S.L.C. Punk!

Theatrical Release Date: 1999 04 16 (USA)

UPC: 043396286337

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Not For Children, Adult Language, Substance Abuse, Sexual Situations]

Summary: What's it like being the only punk rockers in the biggest Mormon community in the world? Stevo (Matthew Lillard) and Heroin Bob (Michael Goorjian) provide the answer to this and other questions in SLC Punk. Stevo and Bob (whose name is actually an ironic reference to his fear of needles) are two friends fresh out of college who sport mohawks and blue hair, listen to hardcore and try to live up to their own anarchist ideals while figuring out what to do with their lives. Which wouldn't make them unusual in New York or Los Angeles, but they're fish out of water in Salt Lake City, Utah, where they drink beer, chase women and pick fights with "rednecks" along side a mixed bag of metalheads, hippies, hicks and posers who are fellow outcasts in the most clean-cut community in America. In the midst of all this, Stevo's dad hopes his son will follow in his footsteps and study law at Harvard; while Stevo surprisingly has the grades, he's not sure if he wants to go. Featuring a soundtrack of mid-80's punk from The Ramones, Minor Threat, The Dead Kennedys and others, SLC Punk was chosen as the opening-night feature at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Best Screenplay – Independent Spirit Awards

S.L.C. Punk!

Format: Universal Media Disc

Release Date: 01/06/2009

Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Alternate Wide Screen

Audio: DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 97 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Richard Gilliam

One of the better entries in the '80s-as-nostalgia genre, SLC Punk is more structured, and thus more conventional, than many of its alternative-lifestyle predecessors. The film's strong points are Matthew Lillard's fine lead performance as Steveo and the convincing sense of time and place evoked by writer/director James Merendino. What doesn't work is the predictability of the plot. Fans of Trainspotting, in particular, will be able to guess at least two of the surprises as the story develops. Nor does the film begin to reach the punk heights of Sid and Nancy, though it does cleverly use references to the Sex Pistols as comedic fodder. Perhaps because it's so comparatively structured for the subject matter it covers, SLC Punk has a surprising lack of stylistic flair. On the other hand, the film benefits from underplaying the contrast between the punk lifestyle and the Mormon-dominated culture of Salt Lake City, UT. Overall this is a good film, with interesting characters and strong use of location, but it doesn't quite climb to classic status. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Peter Ward  Producer 
Jan de Bont  Executive Producer 
James Merendino  Director 
James Merendino  Screenwriter 
Michael Peyser  Executive Producer 
Sam Maydew  Producer 
Andrea Kreuzhage  Executive Producer 
Melanie Miller  Composer (Music Score) 
Matthew Lillard  Actor 
Michael A. Goorjian  Actor 
Annabeth Gish  Actor 
Jennifer Lien  Actor 
Christopher McDonald  Actor 
Devon Sawa  Actor 
Jason Segel  Actor 
Summer Phoenix  Actor 
James Duval  Actor 
Til Schweiger  Actor 
Adam Pascal  Actor 
Chiara Barzini  Actor 
Kevin Breznahan  Actor 

Country: USA