On Criterion, I watched SLC Punk!, a 1998 comedy-drama written and directed by James Merendino. The film is set in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1985, focusing on pre-law graduate and anarchist punk Stevo (Matthew Lillard), who is disgusted by his parents, who were 1960s hippies who sold out to Reagan-era corporate life (as his father says, "I didn't sell out. I bought in."), and is rebelling against fascism and Nazis and the boring life of his hometown in a state run by conservative Mormons. Stevo and his best friend, Heroin Bob (Michael Goorjian), who has the nickname despite that he is afraid of needles and only uses beer and cigarettes as his vices, believing that any drug is inherently dangerous, slam-dance at the local punk rock shows and get into fights with other subcultures. Stevo is casually dating a girl named Sandy (Jennifer Lien), while Bob has a crush on Trish (Annabeth Gish), who owns a head shop.
As Stevo is in his early twenties, he is questioning his life and how to stay committed to his anarchist morals while not wanting to be seen as a poser or a sellout. He sees his friends moving on in their lives with romantic relationships and college and careers, and he sees the downsides of the punk rock life. A local teen, Sean (Devon Sawa) had attempted to stab his mother while high on 100 tabs of acid that had accidentally bled into his skin when he got wet while holding them in his pocket, and he gets sent to an institution. When Stevo sees him years later, he's panhandling on the street with obvious mental issues, declaring himself a bum, and having no contact with his family.
Matthew Lillard does really well in the narration to the audience, often talking to the camera while interacting with other characters in the scenes, the others unaware of the fourth wall breaking, and it feels very Goodfellas to me with Henry Hill's narration to the audience. He's a bright and charismatic actor who shined a lot in this role at the peak of his 90s fame following Hackers and Scream. He's had more of a resurgence in recent years, with his dramatic role on the show Good Girls, renewed appreciation for his role as Shaggy in the Scooby-Doo series, and coming back to the Scream series in Scream 7.
Michael Goorjian at the time was best known for playing Neve Campbell's boyfriend on Party of Five, and he gives a sensitive performance as Bob, a guy whose father has deep psychosis issues and believes that the C.I.A. is watching him, and he's afraid of ending up like his father. He sees the effects of drugs on people, including the dependence on prescription medication, and is firmly against it, seeing it as poison and corrupting the mind.
The film has a great soundtrack, and brought me back to being a 90s teen hearing 80s hardcore for the first time, hearing classic songs like "I Love Living in the City" by Fear, and "Amoeba" by The Adolescents, as well as cuts by The Stooges and The Velvet Underground.
The film doesn't have the gritty or messy look of a low-budget punk underground film, it may look too slick and mainstream to be seen as a film talking about punk anarchism, and it has a confusing conclusion that feels like it gives in to the characters "selling out" while still wanting to maintain their punk credentials. But I thought it was a decent film helped a lot by the soundtrack and lead performances.
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