Suburbia
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Movie Reviews of Suburbia
Movie Review: I Heart Suburbia
Summary: 5 Stars
A friend had told me about this movie, and so I rented it one day. To my delight (ew), I found a really awesome movie to watch over and over. It's the kind of movie that has unintentionally funny parts, for instance, the opening scene. I don't want to give much away, but let's just say that something tragic happens, but the effects are so low-budget, it is laughable. But that doesn't lessen the quality of this film. The movie is about a teenage boy named Ethan, who runs away from his abusive, alcoholic mother and younger brother . He has nowhere to go, and then he follows some kids he sees to a punk rock show, and then befriends a older kid named Jack. He takes Ethan to the squat him and his friends live in called the TR house (TR stands for "The Rejected") . There all the kids who didn't belong anywhere else or had no where else to go stay, and become the only family they will ever really know or want. They are so dedicated to each other, they brand the TR logo on their flesh like cattle. Now that's Punk Rawk!!! The transformation of Ethan, and then his little brother, whom Ethan later takes away from his mom after she gets arrested, is amazing. Just the image of not even a ten year old boy on a big wheel with a mowhawk and an army jacket is to me breathtaking. Also look out for Flea (of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame) as one of the kids living in the TR house.
Most of the movie is about how these kids couldn't get along well in their own houses, but together they can survive. And the cops understand their ways more than the townspeople do in this movie. It's a pretty cliche story plot, but it still works as an original movie.
Penelope Spheeris has always been a big name director in the punk and metal scene. She directed all the Decline of Western Civilization movies, and even the Wayne's World pics. She knows how to film punk rock shows. In this movie, when the bands (TSOL, Vandals, et.c) play, she knows how to capture the flow of the crowd. And people might say the acting in this movie is bad. But just keep in mind that Penelope had real punk rock kids in this movie. So they were not actors playing punks, they were punks being actors!
The best way to see this movie is the DVD version, with widescreen. The commentary with Penelope Spheeris is good. She reveals a bit of secrets from the set. Did you know that the kids really did sleep and live at the TR house during filming?
Oh, and one thing to check in the movie that they do not reveal in the commentary, which I hoped they would. In one scene, the actor playing Jack calls Flea by his his real name; not his characters' name!
Enjoy watching Suburbia! Don't compare this movie to SLC Punk. At least these kids were real punks! You should watch this movie with the Decline of Western Civiization!
Movie Review: Insight.........
Summary: 5 Stars
What this film does so well that most punk rock films cannot seem to accomplish is to give real insight into why the punk movement happened...why it HAD TO happen. This is a film that UNDERSTANDS alienation, and why kids who were intelligent enough to see past the lies they'd been fed and the distractions intended to placate them felt so disenfranchised. We see kids who've come from broken homes...whose parents don't understand the world their kids are living in...who are, in essence, The Rejected. Conventional society rejects them...so they, in turn, reject conventional society. As a punk rocker, this film has always struck a chord with me because of that very reason. What do you do, after all, when you realize that your parents are full of (...)? When you realize that your teachers are full of (...)? What do you do then? What CAN you do? This film relates the story of a group of young people who became easy scapegoats in their community. When something goes wrong, it's easy to blame the outsiders, isn't it? It's so easy to point the finger at people who already DON'T FIT. That is what this film portrays so honestly, and so plainly. True, the acting is sub-par...but who cares? This film's insight is enough to carry it. And there are beautiful moments throughout, mainly fueled by Flea's performance as Razzle. I can't count the times I've uttered the immortal line "Happy Easter, ***hole" in various convenience stores across the Midwest. And the scene in which Chris Pederson says "Where's that house, Flea?" and Flea responds to the question...then adds, about thirty seconds later, "Hey, my name's Razzle, man" is priceless. This film was not afraid to show off, even PARADE, its flaws. And what makes it so perfect, so real, was Penelope Spheeris's use of real punk rock kids in this film, as opposed to actual ACTORS. She sums it up best in her own personal philosphy..."It's easier to teach punks to be actors than it is to teach actors to be punks."Movie Review: The Best Punk Rock Movie Ever!
