SLC Punk

James Merendino

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SLC Punk

Synopsis

Two former geeks become 1980s punks, then party and go to concerts while deciding what to do with their lives.

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Recommendations

75
Entertainment Weekly
For a while, angry young Stevo (Lillard) turns his quest for total anarchy into a grungy, giddy, randomly violent rave. Then reality creeps up and, well, it bites.
70
L.A. Weekly
Ultimately a wiser and truer film than its crass and cartoony beginnings would have us believe.
63
ReelViews
The film has an undeniable energy, and, at times, it works as light entertainment, but there is a problem. The central character is consistently aggravating.
63
San Francisco Examiner
It's handsome filmmaking that doesn't surface until the final 25 minutes during which Stevo and company's sense of marginalization achieves the palpable, emotional import that's more expressive than anything its characters' have to bitch about.
60
Newsweek
We don't really need some young punk to tell us that anarchy is an untenable idea, but watching him live it is an invigorating experience.
50
Salon
The movie starts out as a sweet piece of hardcore pie, full of energy and "Repo Man"-esque satire, but ultimately deteriorates into a Percodan-flavored "Afterschool Special."
50
The New York Times
Likable for its outlandishness, less so when it shows a self-important streak.
40
Austin Chronicle
Merendino's film is lacking the streamlined cohesion it needs to spike itself in your cortex as hoped, but it is about as accurate a punk film as I've seen in some time, especially when it comes to the horrors and boredoms of small-scene life.