SLC Punk!

Matthew Lillard - what a surprise! I have always found him to be annoying, but in this film he was likeable and quite clever. "Stevo" is the blue-haired punk son of silly, over-hippified parents who went from mohawk to a more low-key look after graduation. He is obviously not stupid. He uses his audience-addressing monologues to amuse us and let us know exactly what's up, instead of merely whining at us or grinning and nudging us with his elbow. The kid is downright charming. And I appreciate the fact that he actually gets along with his parents, even while fighting against what they want. It's refreshing. I am in his age group (in the movie - 80's teenager) but I am not familiar with punk lifestyle, and now I feel like I have been exposed to something I've always found interesting, but never delved into before. Stevo goes through a bunch of changes and realizations, and by the end decides that you can "F--k stuff up more from within the system that outside it". And that being rebellious comes from inside, and not from your haircolor (even though blue hair is still cool). Great message, neat movie. Recommended.

Anyone who has spent time in the American punk underground will find many points of reference in SLC Punk. The film is an amazingly realistic portrayal of the suburban punk subculture. All the issues are here: poseurs, sell outs, authenticity, straight edge, rebellion, boredom...and of course the perennial problem of whether mods and punks can get along! I can't recommend this gem strongly enough.

It was a joy to watch this film and see myself and my wife. There we were watching the movie on one of our countless movie channels on our huge cable account while we ate popcorn in bed and she knitted. We were both hard core alternative kids in our youth and somehow ended up living in a high rent condo in Seattle with corporate jobs. The movie pretty much tells the story of every true intelligent punk. Why do you ask? Well, because those of us that were so hard core, were also into CHANGE. And the only way to change the world, is to live IN it. Be a part of it. We laughed at the end when we realized we were both just like the lead character. Anarchy is great for your youth. But anarchy for life is not going to lead you anywhere if you still want to LIVE. Rather, you need to get INSIDE the world to turn it inside out.

Bravo. Wonderful little film. High marks.

If one more person tells me this movie is the best "punk" movie ever, I'm going to shoot them. It's like they turn it off halfway through. Probably one of the better movies about social status and how you view yourself or lead others to view you as.

Which, in this case is a good thing. I've seen the title before, found it vaguely interesting. However, without having heard anything about it, I wasn't going to chunk any money on it.

Then it came on cable, so I decided to give it a chance.

I've seen Matthew Lillard in about four movies, and so far he has been a single-note actor, always playing the ragingly obnoxious punk. Still, on that one-note he is amazingly convincing and impossible not to watch. Much like Jimmy Stewart or early Arnold Schwarzenegger, building fame on familiarity.

Christopher MacDonald gave the best performance I've seen him do as Steveo's dad. Very solid, sympathetic, and even likeable.

The movie itself mesmerized far more than I expected. I was transfixed from the beginning to end.

Acting and clothes were excellent, not a sour note in the entire lot. Plotting and scripting were very well developed. The movie kept me involved, interested, and ready to buy. Thank you for a great movie.