SLC Punk (1998) Full Review

Film Scene Investigation

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00:00hey guys welcome back to another cult movie review it's me beau here on the film scene

00:19investigation channel thanks so much for checking out this review in today's video i'm going to be

00:26taking a look at the 1998 coming of age drama slc punk aka salt lake city punk now i didn't even

00:38know this film existed up until very recently i had reviewed the 1995 movie hackers that starred

00:47the actor matthew lillard and then subsequently i went on his wikipedia page and you know

00:53checked out his filmography and yeah saw this movie slc punk and um went ahead saw the trailer

01:02and it was definitely a movie that uh you know piqued my interest just before we get into it

01:09guys if you haven't already please do consider subscribing to the channel all the support

01:14is greatly appreciated so salt lake city punk from 1998 was written and directed by james merendino

01:26a filmmaker that had worked on several films before but um slc punk is considered his most famous work

01:35as for the narrative the movie focused on the best friends steve-o and heroine bob who was played by

01:43matthew lillard and michael gorgen respectively they were two punks living in salt lake city utah

01:50living their best life with out of care in the world their main priority was you know to have a good

01:58time and you know just forget about the consequences these guys were close they were best friends who

02:06shared this shabby apartment together where they discussed the state of the world and how important

02:13it was never to sell out steve-o in particular was dead set against joining the establishment at

02:23whatever cost he really believed in the punk movement even more so than bob we were introduced

02:32to their friends like sean who was played by actor devon soya a guy who sold acid on campus

02:41sean was this punk kid who was uh you know his behavior was kind of erratic and uh i would probably

02:49put that down to you know long-term drug use his bright green spiky hair that was a great look for

02:58shot it really was it really sued him and uh yeah i mean this was a memorable character that kind of

03:05popped in and out of the story as it went on there was also their german drug dealer friend called mark

03:13who was played by actor til schweger a guy who you know on the outside he seemed pretty easy going you

03:21know but uh behind closed doors he was a paranoid man who was in hiding the only reason mark was in

03:31salt lake to begin with was because he owed a lot of money to some people back in miami and well you

03:38know he was laying low i gathered that both steve-o and bob didn't really like mark too much but given

03:47mark you know was a drug supplier and steve-o took a lot of drugs he felt it was important to you know

03:56at least pretend that they were friends i mean it wasn't like mark you know was into punk rock or

04:03anything like that you know he didn't dress like those guys you know he stuck out like a sore thumb

04:09every time he was hanging out with steve-o and bob but um well you know he was a drug supplier

04:15and those were the circles that he mixed in now the actual story structure of slc punk

04:21was all over the place you know um it didn't follow your standard story structure but then again

04:29that also did mirror the whole punk ethos at times the story was very fragmented almost episodic

04:39but this approach did kind of continuously you know push the pace going forward and at no time

04:46you know was i bored or restless the movie also featured several direct to camera monologues

04:53from steve-o that were humorous but also very cynical steve-o's breaking of the fourth wall

05:01you know it it did kind of break down that barrier between character and the viewer and it definitely

05:08gave the film a lot more of a a personal touch there was a subplot that involved steve-o's dad

05:16who was played by actor christopher mcdonald he went behind his son's back and applied for harvard

05:25law school on his behalf the dad just assumed that this whole punk thing that his son was into

05:33well it was a phase and hopefully he would eventually grow out of it steve-o would end up being accepted

05:43into harvard law school but once he found out he did not want to go steve-o felt that if he did attend

05:53the law school well he would be going against everything that he believed in he would be

05:59selling out yeah he wasn't mad about it you know he loved his dad and his dad loved him so that was

06:08pretty clear to see it's just ultimately he couldn't accept the offer and so he refused but this storyline

06:16would tie into the ending of the film when we saw the character bob accidentally overdose on

06:23drugs and die it was a completely random moment that steve-o didn't see coming you know dare was his

