Wow! This film is a jolt of lightning! What a surprise to see the sometimes annoying Matthew Lillard carry this story. Writer-director James Merendino puts Lillard's maniacal geekiness to intensely good use in this coming-of-age story for punk rockers. Set in Salt Lake City in 1985, Lillard is Stevo, an intellectual punk rocker devoted to anarchy, who, alongside his best friend Heroin Bob, takes us through his post-college array of nutty friends as he searches for a purpose in life, egged on by his yuppie-lawyer father, who wants Stevo to follow in his footsteps. Mostly they party and ride around town causing mild trouble, and there's plenty of frustration vented towards living in a city repressed by religious influence.
What strikes me so deeply about the film is not only Merendino's Scorsese-on-acid cinematography and editing, but the varied, goofy cast of characters in this film. Trish, Sandy, Chris, Jennifer, Mark and John the Mod were just as interesting as Stevo and Heroin Bob and I wished so much that we could have spent more time with them. They also reminded me of the strange, slightly older punk rock teenagers I sometimes hung around with when I was growing up - during the 80's, of course. The north side is the only place in Chicago where you'd find such hooligans; guzzling pot and acid just like these characters, but also puking malt liquor at the beach. It pleased me to see this movie have the same sordid sort on the other side of America. From the album cover opening credits through the "ass-beating food chain" sequence to the Dungeons & Dragons flashback, I thought Merendino's methods for telling his story were endlessly inventive, even if he slowed the pace of the film at times to concentrate on strange details in order to introduce characters (Sean's knife-wielding acid trip, Heroin Bob's hospitalization, Mark's gun-toting house tour). My favorite detail in the whole film was the scene where Stevo finally meets the beautiful Brandy while Blondie's "Dreaming" waves around in the background. A gorgeous touch!
The soundtrack is nicely devoid of punk rock cliches, there's no "Rock The Casbah" or "Holiday In Cambodia" included. Matthew Lillard's hyper face-on camera narration is so intense he makes Woody Allen seem sedated. Annabeth Gish is wonderfully mercurial as Trish, whose certainty that she is a "goddess" rings true even though the clueless Heroin Bob is the only one who agrees (and also because, as Stevo tells us, everybody worships her steely sexiness). Jennifer Lien is also good as Sandy, the grimy hippie-punk who Stevo holds much affection for. James Duvall as the hip John the Mod character was a cool addition too (love that haircut!). Merendino has clearly never lost memory of how teenagers talk and think, as this film is one of the few to get it's details right with adolescent dialogue. There's no deep revelation or conclusion made at the end of the film, although the sad climax is magnified by Lillard's gravely honest interpretation of it. In a craft ripe with Scorsese wannabes, James Merendino proves he's no novice (even if his previous efforts are embarrassingly laughable). A crazy movie, very much alive and in your face!
What strikes me so deeply about the film is not only Merendino's Scorsese-on-acid cinematography and editing, but the varied, goofy cast of characters in this film. Trish, Sandy, Chris, Jennifer, Mark and John the Mod were just as interesting as Stevo and Heroin Bob and I wished so much that we could have spent more time with them. They also reminded me of the strange, slightly older punk rock teenagers I sometimes hung around with when I was growing up - during the 80's, of course. The north side is the only place in Chicago where you'd find such hooligans; guzzling pot and acid just like these characters, but also puking malt liquor at the beach. It pleased me to see this movie have the same sordid sort on the other side of America. From the album cover opening credits through the "ass-beating food chain" sequence to the Dungeons & Dragons flashback, I thought Merendino's methods for telling his story were endlessly inventive, even if he slowed the pace of the film at times to concentrate on strange details in order to introduce characters (Sean's knife-wielding acid trip, Heroin Bob's hospitalization, Mark's gun-toting house tour). My favorite detail in the whole film was the scene where Stevo finally meets the beautiful Brandy while Blondie's "Dreaming" waves around in the background. A gorgeous touch!
The soundtrack is nicely devoid of punk rock cliches, there's no "Rock The Casbah" or "Holiday In Cambodia" included. Matthew Lillard's hyper face-on camera narration is so intense he makes Woody Allen seem sedated. Annabeth Gish is wonderfully mercurial as Trish, whose certainty that she is a "goddess" rings true even though the clueless Heroin Bob is the only one who agrees (and also because, as Stevo tells us, everybody worships her steely sexiness). Jennifer Lien is also good as Sandy, the grimy hippie-punk who Stevo holds much affection for. James Duvall as the hip John the Mod character was a cool addition too (love that haircut!). Merendino has clearly never lost memory of how teenagers talk and think, as this film is one of the few to get it's details right with adolescent dialogue. There's no deep revelation or conclusion made at the end of the film, although the sad climax is magnified by Lillard's gravely honest interpretation of it. In a craft ripe with Scorsese wannabes, James Merendino proves he's no novice (even if his previous efforts are embarrassingly laughable). A crazy movie, very much alive and in your face!