Summary
In an alternate version of LA, a young punk named Otto (Emilio Estevez, “The Breakfast Club”) gets wrapped up in the world of repo men. When there’s a large reward put out for a certain Chevy Malibu his world gets even crazier.
My Thoughts
I didn’t know much about this movie going into it. The only knowledge I had was that it was a strange cult film from the 1980s. I suppose I didn’t know what to expect, but what I got was far better than anything I could imagine. In the first half of the film, I struggled with the pacing and overall meandering plot. The movie felt aimless, and though it had moments that made me laugh, and a few memorable scenes, I struggled to see why this film had garnered a cult following. By the end of the movie, all my doubts about the movie had evaporated. It had completely won me over with its weirdness, its unusual characters, strange world-building, and overall don’t-give-a-$%&*-what-you-think attitude. This is a movie that I'm sure will become better and better with multiple viewings, and I'm willing to sit through it multiple more times.
"Always Intense!"
Easily the best part of this film is the writing. There are dozens of deadpan jokes that come out of nowhere, and it makes this world absolutely delightful. The world and circumstances of Repo Man are dark and gritty, but through it runs a line of strangeness. The dialogue is frequently tongue in cheek, but again, delivered completely straight, which makes for a wonderful dichotomy (“Duke, let’s go do some crimes.” “Yeah. Let’s go get sushi and not pay.”) (“It happens sometimes. People just explode. Natural causes.”) (<Man Catches Fire and Screams> <Cut to Cop> "Man I love my job.")
Another thing I liked a lot about this movie was it’s total ambivalence to what the viewer wants. It’s bold. It’s brash. It’s crass. But it’s unlike anything else I’ve seen. Otto is, after all, a punk, and has no respect for any kind of authority. He does whatever he likes without any thought or care on how it will affect him or others around him. In a way, Otto reminds me of a punk version of Lebowski; total ambivalence to everything, though Otto’s view is a little more nihilistic. Otto's mentor, Bud (Harry Dean Stanton, “Alien”) seems to float from completely clueless to being the only one that has any idea about whats going on. His character is hard to nail down, but that makes him even more compelling, and far more humorous.
"You eat a lot of acid, Miller, back in the hippie days?"
The plot of this movie is strange and meandering, but in the end I believe it really pays off. The way Alex Cox writes and directs, it’s impossible to tell what is going to happen next. This script is utterly original- it’s got social and political commentary, but it also has rather violent shootouts, strange agents from a vague and menacing government agency, and oh- did I mention someone is convinced aliens are in LA throughout this whole movie? Yeah. It’s all over the place as far as tone, but somehow that flippancy and lack of conventionality are only elevated by its punk rock attitude.
Verdict
While I thought the first half of this movie was a little slow and aimless, I’m sure now, with knowledge of how the film ends, on repeat viewings I’ll find the first act more enjoyable. I didn’t mention it before, but some of the effects in this film are quite dated. I can forgive that for the fact that this looks like it was made over thirty years ago and on a rather low budget, and honestly, I think it adds to the charm. This movie is just bizarre enough to make it a delightful cult classic, one that certainly is worth checking out.
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