06:31best friend and he was gone steve-o of course was upset he broke down he cried but it was at that

06:41moment that steve-o finally realized that it was time to leave this lifestyle this this punk ethos you

06:50know this whole movement he had to move on with his best friend now dead you know there was nothing

06:58keeping steve-o from staying in salt lake and in a way bob's death kind of gave freedom to steve he could

07:08now take that offer to harvard law school and not feel guilty about you know supposedly selling out

07:16the final scene of the movie the final scene of the movie saw steve-o now with a shaved head attending

07:22bob's funeral and admitting to the audience that deep down he was a poser all along he was someone

07:32that really believed in that culture someone that you know lived that lifestyle but ultimately at the end

07:41of the day it was all bullshit just like the idea itself i really did like this ending and i appreciated

07:50the closure that we got you know it was like seeing steve-o this chapter in his life closing and this new

07:58one beginning now one of the main themes in slc punk was the whole idea around individuality and

08:07conformity you had these characters who embraced the culture as a way to rebel against the norms but

08:17you know ultimately they were just conforming to the ideals of punk they all adopted the typical

08:26fashion styles that are associated with punk you know with the dyed hair the leather jackets and the doc

08:33martins but that in itself was just another type of uniform that the guys felt they had to adhere to

08:44they were doing it all for the wrong reasons you know they weren't punk at heart no they just jumped on

08:52that bandwagon because ultimately they just wanted to rebel the film exposed the stupidity of that belief system

09:02with steve-o's journey you know forcing him to confront the idea that his youthful defiance

09:10indeed was just a phase and you know for me personally i really appreciated the director

09:17for not you know glamorizing the culture and showing the real life consequences if someone were to live

09:26that lifestyle when it comes to the performances i have to say that matthew lillard as steve-o he was

09:36perfectly suited to play that character steve-o wasn't just a rebel but he was also a philosopher

09:43you know a guy that used his college education to articulate his disdain for how the world was

09:50and lillard's ability to shift between the comedy and the moments of quiet introspection

09:59you know that made him a very likable protagonist i've seen a fair few matthew lillard movies over the

10:08years with scream being my you know favorite of his but honestly after seeing what he was able to

10:17deliver in slc punk his performance his portrayal of steve-o is now my favorite of his i thought the

10:27actor michael gorjon did a pretty good job with his role as heroine bob his character yeah had a tough

10:37exterior but inside you know he was a lot more sensitive but still very loyal to the punk movement

10:47bob was also straight edge meaning he didn't touch drugs at all and i have to say i really loved that

10:55characterization that trait that they gave the character because ultimately it gave him a lot

11:03more depth while steve-o and his other friends were more than happy to indulge you know bob was

11:12dead against that you know he was straight edge and in doing so he was almost rebelling against the

11:21punk lifestyle of you know excess and debauchery

11:25guozhan was another great casting choice as he and lillard you know just had some brilliant chemistry you know bouncing off each other it felt so natural they

11:37they really felt like genuine friends and given that this story is or was so

11:44character driven you know it was pivotal that the filmmakers you know were able to capture the

11:50the right dynamics for the right dynamics for the movie as for the technical side of things slc punk

11:56was a very creative piece of filmmaking with the director incorporating loads of you know different

12:03ideas and techniques i love the whole editing style you know with the quick cuts and the pov shots and even

12:11you know the breaking of the fourth wall now understandably seeing it in today's eyes

12:17eyes yeah it is somewhat dated but you know thinking back that this was a movie from 1998

12:25all that was pretty cutting edge back then in particular i thought the film's opening titles

12:31were genius they were a really really creative idea with these fake album covers popping up on screen

12:40with the you know cast and crew labeled over it as someone who used to own a large number of punk

12:49records back in the day you know seeing these covers yeah they looked uh pretty convincing

12:56opening titles you know they're a little hit and miss sometimes they can be great and you know sometimes

