Customer Reviews

Suburbia [VHS]

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

"subUrbia" is one of the most accurate films I've seen depicting the life and language of modern twentysomethings. It's filled with articulate (read: not stupid) dialogue, uncomfortable (and sometimes hilarious) confrontations, and characters that are both affecting and irritating, probably because they're so similar to ourselves.

There's not much plot, but what little there is has to do with a gaggle of slackers hanging out at a convenience store late one night, waiting for a rock star friend who's "made it" to drop by after a show. Well, needless to say, emotions flair and attitudes run wild, but more genuinely than in other movies targeting nihilistic kids. As "subUrbia" progresses and the rock star's REAL intentions become clear (he wants to steal one of the slacker's girlfriends), the movie turns into a fuzzy metaphor for the classic rock star sellout, and how friends and relationships can be bought just as easily when you have power, money, or a limousine.

It took me a while to get into the movie, but once I did it really took a hold of me, and reminded me of "The Breakfast Club" in that the characters were puzzles waiting to be put together, seeking completion but always meeting with dissatisfaction. Indeed, everyone here has an err of mystery about them, never revealing their full self, always leaving something hanging.

The performances are excellent, especially Giovanni Ribisi's Jeff, who is angry, outspoken, and down-to-earth. Also worth noting is Nicky Katt's drunken ex-marine who seems resentful toward everyone around him, but also possesses the most life experience out of all the characters. And there's so many others worth noting...

In short, this is to the real world what TBC was to high school. I highly recommend it.

Ironically, director Richard Linklater claims he deeply identified with writer Eric Bogosian's play turned movie "Suburbia". Ironic because Linklater and Bogosian have such conflicting views about this generation. While Linklater's philosophy leans towards cheering on the young anarchists who reject the repressive society in which they live, Bogosian's seems to be saying that the "slackers" of the world are doomed to suffer unless they join the working class. Because this is written by Bogosian and not Linklater, Bogosian's point-of-view ultimately comes out in the end. The setting of this story, taking place mostly at a convenience store parking lot in the uneventful town of Burnfield, USA, depicts the feeling of these young twenty-somethings who are going nowhere and they are well aware of it. The philosopher of the group, Jeff, well played by Giovani Ribisi, reflects this view when he says "Fifty years from now, we'll all be dead and there will be new people standing here. And no one will know we were ever here." It's this identification with many twenty-somethings' feelings that life in this fast-food world is so futile, that I think attracted Linklater. But ultimately, we are not meant to agree with these characters. Jeff hangs out with his drunken going nowhere friends who harrass the Pakistani store owner who is working on finishing his engineering degree and selling the store, leaving Burnfield behind. This store owner is ultimately the only character we are supposed to sympathise with because he is the only one who seems smart enough to know what he wants. Seemingly, Bogosian doesn't have much sympathy for these kids who feel lost and confused. On the other hand, Linklater seems to respect Jeff who is so much smarter than his drunken best friends and his dim-witted girlfriend Sooze, who believes that her "depth of a puddle" poetry is thought provoking. Unlike Sooze, Jeff knows how to express himself. It's these moments spread throughout this film where we understand how these young people think and where they are coming from, that gives this film it's moments of drama and life. And that is the reason why, despite it's conflicting points of view, I am giving this movie four out of five stars. There is still much more that I have not said about this movie. I haven't even mentioned the central story line involving the jealousy surrounding the return home of a rock star who is the only person who has managed to "escape" from the town of Burnfield. But, seeing as I am running out of time, I will leave that to the viewer to see themselves.

People say, why isn't SONG OF THE SOUTH on DVD, well, I say, why isn't Richard Linklater's SubURBIA on DVD? His brilliant study of disaffected twenty year olds longing for success in the parking lot of a 7-11 knockoff made his previous films SLACKER and DAZED AND CONFUSED look like variety show skits, and yet so many of us have never gotten a chance to see this movie. They say that Disney is wary of releasing SONG OF THE SOUTH because of its patronizing use of black actors to embody racial stereotypes (happy slaves, etc). Same is true with SUBURBIA which has some nasty racial stereotypes at the Chinese restaurant to which some of the characters repair while hungry.

