SLC Punk! is a 1998 American independent comedy-drama film written and directed by James Merendino. The film is about the young punk rock fan Steven "Stevo" Levy, a college graduate living in Salt Lake City. The character is portrayed as an exaggerated stereotype of an anarchist punk in the mid 1980s. Many events and characters in the movie are allegedly based on real life, although they may have been exaggerated.
The character of Stevo is based on the life of writer/director James Merendino, although the character is named after Stephen Egerton, originally known as Stephen "Stevo" O'Rielly, who played for the Salt Lake City punk band Massacre Guys, and eventually joined the L.A. bands Descendents and ALL. SLC Punk was chosen as the opening-night feature at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival[1].
Plot
The film outlines the daily lives of two punks in Salt Lake City in the summer of 1985. The film is shot in a documentary, "slice-of-life" style, with frequent voiceovers by Stevo (Matthew Lillard), who narrates the film in past-tense, and his best friend "Heroin" Bob (Michael A. Goorjian). The nickname is ironic, since Bob is afraid of needles and actually believes that any drug (with the notable exception of alcohol and cigarettes) legal or otherwise is inherently dangerous.
Stevo and Bob live in Salt Lake City, going from party to party while living in a dilapitated apartment. They spend much of their time fighting with members of other subcultures, particularly rednecks. Stevo has a casual relationship with a girl named Sandy (Jennifer Lien), while Heroin Bob is in love with Trish (Annabeth Gish), the manager of a head shop, however he is reluctant to ask her to become his girlfriend.
The two of them are shaped by their experiences with their parents. Stevo's parents, now divorced, are former hippies who are proud of their youthful endeavors; however, Stevo is revolted by what he perceives as their "selling out", which they lamely try to justify. Stevo's grades are actually excellent, but when his father (Christopher McDonald)- a lawyer with a Porsche and a penchant for younger women - sends an application to Harvard Law School and Stevo is accepted; he nevertheless rejects it because of his beliefs. By contrast, Bob's father is a paranoid, drunken wreck who mistakes his son and his friend for CIA operatives, and chases them away with a shotgun when they visit him on his birthday.
Stevo begins to see the drawbacks of living the punk life as the movie continues. Sean, a fellow punk, is a drug dealer who once attempts to stab his mother while under the influence of LSD, before being taken away by the police; Stevo later finds him panhandling on the streets. While he understands that his relationship with Sandy is casual, he's still enraged when he discovers her having sex with another man, and savagely beats him, later loathing himself because his action contradicts his own belief in chaos. His social circle begins to drift away, one leaving Salt Lake City, another aspiring to become an environmental activist to save endangered rain forest. Stevo falls in love on first sight when Trish introduces him to a young rich girl named Brandy (Summer Phoenix), who points out that his anarchic clothing and attitudes are more of a fashion choice than an actual political philosophy. Rather than being offended, Stevo takes the criticism thoughtfully and they passionately kiss.
At the same party, Heroin Bob complains of a headache, and is given percodan, which he consumed while intoxicated with alcohol. The accidental drug overdose kills him in his sleep. When Stevo discovers that his best friend is dead, he breaks down completely. At the funeral, he appears with a shaved head and changed clothing, and decides that he's done with his punk lifestyle. He decides to go to Harvard Law School, and suggests in the narration that he marries Brandy. He notes in his closing narration that his youthful self would probably kick his future self's ass, wryly describing himself as ultimately just another poser.
Events upon which the movie is based
Writer-director James Merendino created the film based on his experience growing up as a Mohawk-wearing punk in Salt Lake City. Although not autobiographical, Merendino has said that many characters were based on people he knew.[2]
Cast
Salt Lake City
The entire film was shot on location in Salt Lake City because the directors wanted the title to coincide with the location. Numerous scenes took place in locally well-known areas:
- Stevo's high school, which he calls "Southeast High", is actually West High School and is near downtown Salt Lake City.
- The scene wherein Heroin Bob chastises Stevo for being wasted takes place atop "Presidents Circle" at the University of Utah.
- Stevo introduces the "posers" and gives his "Who Started Punk Rock?" speech at the Cottonwood mall.
- Stevo and Sandy drop acid at Memory Grove Park, a World War I memorial park.
- Many exterior street scenes occur just north of the Frank E. Moss Federal Courthouse in the downtown area.
- The band portraying ECP at the SLC Indian Center is 8 Bucks Experiment.
- The scenes depicting Heroin Bob's Funeral were shot inside and outside The Cathedral of the Madeleine. The cathedral is located just east of downtown Salt Lake City.
- The apartment that Stevo and Heroin Bob lived was the Big D Construction building, Across from Pioneer Park.
The tribes
The film features several cliques known as "tribes" in the film. The film focuses primarily on the punk tribe, but includes several other tribes as well:
- Punks: Stevo, Bob, Sean, and Mike belong to this tribe, although Mike doesn't dress the part. The punks are rivals of the mods, Nazis and rednecks.
- Mods: Mods wear suits and ties, and they ride scooters. They're generally the rivals of the punks, but the character John the Mod acts as a diplomat who freely moves between the tribes. In the beginning of the movie, the mods are trying to buy acid from Sean.
- Rednecks: Rednecks are rural Utah folk who wear blue jeans and flannel, and drive around in big trucks. Punks dislike them for their conservative values.
- Nazis: Nazis are white power skinheads who wear pseudo-military fatigues and Nazi armbands. Punks and mods are shown to be predatory towards the Nazis.
- The Heavy metal Guys: They have long hair and flannel. Not much else is known about them, except that Stevo explains that Nazis were predatory towards them.
- New Wavers: They are people who dress like New Romantics and are said to be the least threatening of the tribes. They are described as being "the new hippies." Every Tribe is predatory to the New Wavers.
Soundtrack
- "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" - The Suicide Machines (originally performed by Lynn Anderson)
- "Sex and Violence" - The Exploited
- "I Love Livin' in the City" - Fear
- "1969" - The Stooges
- "Too Hot" - The Specials
- "Cretin Hop" - Ramones
- "Dreaming" - Blondie
- "Kiss Me Deadly" - Generation X
- "Rock N' Roll" - The Velvet Underground
- "Gasoline Rain" - Moondogg
- "Mirror in the Bathroom" - Fifi (originally performed by The English Beat)
- "Amoeba" - The Adolescents
- "Kill the Poor" - Dead Kennedys
- "Look Back and Laugh" - Minor Threat
Note: The following bands on this soundtrack are historical inaccuracies, as the movie takes place in 1985. These bands did not exist until the 1990s.
- Suicide Machines - 1991
- Fifi - 1993
- Moondogg - 1994
References
External links
Further reading