Summary: 5 Stars
Suburbia is without a doubt one of the best movies ever made, punk rock or otherwise. The fact that this movie and Penelope Spheeris' other masterpiece, The Decline of Western Civilization, were allowed to go out of print for so long is downright criminal. At least Suburbia has finally gotten the respect it deserves, being released on both VHS and DVD. The highlight of the film is without a doubt the concert performances, but even without them this movie would be far superior to anything released today(look at such terrible movies such as SLC Punk, for example.) Unlike films like this, that tend to insult and mock the punk movement, Suburbia is so realistic that at times you wonder if you are watching a movie or a documentary. The kids are probably more easy to relate to than any characters ever created in a film, and the fact that this movie makes things less black and white than most, with the kids and the adults doing an equal share of bad things, makes it all the more watchable. The acting really isn't as bad as most people make out, compared to SLC Punk all these kids should have received Oscars. The movie is never boring, and it just keeps building towards a climax all the way to the explosive ending. The concert performances feature two of the best bands ever to come out of California, DI and TSOL, and the Vandals before they turned to [ stuff ]. TSOL are especially electrifying, this was definitely the peak of their career, right before they broke up. If you have never seen this film, get it now, you will thank yourself for many years to come. Now, if only The Decline of Western Civilization could just get the same treatment...Movie Review: movie great, director commentary embarrissing
Summary: 5 Stars
the movie itself is a classic, a lifestyle that is now long gone thanks to mall punk becoming so popular. i am not sure anyone born after 1980 has any idea that punk rockers lived like this. great film. as for the director's commentary, i can only describe it this way:
a. about 15 minutes into the "commentary", i was convinced she did not direct this film, nor had she ever even seen it before.
b. to the producers of this dvd: if you are going to have a director's commentary, please make sure the director has watched the film in the last 18 years. half of the total commentary was, "wow, i remember that" - not in a convincing way either.
c. i felt like a blind man sitting through the film with someone describing to me what they were seeing or sitting in a theatre and having to listen to the jerk in the seat in front of me give their stupid and obvious observations about the plot line. the plot was pretty easy to follow, i didnt need the commentary telling me "now these two guys are fighting" as i watch two guys fighting.
d. if i ever hear the line "back then , that's what punk rockers were like" one more time, i will savagely attack the nearest person most likely to not fight back.
e. there would be complete silence for a few minutes, then she would laugh very loudly for a few seconds and then remain completely silent again for a few minutes, without commenting on what was so funny. there were plenty of times during this that i wanted the actors dialog to be louder so i didnt feel like i was watching it with the volume off.
Movie Review: Still Relevant, Still Powerful
Summary: 5 Stars
Though I played this film until the tape nearly broke when I was in high school, it's been twenty years since I last watched it -- and I'm impressed with how watchable, and how relevant, it still is. Sure, the acting is a little rough, but for all the right reasons. What just blows me away, twenty years later, is what a powerful social document this proves to be -- of Southern California's suburban wasteland, of the economic changes wrought when the manufacturing and military jobs dried up, of the profound alienation that separated us from the Boomers who thought their rebellion might actually accomplish something.
It's also a fascinating look at a punk scene that was far more diverse, far more multi-layered, than the prepackaged product that masquerades as punk today. The bolo string ties and little black hats in among the skinheads, finheads, and multicolored hair give testament to an inclusive, energetic scene that included elements of country, funnypunk, ska, and hardcore before it shattered into the million shards that the "scene" eventually became. Heaven help the "punk" who shows up at a club with a bolo tie today!
This movie, though flawed in all the ways that other reviewers have noted, has a heart that beats true to a time and place that has not been captured anywhere NEAR as well anyplace else on film. Buy it, rent it, laugh at it, and think about all the ways it is still true for The Rejected of today's society.