I can never ever catch Suburbia at a decent time, every time I see it it's when I'm pulling an all nighter on some work and HBO just feels like putting it on at 1am. Maybe Suburbia is not as good of a movie I think it is but my insomnia makes it 20 times funnier than it is. This movie shows some of the problems suburban kids go through like having to deal with a guy from high school that went on to do better than you coming back. Then he makes your life seem as small as the 7-11 you stand in front of most of the day. Plus going around for an entire night thinking you killed a girl only to find out that she just passed out. Suburbia makes lives little problems a joke even if they didn't intend for the movie to be funny it is.

It's basically about a bunch of kids in there late teens walking around doing and saying the craziest and dumbest things and all because they have nowhere to go and nothing to do. Giovanni's character has to be my favorite, he's always nervous and complaining about dumb things, but even worse for him he finds out that his girlfriend might be leaving him for the kid from school that became a star. I love this movie because even though its conflicts seem little it shows that those little things can drive you crazy. As boring as the concept may sound the actors boost the comedy up so I say it's about time to give this movie a DVD.

Richard Linklater directs this film version of Bogosian's stage play about disenfranchised youth coming to grips with their unpromising adulthood. Though it never loses its feeling of being a play (the action never strays far from the parking lot of a 24 hour store of some dead suburban town - characters exit and re-enter; the plot is also largely confined to a single night-into-morning), Bogosian's characters chop themselves to pieces skillfully for your pleasure.

Neil "Pony" Moynihan escaped Burnfield for a hit career as a pop recording artist (he's still opening for other bands, but the script makes it clear that he's on his way up; his limo makes the same point), and his success provides a point for his friends to question where they are going with their own lives. Tim has already left Burnfield for a short and unpleasant stint abroad with the Air Force, but he's been back long enough for us to know he's in Burnfield to stay. Sooze plans to jump Burnfield for New York where a career as a "performance artist" awaits. When Pony offers her a chance to work on the cover of his next album, Sooze must now openly question her relationship with Jeff - an intelligent guy determined not to leave Burnfield, or do anything else with his life. Though arguably the smartest of the group, Jeff is dead set against becoming something other than creation of his own choices - even if that means that he will never become anything at all, he will still be superior to Pony who depends on his publicists and managers. Tim also is his own man, but knows that his free will has gotten him nothing - which leaves only a generally badass temperament as an outlet. In a sort of twist-within-a-twist involving one of Pony's publicists (indie-queen Parker Posey), the script makes Tim and Jeff friends, but rivals - who is the one who is both more honest and gutsier, or who knows the truth and is willing to reveal all. To oil the works, the scrip also tosses in Bee-Bee - an alcoholic destined for a life of re-hab - and Buff (the latest in a long line of lovable and hyperactive knuckleheads played by Steve Zahn). Bee-Bee and Buff don't so much as interact with others as just giving them somebody to work off of.

Showing its roots on the stage, not much happens - this is a character study. The end seems somewhat forced, but it doesn't overpower the cruel joke one of the characters plays immediately before it. Like Burnfield, "Suburbia" is less a place where things happen then where people learn about themselves - and better them than us.

