SLC Punk! (1998)

In the early 1980's Stevo and Heroin Bob are the only two dedicated punks in conservative Salt Lake City.

Director:

James Merendino

Writer:

James Merendino

Stars:

Matthew Lillard, Michael A. Goorjian, Annabeth Gish

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Lillard	...	Stevo
Michael A. Goorjian	...	Bob
Annabeth Gish	...	Trish
Jennifer Lien	...	Sandy
Christopher McDonald	...	Stevo's Dad
Devon Sawa	...	Sean
Jason Segel	...	Mike
Adam Pascal	...	Eddie
Til Schweiger	...	Mark
James Duval	...	John the Mod (as Jimmy Duval)
Summer Phoenix	...	Brandy
Chiara Barzini	...	Jennifer
Kevin Breznahan	...	Chris
Christina Karras	...	Jamie
Russell Peacock	...	Jones (as Russ Peacock)

Storyline

Two punks live in Salt Lake City. The film covers their all-day routine. The realism of the character-narrated movie may be discussed. One of the punks gets ill, stays in hospital for three weeks, comes out again. Three parties are covered and one concert including a fight between punks, rednecks and others.

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Plot Keywords:

punk | salt | 1980s | party | concert | 

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Taglines:

God bless America...they're going to need it.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, drug use, violent anti-social behavior and some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site by Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 April 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fuori di cresta

Filming Locations:

Evanston, Wyoming, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$36,218 (USA) (16 April 1999)

Gross:

$299,200 (USA) (11 June 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Beyond Films, Blue Tulip Productions, Straight Edge

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Towards the end of the movie Stevo wears a badge reading "God is an American", a line from the popular David Bowie song "I'm Afraid of Americans".

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Goofs

When Heroin Bob is talking to Stevo while he is laying on the ground with his head resting on a block, Stevo is wearing sunglasses from the camera angle view from the sky. It then focuses on Heroin Bob talking again and then when the focus is back on Stevo, his sunglasses have disappeared.

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Quotes

Stevo: What do you do when your foundation falls apart? I don't know. They don't teach you that in school.

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Connections

References The Exorcist (1973)

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Soundtracks

"Gangsters"
Performed by The Specials
Written by Jerry Dammers (as Dammers) / Terry Hall (as Hall) / Horace Panter (as Panter) / Lynval Golding (as Golding) / John Bradbury (as Bradbury) / Neville Staple (as Staples) / Roddy Byers (as Byers)
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records, A Division of EMI
Under license from EMI-Capitol Special Markets
Published by Plangent Visions Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Pretty good snapshot of some parts of the 80's post-punk scene

OK first the disclaimer:

Punk rock died the day it was blessed with its moniker, I think somewhere around 1979/1980. I think part of the reason it died was because everyone was trying to strictly define what Punk meant, kinda defeating the purpose. The idea of anyone claiming to be "punk" now or at any point during the 90s or even the 80s is patently ridiculous. It's death, however, did serve to allow many people in different places to cadge together their own ideas about what "punk" was and reshape their own local counter-culture scene into something somewhat resembling that. Let's face it, the entire idea behind Anarchy is that of Iconoclasm; the destruction of images and false constructs, for example pop culture trends such as PUNK.

End disclaimer.

I came in as part of the punk revival (2nd wave) in the mid-80s, growing up in a mid-sized Midwestern city. The punk scene was very alive there and I immediately identified with it, but stuck with the non-conformist nature of it rather than filing off into a splinter group and wearing a uniform. This movie recalled a lot of my own experiences, ideas and feelings from that time. Uncomfortably so. Of course there was a lot of BS too, but the BS was part and parcel of the scene since everyone was co-opting "punk" into their own little social circles.

I didn't learn anything from this movie, which to my mind illustrates its accuracy as a decent, digestible snapshot of what was going on within that world where each of us knew a Heroin Bob, a crazy Belgian Mark, an intense nerdy Mike who just might go off the deep end and start a fight with the cops, a slutty Sandie, and armchair philosophers galore. And of course drugs, booze, filth and bad music.

A previous reviewer scolded this film for not following the "true punk" philosophy and went on to talk about how the Midwest "doesn't have a punk scene." Wrong. Buddy, reading books or watching videos about the history of that movement won't tell you anything. It was not deep, profound, or incredibly thoughtful. Don't read too much into it.