SLC Punk! (1998)

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nTitle: SLC Punk! (1998)

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nDirector: James Merendino

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nCast: Matthew Lillard, Michael A. Goorjian, ChristophernMcDonald, Devon Sawa, Jason Segel, James Duval

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nSLC Punk! attempts to explain what living the Punk lifestylenand being an Anarchist is all about. It takes you to the shows and the parties andnthe mayhem filled nights and all the stories and dramas behind them. It achievesnthis by having its main character -a Punk Rocker and Anarchist named Steve-O- breaknthe fourth wall and speak directly at us, explaining to us the ins and outs ofnthe anarchist/punk lifestyle. Kind of like the way that Ferris Bueller wouldnshow us how to “fake out parents” in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986). In SLCnPunk! we have Matthew Lillard, not Matthew Broderick taking us on a tour of thenPunk Rock World. It deconstructs it, analyzing what’s bullshit and what isn’t,nthe benefits and the downsides. Just what is Punk Rock? Is it the music? Isnthat what drives it? Is it the clothes you wear? Your hair style? Is it just anstate of mind?  

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nOn SLC Punk! we follow Steve-O through the landscape of SaltnLake City Utah’s Punk scene. We meet his friends, we go with him to a wild andncrazy punk show, we go with him to a house party, we see the drugs they take,nthe booze they over do and we see them not give a fuck. Basically, these are angroup of kids, who say they are anarchists, who say they hate the status quo,nwho say they hate posers, yet their actions sometimes contradict them. Steve-O, the main character in the film, is going through an existential dilemma, and we go on the ride with thenguy. He is questioning everything, even himself. He is a character who unliken80% of humanity, is fully awake, so, what comes next?

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nPunks have always been portrayed as stupid, angry, and lazy.nIn films, they are always depicted as alcoholics, drug addicts, with nothingnbetter to do than sniff some glue, or break a couple of windshields with a bat.nThough this depiction of the punk rock might be a generalization, I have tonadmit that for the most part, this portrayal is dead on. I mean, I was part ofnthe Puerto Rican Punk scene back when it was thriving, and this is pretty muchnhow it went down. I didn’t dress like a punk, but I went to the shows, I hungnout, and as I always do, I analyzed human behavior, I was a little bit likenSteve-O in many ways, always observing and commenting. The   impression I got from my observations of thenpunk scene during the early 00’s was that most of these kids were pissed off atnthe world; they knew the world was upside down and they hated that fact with a passion.nAnd so, the mentality was “fuck the world, let’s party and burn ourselves outnwhile we’re young!” The mentality was also, no job, no money and no plans fornthe future, a “let the chips fall where they may” stance on life. The angry naturenof punk music only fueled the anger and the discontent in the air. I get thenpunk scene and I understand where the anger comes from, we live in a prettynmessed up world, being angry at it seems like a natural reaction. And I loventhe energy in these shows, I still go to them for this very same reason, I wantnto see people reacting to the world! At times the whole thing feels cathartic.nThe mosh pits, the head banging, the beer flying through the air, the screaming;nsometimes these shows feel like going to the church of Punk Rock in which thenlead singer preaches it like it is and the audience jumps and screams as if thenHoly Spirit has possessed them! The way I see it, we need to vent out that angernand frustration, punk rock gives you away to do that because at the heart ofnpunk rock beats with anger and rebellion. The punk scene still exists in PuertonRico, only not as intensely as I remember it. I guess the Punks grew up, gotnjobs…they joined the system after all.

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nAnd that’s why I enjoyed SLC Punk! so much, it feels genuine.nWhile the film can be seen as a homage to what being a Punk is all about (wartsnand all) it also criticizes the Punk lifestyle and sees many faults in it. Thenfilm goes to great lengths to identify the ‘posers’, the fakes that aren’tnreally punk, they just want to look cool. It also asks the question, shouldnbeing angry be the only thing that you do? Or can you do more than that? What Ingot from the film was that yes, the punk/anarchist lifestyle is directly entwinednwith the music, because the music, speaks about the frustrations and concernsnof the world we live in. In many ways, Punks are awake and conscious about manynof the harsh realities of the world we live in, the injustices, this is wherenthe anger stems from, which is something I like about the whole thing, thesenare characters that don’t like to take things for granted, they question, theynfight, they protest. Matthew Lillard’s Steve-O is an angry young dude, whonhates his town, hates his parents, but loves his friends, loves to party, he isnbasically a guy looking for happiness in a very unhappy world. But he’s goingnthrough a process. He analyzes everything; he is always being inquisitive,nalways questioning things. Actually, there’s this cool moment when he states “Inam wide awake!” I love how he is constantly questioning himself. Why am I who Inam? Where am I in life? How can I bring forth some true change to this worldnand how can I go about it? I like the fact that Steve-O is an individual who isna punk rocker, an anarchists, but is intelligent enough to question his ownnbeliefs, which is something we should all stop and do at various stages of ournlives.

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nSLC Punk! Functions in the same way that Danny Boyle’s Trainspottingn(1996) does, it’s the kind of film that’s about a bunch of messed up dudes andndudettes, some do lots of drugs, some are inclined towards violence, some arencrazier than others, some are gonna die, some are going to choose life, grow upnand change. Because at the end of the day, no matter how punk rock you are, you’rengonna have to face the facts that you have to eat, you have to have a place tonlive, you have to find some sort of way to give something to society and thenonly way to do that is to make some money, somehow. Matthew Lillard by the way,nturns in a good performance, this is probably the role for which he will be mostnremembered by, he comes off as likable, and there’s actually a scene where thendude got to me with his performance.  Interesting how the proposed sequel will bencalled Punk’s Dead. I don’t know if it will ever get made or not, but it wouldnsure be interesting to see where these characters have gone to after all thesenyears. Did they mature? Did they join the system? Did they end up dead in anditch somewhere? Did they leave Punk rock behind or is it still a part of theirnlives? James Merendino, the director behind SLC Punk!, mentions that the sequelnwill have all the previous actors reprising their roles. Merendino says he owesnit to the fans of SLC Punk! To do a worthy sequel, I’m looking forward tonseeing where Steve-O has ended up in his post punk years.

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nRating: 4 out of 5

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