Jeff, Bee Bee, and Buff are the most realistic characters in the movie. Sooze, Tim, Erica, and Pony are far too exaggerated in their traits. Collectively Jeff, Bee Bee, Buff, Sooze, and Tim are a bunch of losers who are misdirected or completely lacking direction in their lives and waste their time hanging out around a convenience store run by a Pakistani. Pony is a hometown boy done well because he is a rock star and is returning to Burnfield in his limo with his publicist, Erica. Pony and Erica are completely out of touch with the real world because of the LA influence in their lives. Sooze is a deluded girl who thinks her "art" is good and feels she'll make it big in New York while at home it is clear that those who view her performance art suffer through it. Tim is an extremely jealous person and is very defensive because everything he's wanted in his life has gone awry. Tim is envious of everyone in his social group and in his life because they're doing something when he has absolutely no direction in his life and spends his time getting drunk on the corner and making belittling comments. Buff is the idiot in their group of friends, the one who will do anything to get a laugh. Bee Bee, although is exaggerated to a degree, is a realistic character. She is an alcoholic and goes unnoticed by her group of friends and drinking is how she deals with it. Jeff is just there and is aware that his life is passing him by which makes him a malcontent and a cynic. He is upset by the fact that his life doesn't make a difference, which is most evident in his interaction with Pony. I know I'm making this movie out to sound like a depressing piece of garbage but it really isn't. The movie's exaggerations can be overlooked as its downfall and embraced because they are what make it so funny. The extremes of these characters and the whole movie are just hysterical. It is a smart movie that is open to interpretation as to the motives of each of the characters for their actions. It is a wonderful movie that I would recommend to anyone in his or her late teens to early twenties because beyond that age group the film's meaning might be lost. SubUrbia is a look at your hometown, at everyone's hometown, and at the different personalities of the people in your group of friends. It's people at a stage in their life where they're not sure and would rather spend their time just sitting on the corner drinking and eating takeout. It may be too much reality for a Friday night for some people, but it is truly an enjoyable movie.

This takes me back to sitting on my cot in Bosnia, where I orginally watched this movie on tape.......if only it was on DVD.....since I am replacing all the outdated tapes with DVDs....I rememeber this movie was one of the first places I saw Steve Zahn....I still laugh when I think of watching him steal the garden gnome with crazy, wide-eyed zeal....if it never gets on DVD it'd be a travesty.

The very best part of this movie is its cinematography. The film displays just how brutally ugly the suburban places we create are. For example, cameras pan across oversized asphalt parking lots with blaring fluorescent lights and streets and streets of cookie-cutter homes with no street activity.

One of the other reviewers mentioned that this movie has no message except to say that suburban life is dull. First of all, Giovanni Ribisi's character, Jeff, clearly makes an arguement that yes, suburbia is boring, but comfortable. He really hits the nail right on the head when he is trying to convince his arty girlfriend that her life will not dramatically change for the better if she moves to the city. "Why should I go to New York? So I can sip cappucino?" I believe this movie was trying to go against all those other teen/young adult movies that portray these kinds of people going to college, getting married, getting promoted, throwing huge parties, etc, etc. But it was also straying from the self destructive type movies like Kids and Requiem for a dream that show that life is utterly meaningless without drugs and sex. This movie shows that most people at the age of nineteen or twenty don't really know what they want out of life yet, but also get the feeling that there's not much left to look forward to. This is by far one of Ribisi's best performances, mainly because it is one of his few starring roles. Parker Posey is also pretty good, as always, even though I liked her better in Clockwatchers and Party Girl.

I won't gush here about how this is my favorite movie in the entire world (even though it is) and I won't try to sound like a movie critic because I know I'm not. All I can do is say this is a wonderful down to earth realistic movie and that's exactly what many of us need. If you are tired of the cliche movies with boring plots and bland characters that make no statement at all, then this movie is definately for you. You have to be patient with it though, if you're not into it then it can be draggy and boring. This movie depends heavily on one's ability to relate to the characters and the plot. Watch it when you have time to feel it. Personally, I am in love with this movie. Each time I watch it I fall in love with it again and again. Buff provides comic relief, Jeff chips in with the hopelessness of a modern day philospher, Sooze adds her share of feeling trapped in a small town, Bebe supplies the confused addict, Pony is the man who got away and doesn't remember how things were when he left, Erica is the Beverly Hills stereotypical slut who pretends to be deep and compassionate but really just wants a good lay, Nazir is the one who dreams despite it all, and Tim is the angry drunk who is wasting away his life and resenting every minute of it. You can see pieces of the cast in each one of your group of friends if you look hard enough. Great movie!