SLC Punk!

source: SLC Punk!

I couldn't stand sitting through this movie. It was like knowing everything that happens and waiting for it to happen. It was honestly a severe waste of time. There weren't any surprises, there weren't any uplifting moments, there wasn't even a satisfying ending. It wasn't "funny", it wasn't "talented", it wasn't "clever", it didn't capture a generation, it wasn't anything, except poor. It was like sitting through great potential that was simply thrown out with the bath water. The writer took a fairly simple plot, and theme, then attempted to make it complex, but in doing so, he caused the complexity and the potential to be disemboweled. SLC Punk did nothing, short of rip the still beating heart out of a potentially good movie and squeeze every last drop of potential out of it, leaving only the shriveled corpse of nothingness, which it then held high above its head in a proud manner, while the rest of the film industry watched in horror and disgust at this putrid display of refusal to release one's long since dead past. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone except those who think the word "punk" means anything more than being anally raped.

It was an OK movie... if you're not into the punk scene and have no idea what it's about. This movie did a poor job explaining punk or anarchy. And personally, i don't like movies that try to explain something like punk anyways, so i guess this movie was more of an anger starter than an enjoyable experience. It saddens me that some "punk" kids are going to watch this movie and start "sharing" the views of Heroin Bob and Steve-o. So... I guess this isn't a great movie to watch if you're into the punk scene. Either it will annoy you, or you will become someone who will go to Hot Topic and search for this movie. Either way.. it's up to you. But personally, this movie got a big thumbs down from me.

I am a huge fan of punxploitation films, and usually I can get something out of them, even if they are basically bad movies. SLC Punk is one of the most unenjoyable films of ANY kind I have ever seen. It offends me as a punk, as a film lover, and as a human being for having wasted my time watching it. At many points just plain boring, SLC Punk is always irritating, and seems to be targeted to appeal to those with the pseudo-rebellious mentality of a spoiled 12 year old. A more accurate title for this film would have been "slc Poser", since the real issue at the heart of it (and this isn't just my analysis- like everything about this movie it is explicit in the script) is that Matthew lillard's character Steve-O never really was a punk at heart, just a poser with more big words to sling in his vapid attempt at anti-authoritarian philosophy. In this sense, maybe this is a film about why punk rock fails for so many kids. If you're just a rich kid for whom "anarchy" is an excuse to act like a frat boy and "punk" only means dressing in certain clothes, it should be no surprise that these things are not permanent. This is obvious from the first frame of the film, though it seems to take Steve-O forever to figure it out. One the biggest problems with the movie is the MTV-style editing and ultra-slick production value, which are more suited to a "Hackers"-esque techopop movie than a film about punk, which even in its most superficial form is gritty and unrefined. There are so many jump cuts in this film that I started to wonder if the director was just too lazy to try and match-cut. Also, the ultra-saturated colors and herky-jerky pace give the whole thing the feel of a saturday morning cartoon show (though one to which "f-you" is the catch phrase of choice). This is only worsened by the weak, overly-expressive acting, with Lillard mugging it up and Heroin Bob's dull requiem of "dude"-isms. Even the soundtrack, which relies on classic tunes from various genres, feels tacked on and jumbled. Penelope Spheeris can make movies this glossy, but the reason kids love "Suburbia" (or even "Repo Man" or "Sid and Nancy") is because it made the punk aspects seem organic to the film, and maybe the were. Here there is no question that you are watching outright exploitation of punk rock in the name of a glossy Hollywood flick. The experience may have elements of truth to it, but the film's attitude is distanced - it's lost touch. This is the cinematic equivalent of your parents telling you you'll grow out of it. You know they didn't get it right when ever

SLC Punk is probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. Its a classic favorite of my friends and I. I guess it only makes sense to those that are like Stevo and Bob that want to try and "bring down the system." Its a great movie and I HIGHLY recommend it to people that are more of the "punk type" because to others it may seem a little odd. But overall, SLC Punk is a great movie with an increadible cast and is definetly worth your money.

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!

Sure the film is marginally entertaining but if you were into punk rock music before seeing it and are familiar at all with the culture of punks in general, then you really will feel this movie is more like a stupid hipster version of punk culture than a good comedy/drama depicting it. If you want a strong account of punk from the 80s, then watch a movie from the 80s like 'Suburbia.' This is more like a Mathew Lillard vehicle which allows him to make a bunch of smug remarks and observations. And where the movie could fly as a hilarious punk satire (because punks DO take themselves to seriously as this damn movie proves) instead becomes phony punk 101 for a bunch of 90s hipsters. The only redeeming factors are a few funny moments and some good songs in the soundtrack. Like any outsider looking in, the subject is completely generalized. If you want to see a marginally entertaining movie that becomes overly sincere and melodramatic about halfway through, fine, see it. Otherwise just read 'Please Kill Me' or 'American Hardcore' or see the MULTITUDES of punk films. They are WAY better!

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.

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.