Repo ManStrange things are afoot in Los Angeles circa 1984, in a caricature of our own world--but not that far removed--like that one depicted in Repo Man. Let's see...we've got aliens, car chases, gunfights, sex, drugs, punk rock, time travel (maybe), and televangelists...conspiracies and crimes, and stuck in the middle of it is the hapless Otto Maddox (Emilio Estevez), an erstwhile punk turned repo man after a chance encounter with repo guru, Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), drawn in by the thrills and money of gainful employment and stealing other people's cars; sure beats begging dad for a loan and stocking cans.
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The argument of "what is punk?" has raged as long as people started spiking their mohawks, but at the core, there's supposed to be an attitude of individualism and self-expression, anti-establishment and, of course, the music. Otto's odd odyssey into getting a job and making some scratch represents him turning a corner, but he isn't really even turning all that far. Otto's fairly indifferent to the punk aesthetic, and why shouldn't he be? His "girlfriend" Debbi (Jennifer Balgobin) and his "best friend" Duke (Dick Rude) are hardly the most endearing of chums and don't exactly show Otto much kindness, nor is hanging out with ex-co-worker, Kevin (Zander Schloss). Otto's bored with the status quo, and it's a blessing for him when Bud shows up and tries to scam him into ripping off some guy's car for him. Sure, Otto balks at doing a job for actual compensation at first, but "me thinks he doth protest too much", and the blow is softened when he holds that crisp, green cash. Otto's apprenticeship at the hands of Bud, as well as fellow repo men--all named after beer--Lite, Miller, et al, give Otto a new perspective on life, a kind of greasy philosophy; whether Otto cares at all is really a different story. Otto's the quintessential kid looking to hang and have a good time, get laid, make some dough, and do as little as possible to get it. Sometimes he gets wrapped up in the act, wearing the suit and drinking an old lady's tea while subtly threatening to repossess her car. But Otto's wise to the world's game, and knows that it is a crazy planet with a bunch of weirdos running rampant; so Otto's flippant attitude and irreverence makes sense when you live in a place where a drink is labeled "drink" on the can. Otto is like a Bart Simpson of his world, keen to the selfish motivations of everyone else and their own obsessed problems...not that he doesn't have his own, but he doesn't feel like playing along with their set of rules--that's punk.
Repo Man is one of the most original and well-paced comedies I've seen, with dialogue so absurd at times and great sight gags which make the film very quotable. A personal favorite joke in the film is one which builds up over a long stretch of time, after Miller (Tracey Walter) is telling Otto about a "lattice of coincidence", and he's going on about an absurd example of a "plate of shrimp". Suffice to say, when one of the Rodriguez Brothers is making a phone call, pay attention to the sign behind him, and it all comes back. An icy government agent--metal hand and all--answers a local law enforcement officer upon being questioned about what happened to one of the patrolmen (who got vaporized), that sometimes "people just explode...natural causes"; not even a mention about "swamp gas" makes the joke of the mystery g-men and g-women being less than truthful even more chuckleworthy. These kind of humorous moments fill Repo Man, and the film avoids anchoring too intently to any significant relationship, although Otto seems to keep his prospects open, flirting with the flaky Leila (Olivia Barash), who is more interested in tracking down her uncle Frank (Fox Harris). "J. Frank Parnell" is the commander of a "hot" Chevy Malibu stocked with the corpses of aliens in his trunk, which radiate some kind of nuclear heat, and which not even the "good book" can repel. Frank's dialogue with Otto when he finally chases down the Malibu--trying to repo it for the massive twenty thousand dollar bounty--reveals that Frank had a lobotomy, a therapeutic operation to help him cope with his involvement in the creation of the neutron bomb. Frank's revelation of his "escape" from the world mirrors Otto's own literal escape at the conclusion, finally onboard with Miller's crazy theories, because the rest the world is already so crazy, how much worse could it be to hop in and fly away? I first saw Repo Man at a midnight movie, and it fits the bill quite nicely as one; not because it isn't a good quality movie, but because the off-beat satire and hilariously mixed-up plot makes for crazy, silly entertainment, like a Mad magazine come to life. Repo Man pokes fun at the culture of its time, with dopes claiming they're "lucky" to get crummy jobs stocking shelves--room to move as a fry cook--and born again hippies sending their savings off to buy bibles for El Salvador, government agents and repo men like Lite (Sy Richardson) both reading about "Dioretix: The Science of Matter over Mind", and at least three convenience store hold-ups. Welcome to L.A...where the more things change...
Recommended for: Fans of a nutty satire of Eighties-era consumerism, upward mobility, and even the punk subculture which the movie is a part of. Great for fans nostalgic for B-movie sci-fi camp and car chases both, with a killer soundtrack featuring the likes of Iggy Pop and Black Flag; the Circle Jerks even make a cameo.
Repo Man is one of the most original and well-paced comedies I've seen, with dialogue so absurd at times and great sight gags which make the film very quotable. A personal favorite joke in the film is one which builds up over a long stretch of time, after Miller (Tracey Walter) is telling Otto about a "lattice of coincidence", and he's going on about an absurd example of a "plate of shrimp". Suffice to say, when one of the Rodriguez Brothers is making a phone call, pay attention to the sign behind him, and it all comes back. An icy government agent--metal hand and all--answers a local law enforcement officer upon being questioned about what happened to one of the patrolmen (who got vaporized), that sometimes "people just explode...natural causes"; not even a mention about "swamp gas" makes the joke of the mystery g-men and g-women being less than truthful even more chuckleworthy. These kind of humorous moments fill Repo Man, and the film avoids anchoring too intently to any significant relationship, although Otto seems to keep his prospects open, flirting with the flaky Leila (Olivia Barash), who is more interested in tracking down her uncle Frank (Fox Harris). "J. Frank Parnell" is the commander of a "hot" Chevy Malibu stocked with the corpses of aliens in his trunk, which radiate some kind of nuclear heat, and which not even the "good book" can repel. Frank's dialogue with Otto when he finally chases down the Malibu--trying to repo it for the massive twenty thousand dollar bounty--reveals that Frank had a lobotomy, a therapeutic operation to help him cope with his involvement in the creation of the neutron bomb. Frank's revelation of his "escape" from the world mirrors Otto's own literal escape at the conclusion, finally onboard with Miller's crazy theories, because the rest the world is already so crazy, how much worse could it be to hop in and fly away? I first saw Repo Man at a midnight movie, and it fits the bill quite nicely as one; not because it isn't a good quality movie, but because the off-beat satire and hilariously mixed-up plot makes for crazy, silly entertainment, like a Mad magazine come to life. Repo Man pokes fun at the culture of its time, with dopes claiming they're "lucky" to get crummy jobs stocking shelves--room to move as a fry cook--and born again hippies sending their savings off to buy bibles for El Salvador, government agents and repo men like Lite (Sy Richardson) both reading about "Dioretix: The Science of Matter over Mind", and at least three convenience store hold-ups. Welcome to L.A...where the more things change...
Recommended for: Fans of a nutty satire of Eighties-era consumerism, upward mobility, and even the punk subculture which the movie is a part of. Great for fans nostalgic for B-movie sci-fi camp and car chases both, with a killer soundtrack featuring the likes of Iggy Pop and Black Flag; the Circle Jerks even make a cameo.