SLC Punk!

I saw this movie for the first time tonight and I must admit, I wasn't expecting much but it left me almost crying in the end, and recommending it to all of my family and friends. I don't claim to know what the 80s punk scene was like, especially in Utah, but regardless of whether punk life was portrayed correctly or not in this movie (I think most of you who bitch about that aspect wouldn't know anyway), it was written extremely well and the acting was just incredible.

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.

Set in the early/mid 80's during the dawn of Punk Rock Music. Stev-o and Heroin Bob are your typical anarchist punks only problem is they live in Salt Lake City, Utah, a very religiously oppressive city where the locals look at punks as only devil worshippers. The film chronicles an entire day in the life of a punk, the realism is unmatched as the film is also guided by the narration of Stev-o who gives us a somewhat rational take on anarchist kids morals and intentions. Believe it or not Bob, Stev-o & Mike were College graduates that have loving families with successful careers. All had the urge to rebel against a system the only way the knew how, waste their college minds in order to keep this new found party going in hopes forever. Unfortunately all things comes to an end and in the case of sex, drugs, & rock and roll, it ends how it started, crashing and burning.

The punks we see in this film shows a take on liberating against conformity that was executed beautifully. The depiction of language, drug use, & violence though may not be for everyone but is the life blood of the Punk scene and was delivered on a silver platter. Matthew Lillard is fantastic in this film guided by his attitude and self righteous nature but shows glimpses of genuine humanity of a kid finding his place that comes to a head near the conclusion where he reaches a coming of age moment. A moment thats equally heartbreaking and liberating. Lillard takes us on a journey that we seemingly get lost in aided by his introspective monologues that really guide the film forward. The film really has a great message that most of us need to really look at the way we're living and if the crusade each of us is on is really worth the trouble.

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 you pick this up at the video store, you'll probably expect the wrong thing: kind of a goofy, teen-oriented, mock angst trip by a couple of overdone punks through Salt Lake City's holy land. That's not even close to the heart of this film, which is smarter and more vital than most.

Essentially a monologue by the main character, Steve or Steve-o, SLC Punk starts, ends, and runs with energy and insight, all without the ponderous pronouncements you'll find in most films focused on one character. The central character and his interesting entourage are not the caricatures you see on the box, they're the genuine, multi-dimensional people you went to school with if you were lucky.

The visuals are savvy and professional, opening up what could be a stage show to the wider world. A classic experimental 3-D pan shot done with over a hundred one-shot cameras would be hailed as groundbreaking, had this film not been released concurrently with The Matrix.

Film hounds will catch the theme and scene parallels with Easy Rider, particularly a drug trip much richer than the exaggerated freak out in that film.

Funny, smart, immediately engaging, dangerous, and often more textured and subtle than it appears at first glance, you will understand why SLC Punk (released by Sony Pictures Classics) has such a loyal following.

This is the film I wish Kevin Smith had made instead of Clerks. Yes, that's a compliment for Smith, who admits he has grown a lot as a filmmaker, and a mild slam on Clerks, which was what it was -- interesting characters wrapped in a poorly done film.