Review of Repo Man (1984) by Jimi F — 03 May 2008

A classic satire about American life in the 1980s. I love this one. I really didn't take note of who the director was until recently. His name is Alex Cox and he has directed a few films that I have enjoyed.

Besides this, I loved what he did with the Sid Vicious story in "Sid and Nancy." Cox really has proven his punk rock chops. This film has a great slice of punk rock history on the soundtrack.

The soundtrack blasts some of punks icons like Black Flag, the Circle Jerks and (the Godfather of punks everywhere) Iggy Pop! I loved how every product was "generic" while all of the repo crew were named after beers.

My favorite character has to be character actor Tracey Walter as Miller. He says my favorite line in a movie filled with quotable lines, "The more you drive, the less intelligent you become (how true this is in 2008).

" But it's Emilio Estevez as Otto (great name for a would-be repo man...right? Auto / Otto) who is the main character of this film. After his life turns upside down (loses his job, his girl, his money for college), he wanders the filthy streets of Los Angeles, California, only to be recruited by Bud, a repo man played by Harry Dean Stanton (another great character actor).

Bud asks Otto for some help which turns out to be a trick to get Otto to repo a car. When he is successful, Bud keeps him on the team and teaches him the rules of repossession. First, you don't get paid, you get commission.

Next, it helps to dress like a detective. Lastly, take speed which is very funny when you consider this film was made during the Ronald Reagan/Nancy Reagan era of just say no to drugs. But it's Bud's "repo code" that he stresses the most.

"Never broke into a car. Never hot-wired a car. Never broke into a trunk. I shall not cause harm to any vehicle nor the personal contents thereof or through inaction let that vehicle or the personal contents thereof come to harm.

" This is even funnier when you consider what looks to be Miller's job. Besides repairing some of the cars, it looks like Miller burns the other contents of the repos. This repo business all connects with the main thred of the film which is a wanted Chevy Malibu with a hefty reward.

The government is searching for this car because of what is contained in the trunk. It seems that the trunk holds some bodies from Area 51 which means that they are aliens. Anyone who looks into the trunk doesn't survive.

While Otto is learning the repo biz, he is chasing a girl around the city. Another hilarious part is the crazy punk trio that keeps popping up and causing havoc as they commit armed robberies throughout the film.

It is a very silly but yet profound look at America. Very worth watching multiple times which is how it became a cult classic. You can see a musical cameo by the Circle Jerks playing in a bar which was weird but still awesome.

"Let's go do some crimes." "Let's go get sushi and not pay." "Shrimp on a plate.".