and awesome dialogue, including some wonderful talk-to-the-screen dialogue.It's self-described punk and obvious rebel, Stevo (Lillard) and best mate "heroin" Bob (Goorjian) against the world and their dysfunctional families during the last summer of their so-called "freedom." What makes this movie rise above a typical comedy about out-of-control teens, is Stevo's consistent need for answers to his "why, why, why" questions on where he fits in the universe, or the dump SLC (or Salt Lake City) he lives in, and if anarchy is the key. He mixes true rebellion, comedy, deep thoughts and actual maturity through his antics. That, my peers, is really hard for any written character or live actor to do. Lillard did it brilliantly. He made us root for him, despite his flaws, insecurities, revolts and violence.I remember being almost (I said ALMOST) the same age as these kids during the time this was set. This took place in 1985, while I didn't start high school until 1988, and that's where the majority of his "groups" emerged, such as nerds, punks, Goths, posers, etc. They were all present in my school. True, I did try to "fit in" to one of the many groups, obviously doing my own self-discovery and probably coming out more of a poser than any particular group. Let me clarify: that was my Freshman year in high school.Something changed when I returned for my Sophomore year. And I have remained the same since: I simply did NOT care anymore. I saw too many people attempting to join this group, hang out with those punks, dress in all black, etc, etc. Something clicked in me that this was all a waste of time, and I needed to be me and to hell with the rest. Needless to say, I was very unpopular with a great majority of my stuck up fellow students. I did NOT care. So be it, as Hard Harry would say.This led me to appreciate a film like this. Like them, I saw people come/go, try to fit in, move on. This was all real life, even though I wasn't one of the punks. (Honestly, I resembled Mike (the enormously hilarious Segel) the most, without the violence, that is.) Sure, the movie can be depressing (and enormously violent) at times, but at very least the writer/director Merendino apparently never asked you to look too deep. As soon as it went that direction, he would pull the rug with either humor or the growth of Stevo.So thanks to my supervisor for the recommendation – despite you being part of "THE MAN" or "system," you can come up with my highly recommended movies.Side Note: No spoiler – but someone dies in the movie. It's meant as a heart-breaking scene, and it is, somewhat. But…damn, her/his throat pulses up and down (despite the white/powered face, indicating overdose) and faster than someone on coke, the caffeine kind, that is. (Although…) They did add some special effects to this movie, such as to the Donner Family scenes, so why not do something with that incredibly obvious flaw. Try and get past that, and I see very, if at all, few flaws with the rest of the brilliant movie.
gapitman
This movie is not about "being punk". It uses the same set-up as most sci-fi films do. You're a rebel in the most conservative town conceivable.What this film really does is talk about how people become caught up in ideology that "makes sense" but in the end just fails when logic and reality are applied. This can be seen with Stevo's argument with his dad. His dad says, "I didn't sell-out, son. I bought in, never forget that." Stevo even assaults his parent's "new ideology" when he points out that love failed them, religion has failed them, and materialism has failed them. Stevo asserts his "greater revelation" against that. Later when he evaluates his own anarchist position he realizes the seething contradiction of "assembling against the man" and "fighting". This has to by my favorite scene in the movie--when he goes through the slide show evaluating how he likes to fight, but fighting is not anarchy because it's a system. Basically, all of his relationships to himself and the world are a "system" against anarchy. He comes to no conclusion at this time.We see the friends begin to break-up and go their separate ways at the end of the film. The ridiculousness of the formerly "most hardcore guy" going to "Save the Trees" being just one more useless wasted ideology. It's used well to show they've failed at anarchy, and now they need something new to believe in.You'll also notice a tremendous amount of religious symbolism throughout the film in the mis-en-scene (the surroundings in the scenes). There are a lot of religious t-shirts that flash by for a moment. And, there are often crosses and crucifixes with Jesus on them around--even at the punk show scene. They're not obvious but exist in a tremendous number of the scenes in the film.So the movie is about recognizing that there is no ideal. Ideal is not reality.I think the movie is brilliant in its message. I don't think the form is the most elegant, but it is a very good movie just the same.Anyway, clearly the amount of discussion about "anarchy" and "punk" means most people only got the very surface detail of what this movie is about. If you're arguing about that--you missed it.
