SLC Punk! *** (1998, Matthew Lillard, Michael A Goorjian, Christopher McDonald, Annabeth Gish) – Classic Movie Review 11,985

Writer-director James Merendino’s 1998 American comedy-drama film SLC Punk! Stars Matthew Lillard, Michael A Goorjian, Christopher McDonald and Annabeth Gish. The film is semi-biographical, drawing on Merendino’s experiences.

SLC? That’s Salt Lake City, where Matthew (Scream) Lillard and Michael A Goorjian are rich punks growing up in the Reagan era (it’s 1985), chilling out on designer anarchy in the USA and bands like the Ramones and The Specials.

Lillard plays young punk rock fan Stevo Levy, a college graduate living in Salt Lake City. Blue-rinsed Lillard scoffs and scorns when his ex-hippie dad (Christopher McDonald) wants him to go to Harvard Law School like he did – not to sell out to the system but to buy in – but what is he going to do with his life?

This is a pacy, inventive and sporadically hilarious look at zany youth culture in a Mormon state, made with plenty of infectious energy by writer-director James Merendino, and motored by another of likeable Lillard’s hysterical hyper-kinetic performances. The Salt Lake City backdrop makes the old tale fresh and the blast-from-the-past score rocks, and there is an interesting support cast to watch.

Merendino films in a brio animated, energetic way, relishing the movie box of tricks by using crane shots where the camera is mounted on a jib moving up and down, dolly shots moving the camera towards or away from the subject, and jump cuts of shots broken with a cut that makes the subject appear to jump instantly forward in time.

Expect swearing, drug use and anti-social behaviour.

Merendino wrote the script based on his experiences growing up in Salt Lake City and many of the characters are based on people he knew.

Most of the film is shot on location in Salt Lake City, along with a scene in Evanston, Wyoming.

It was chosen as the opening-night film at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.

He wrote and directed a sequel to what turned out to be most successful film, Punk’s Dead: SLC Punk! 2, released in February 2016. Michael Goorjian reprises his role of Heroin Bob.

James Duval plays John the Mod.

The cast are Matthew Lillard as Stevo Levy, Christopher Ogden as young Stevo, Michael A Goorjian as Heroin Bob, Francis Capra as young Bob, Jason Segel as Mike, Annabeth Gish as Trish, Jennifer Lien as Sandy, Christopher McDonald as Mr Levy, Devon Sawa as Sean the Beggar, Adam Pascal as Mod Eddie, Til Schweiger as Mark, James Duval as John the Mod, and, Summer Phoenix as Brandy, Chiara Barzini, Kervin Breznahan, Chrsitina Karras, Russell Peacock, McNally Saga, and Scott Brandy.

© Derek Winnert 2022 Classic Movie Review 11,985

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com