SLC Punk! (1998)

In the early 1980s 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 & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Lillard	...	Stevo
Michael A. Goorjian	...	Bob (as Michael Goorjian)
Annabeth Gish	...	Trish
Jennifer Lien	...	Sandy
Christopher McDonald	...	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 | breaking the fourth wall | bromance | redneck | hospital | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 April 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

SLC Punk

Filming Locations:

Evanston, Wyoming, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$36,218, 18 April 1999

Gross USA:

$299,569

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$299,569

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

James Merendino: The director appears quickly as one of the punks in the "Explanation of Fight" slide show, and as the character "Freaky Deaky" at the party at Chris' house.

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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

Bob: You know that shit you guys do? You're fucking yourselves up man. Fucking acid, acid, it never leaves the body. It's in your fucking spinal cord forever.

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Connections

Referenced in Rewind This! (2013)

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Soundtracks

Mother of Pearl
Performed by Roxy Music
Written by Bryan Ferry
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
Courtesy of Virgin Records
Published by EG Music Limited/BMG Music Publishing Limited
All Rights in the US Administered by Careers-BMG Music Publishing Inc. (BMI)

User Reviews

Excellent quirky slice o life

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!