Suburbia

Rating:
Summary: yay! its poseur time!
Review: heres why it gets 4 stars....awesome TSOL footage....footage of the VANDALS right b4 they slipped into permanent crappiness....solid proff why FLEA has always sucked, and will always suck...even if we was in FEAR for 10 minutes and the WEIRDOS for 5....the pet rat outacts him the whole flick....did you know keith morris from the CIRCLE JERKS started the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS?...yup they stole it.....the pointless phrase " guess what??....chickenbutt!" which pretty much saves the movie and...and....you get to see fake punkers and exploitation in all its cheap lowbudget glory...i was there and it was nothing like this. ever. not even close. but hey its hollywood and its worth pickin up if you love L.A. punk..which was the best punk scene ever....anywhere......

Rating:
Summary: "My Name's Razzle!"
Review: Hey, look- it's FLEA from the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing Razzle! And if you're up on your subcultural history you'll also be able to spot a host of other SoCal punkrock demi-legends.

I lovedlovedLOVED this movie when it came out. We (all the little subrban/urban punk rockers who ran in my crew) could recite this movie word for word, and unfortunately, we did- frequently.

Yep, the acting is horrific, but strangely enough the milieu, the plot, the location are all 100 percent authentic. Scarily similar to people/places/things/events I've lived through.

Now what that says about my teen years is another issue, entirely.

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, Bad DVD
Review: I bought this movie because I saw it on sale at the local Farm & Fleet. It was actually a very good movie and I enjoyed it, I don't care too much about content of the movie itself because I'm sure everyone else will already be reviewing it. I just cared about the DVD itself. The sound and picture is really bad and looks like it was just copied from an old VHS tape. I would expect DVD quality from a movie that has just been rereleased

Rating:
Summary: SUBURBIA
Review: I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST CAME ACROSS THIS MOVIE WHILE SEARCHING FOR THE DAMNED. I FIRST SAW THIS MOVIE WITH MY OLDER BROTHER AND I THOUGHT IT WAS AN AMAZING MOVIE IT SEEMED SO REAL. I WAS REALLY YOUNG I HAD TO ONLY BE 12 OR 13 MAYBE YOUNGER BUT IT BLEW ME AWAY. I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS MOVIE FOR YEARS. I HAVE SEARCHED FOR IT AT LOCAL VIDEO STORES NEVER COULD FIND IT. THIS MOVIE IS A MUST SEE. YOU WON'T FORGET IT.

Rating:
Summary: suburbia is punk
Review: i first saw suburbia when i was a freshman in high school,i guessit was 1988,and the reality of lower class punk life was well portrayed by this film. if you werent there you might not get it. if you were, you will definetly appreciate being brought back to a time that will never happen again. garage shopping, beer runs, and sharing whatever you got with those who are loyal and true to you.this movie was punk before punk was mainstream. oh yeah, flea from the chili peppers in his first (probably) film.

Rating:
Summary: So bad it's good!
Review: I first saw suburbia when I was about 14, and at the time I thought it was awesome. Then again, back then I had an Exploited T-shirt and drew anarchy signs on things. I'd like to think now, ten years later, I've wised up a bit.

That being said, this movie is completely entertaining and worth a look. True, the dialogue, characters, situations, acting, and cinematography are all sketchy at best, an Spheeris' movie "Dudes" deserves a far higher place in the annals of punk rock cinema. But Suburbia is like some teenage garage punk band wailing away at a free show on 6th ave-- they may suck but the energy and enthusiasm is infectious.

The kids aren't horribly sympathetic in general (one runs away because his dad is gay; another runs away because his stepdad is black); they harrass innocent people more than once; They rob homes; some disturbingly sexist behavior (ripping a girl's clothes off at a club while several punks cheer and hollar) make it even harder to root for the "T.R." kids. The movie in general makes punks look like senseless, violent cretins (which, to be fair, they sometimes are) but yet you are supposed to consider them the good guys. It's perplexing.

That being said, the gig scenes are really cool (note; I've seen all three bands in real life, and they all suck now. How did they used to rock so much?). There are priclessly stupid lines and moments great for a laugh. There's a genuinely somewhat cool thread running throughout that subtly indicates that the TR are really basicly just children (most people miss this).

All in all, I'd rent this but wouldn't reccomend buying it. Your money would be better spent on "Dudes" or "Repo Man".



Rating:
Summary: A gripping movie...
Review: I first saw this movie when in Germany in the mid-80s then in it's original (English) in '92, and am still in awe.

Granted, the acting is terrible, but not only is it beside the point, hardly any of the kids in it had acting experience. My hat is off to Penelope Spheeris for doing a great job of depicting suburban America and a quite realistic depiction of the struggle to become an individual in a society that, to this day favors conformity over individuality. It shows how self-righteous and ignorant parents can be of their own children's pain and isolation, even though usually they caused it themselves.

If you have yet to see this movie, be aware that the end will catch you off guard. If you watch this with children, be prepared to do a lot of explaining and listening.

This is one of those movies that deserves to be on DVD, and will hopefully be continued on whatever formats are to come.

Enjoy the film and the great music which, by the way, you can also get here.

Rating:
Summary: Gritty, realistic, horribly acted....
Review: I remember seeing Suburbia when it first came out. Eighteen years later, I'm still moved by this film. The acting is not the best; however, the kids are tangible. The story is more reality based than a lot of people/adult authority figures may ever want to admit or are willing to accept. Social workers and politicians should watch this DVD.

I remember the clubs and the sense of alienation during the early eighties punk scene. Suburbia successsfully captures that mood and oft' times misplaced anger of not only the "Punkers" but the society that wanted to shun them.

The funeral home scene is worth the price of admission...

Rating:
Summary: Five Stars for pure comedy value
Review: I remember us filling the theatre to see this movie the week it was released. It was suppose the first movie to show what the scene was really like. At the time we figured since Spheeris did an ok job with Decline she would give us a movie that finally showed what our lives were about at the time. Well to say the least that first night I dont think any of us heard more then ten lines from the entire movie because of all the laughter from the audience this movie was suppose to be depicting. To this day I can't sit through this without my side hurting from laughing at this sillyness.

Rating:
Summary: Far more real than you might think
Review: I saw this movie when it was first released in 1983, and I left the theatre absolutely stunned. I have never seen a more realistic depiction of the struggle to become your own person in a society that obviously favors conformity over individuality. The kids in this film, like my friends and I in the 80's, are what "normal" society can't stand, and they are ostracized for it. They try to find their own way, but growing up is never easy, especially when you live on the streets.

I wholeheartedly agree with my fellow reviewers that the acting is terrible and the lighting is bad, but that's beside the point here. This movie rises far above such superficial trappings by cutting right to the bone of suburban America. The parents in the film (like many I've met in real life) are self-righteous and completely ignorant of their own children's pain and isolation, most of which was caused by the parents themselves.

"Suburbia" is a movie that is both funny and disturbing, although ultimately sad - the ending caught me completely by surprise. Rare is the movie that leaves you speechless when it ends, this one will do just that.

I have been looking for this movie for years - only two years ago a search on the web brought up "label out of stock" on every search engine I could find. And now it's been rereleased! Forgive the kids their limited acting abilities, and just enjoy the film.

Oh, and the music is fantastic, too!