Misanthropic punk runaways take over an LA suburb slated for demolition and try to build the kind of supportive, loving family they never had at home in this interesting coming-of-age drama written and directed by Penelope Spheeris, and produced by Roger Corman. "The Rejected" as the gang call themselves encounter hostile neighbors who do not want fringe people living near them, and a redneck gang of vigilantes who try to chase the punks away. Aka The Wild Side and Rebel Streets, it is the first of two youth movies made by Spheeris in the 1980's. She cast real-life punks to play the kids - including the future Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea,and included sets by scene luminaries like D.I performing "Richard Hung Himself", T.S.O.L. performing "Wash Away" and "Darker My Love", and The Vandals performing "The Legend of Pat Brown". It was filmed at an abandoned housing tract in and around the cities of Downey and Norwalk in California known for its gang violence and "drug houses", and in the early days of Metallica, then-bassist Ron McGovney hosted auditions/rehearsals and made demos in a house in the same tract. Even though for the most part Suburbia is wretchedly acted and broadly scripted, it has a raw vibe that can't be denied.
Review of Suburbia
Suburbia
(1983)
An interesting coming-of-age drama that has a raw vibe that can't be denied.
16 June 2020