13:03they could be horrible in this case though i was really impressed and for me it felt like a

13:10tribute almost rather than you know some sort of like mock-up kind of cliche type thing and talking

13:18of album covers i should take a moment now to talk about the awesome soundtrack that featured some

13:25amazing bands like the specials and the ramones you know it was almost like the soundtrack in itself

13:34was a character you know that was constantly driving the pace and you know shaping the atmosphere of the

13:43story a movie like slc punk was always going to need a brilliant soundtrack you know to accompany it

13:52and i'm just really glad that the filmmakers were able to nail it in this case you know just you know

13:58a brilliant selection of punk tracks before we get to dislikes i should also take some time to talk about

14:06the brilliant fashion that was on show in this movie if you're like me and a fan of the whole punk

14:15aesthetic then you know seeing all the different looks from all the different characters you know

14:20it's something that you know you appreciate steve-o's fashion in particular was a real highlight

14:26with all the different colorful blazers and t-shirts and stuff he wore he had the dyed hair

14:34the razor blade chain you know he looked the part and uh it looked authentic you know it didn't seem

14:41like it was cosplay if i'd been working on this film i would have definitely you know asked if i could

14:48have taken some of the clothing home and if they'd said no i probably would have stolen it anyway

14:55i mean come on even bob's fashion was pretty good at times i mean he had that white zipped up jacket with

15:03the anarchy logo on it awesome stuff man i'd love to you know get my hat on that item yeah i mean yeah

15:10the fashion aesthetic it felt like a uh like a love letter to that whole style and so dislikes for

15:19salt lake city punk from 1998 my biggest dislike for the film would be a technical one when it came to

15:29the shot of bob and his dead body so i've already mentioned that we saw bob at the end of the film

15:37overdose he died and steve-o found him in their apartment now my specific issue was the close-up that

15:45was used on bob's face you see the camera lingered on the shot and very subtly you could see the

15:54actor's throat rising up and down like i said this is a small issue it didn't ruin the film and it really

16:01is a nitpick it's not even really a dislike but um as someone who you know edits videos and stuff like

16:08that it just seemed a little bit sloppy you know that easily could have been changed it could have

16:14been removed could have been altered rather than just being left in and yeah i mean to be honest it

16:21did stick out to me you know it was a very important scene uh a very compelling scene but the execution

16:29just was a little off for me and it was something that kind of took me out of the moment i think if i was

16:36the editor i probably would have used that close-up once and then cut to steve-o and just had him you

16:44know emote that would have been i think a lot better than what we got but that is what it is and so

16:51ratings for salt lake city punk from 1998. i am going to be rating this movie a strong 7 out of 10.

17:02slc punk was a thoroughly enjoyable movie a great coming-of-age 90s drama that i deeply regret not

17:12seeing earlier with the quirky dialogue the mirable characters the bold visuals this really is a piece

17:21of cinema that deserves all the praise and you know viewing this film for the first time it did make me

17:29think about all of my kind of friends in the past that i've you know kind of lost contact with over

17:35the years and yeah i mean those guys will love this film it's uh it's i just wish i'd seen it earlier i

17:42really really do in a way it kind of reminds me of the film train spotting another 90s film that you

17:50know explored these issues that young people deal with you know finding identity and handling

17:56responsibility you know i think one of the best things i can say about this film

18:02was that it had a lot of heart you know it was there was a lot of emotion laced throughout the

18:08whole story and um it was a story that spoke to me you know something that i could really relate to

18:16so uh yeah i loved it if you've seen slc punk please let me know your thoughts and memories

18:23in the comments section below for those who haven't out there it's a big recommendation from me i think

18:31especially for you know gen x and you know millennials if you haven't seen this yet definitely

18:37watch it i think you'll love it and well that's all for me today guys i do hope you've enjoyed this review

18:43of salt lake city punk from 1998 i'll be back next week with another cult movie review don't forget to

18:52like and subscribe and of course take care

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