SLC Punk!

This film is about anarchy and the whole 1980's punk rock scene with references to many early punk bands such as Sex Pistols and The Ramones. If you're expecting this to be another Matthew Lillard teen flick, you are greatly mistaken. Sure it has its funny parts, but mainly this film survives on great acting by Lillard and Michael Goorjian. Lillard and Goorjian's characters believe that they are the only "true" punk rockers in Salt Lake City, Utah and go about their lives liberating against conformity. Their characters, like every punk, need to be different and their main focus in life really is anarchy. Film would have suffered if not for the casting of Lillard and his narration throughout the film was another plus. I recommend seeing it because it is something far different than anything Matthew Lillard has ever done.

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.

I did not expect much from this movie and was pleasantly surprised, and having been to Salt Lake City a few times, I was particularly amused. I was there in 1980, at the outset of the decade in which the movie takes place. That visit turned out to be the one and only time I set foot in a disco club. It is a good thing I didn't run into Stevo and Bob, the twin protagonists of "SLC Punk!" They would have kicked my butt because they hate mods, hippies and rednecks. Whether or not to pound on a disco-goer wouldn't even be a question. At one point, Bob asks a British punk band's lead singer why he would never come back to SLC. "Too bleeding violent," says the bruised singer. "Thank you!" says Bob.

Stevo and Bob are anarchists. Not philosophical anarchists like Kropotkin, Goodman and Goldman (Peter, Paul and Emma), but more like Leon Czolgosz, the guy who assassinated President William McKinley. Except Czolgosz had more direction in his life. Aside from throwing darts at pictures of President Ronald Reagan, Stevo and Bob just get drunk and high. Correction, only Stevo smokes grass while "Heroin" Bob is ironically nicknamed because he is afraid of needles and anything stronger than booze.

The story is picaresque in both senses of the term: it is about a couple of semi-likeable rogues, and it is less a story than a series of vignettes. I thought that each vignette more or less stood on its own, but there is something of an overarching theme, too. These young men grow up physically if not emotionally. Though angry and feeling not a little betrayed by society, they can't be Salt Lake City punks for the rest of their lives, or can they? The narrator, Stevo, is haunted by the fear that he or Bob or both of them might be the worst thing there is: a poser, a phony punk.

This movie also features one of my favorite under-rated actresses, Annabeth Gish, as Trish who runs a head shop. Bob sells himself to her for thirty-six dollars. As decadent as that might seem, there turns out to be something sweet about it, much to Stevo's disgust!

Like wearing a blue-green mohawk, "SLC Punk!" might not be for everyone, but I mainly enjoyed it. My favorite scene is the one in which Stevo's parents sit him down and try to get him to go to Harvard. What a scathing satire on my self-righteous and self-satisfied boomer generation!

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.

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.