Review of Suburbia (1984) by Jared L — 02 Jul 2011

Linklater and Bogosian are a match made in heaven. I don't know what it is about Gen-X films, but I love them. This is the best role I have seen Giovanni Ribisi in so far. He plays a guy that is so relatable, but it's clear none of us wants to be him. Yet, in many ways, I am still him. I sit around and talk about the problems in the world and the changes I want to see made, but I'm not really doing anything about them. And when I hear someone has made it, jealousy seeps in. The difference is I notice the jealousy and turn it around and I try to be happy for them. One of my favorite scenes is when Jeff listens to the song "Invisible People" by Pony and asks what the hell Pony is. Pony is clueless. But Jeff says if he is one of the invisible people in the crowd, then Pony is singing about something he doesn't understand. Pony says he is an artist and he has a voice expressing his ideas. Well, Jeff has his own thoughts and ideas and he communicates them all the time. But Pony just says he is an artist. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise? Sooze wants to be a performance artist one day because she is afraid that she won't make a noise, but Jeff says everyone makes a noise. They tell thoughts to each other, they make a noise. They can be a tall standing tree, they don't have to fall. Sooze is pissed and just says Jeff likes to argue, where he simply replies "no I don't!" This pretty much defines generation x. They were a bunch of people in their 20s in the 90s who were smart and could do things, but were more interested in telling each other their ideas rather than actually making a difference. Bogosian and Linklater are Pony in this film. They were a part of these people, except they wanted to get their voice out there. SubUrbia is talky and happens in a single day, like most of Linklater's early films, but he can create these characters that we can connect with so it feels like it just flies by. Parker Posey was so good as Pony's agent who is in Burnsfield to see what it was like for him to grow up. She's heard a lot about his friends and his hometown, now she gets to witness everything. He has been writing so much about it in his songs, she wants to see what shaped him as a singer/songwriter. Of course, there is a sort of smugness to Pony at first, but we can tell he has good intentions. The person who left town and comes back to see his slacker buddies who got stuck behind reminded me of the way Garden State did it. It's not bad for Garden State, but it's just realistic. I've seen it, and it's pretty accurate. "We should do something together" "Yeah, totally." Tim is an alcoholic who we can see is trouble right away. He is racist. He hates the man who owns the Circle A just because he is not white or was born in America. He thinks he is a true American. However, later in the film he tells Erica that he was in the airforce, but cut off his own finger to get honorable discharge and even gets paid monthly for it. But here is a man who came to America and is working and getting an education, but he is bad for America? I hated Tim. I know Tim. Then you have Buff who just goes around and drinks and has a good time. He's really not interested in anyone's problems or wants to get involved. He just does what he wants to do, which is mostly shallow. He wants to drink, smoke, and have sex (mostly sex if he could get it). The comedy is mixed in perfectly with the drama. The characters talk in a way only Bogosian can write.

**SPOILERS**.

I watched a movie recently (can't remember which one) but they said if a gun is seen in the first half of a movie then it will be shot in the second half. Well, they were sort of right. Tim goes to jail for standing outside the Circle A drunk and comes back with a gun to settle his score. He says police don't care about Nazeer and neither does he. Jeff tries to show how Nazeer is a human being with feelings just like everyone else, well so does Linklater by having his wife come out and see Nazeer holding a gun and she takes off her wedding ring then throws it at him. Tim shoots the gun in the air, but doesn't actually shoot anyone. Instead, he finds the rehab girl's body on the roof. He blames Nazeer even though he had nothing to do with it. The ending is perfect: Nazeer goes back in to call the police, but before he leaves he asks what the hell these kids are doing wasting their lives. It's a brilliant film that could compete for the best Gen-X film with Kicking and Screaming.