strangerdave-2 According to Thoreau, the masses lead lives of quiet desperation. Which in turn leads to a paralyzing self absorption or self pity that most of us don't recognize until it's too late, if at all. And that is the theme of this extraordinary film.The plot revolves around a group of middle class suburban kids a couple of years removed from high school. Jeff (Giovani Ribisi) is a college dropout who lives in his parent's garage. Tim (Nicky Katt) is a former high school football star who did a brief stint in the Air Force before chopping of part of a finger to get a disability discharge. Buff (Steve Zahn) is a stoner who's life revolves around his next buzz and his next sexual conquest. The trio whiles away their aimless lives drinking at their old high school hangout - a convenience store now run by Pakistani immigrants. In addition, there's Jeff's girlfriend Sooze (Aimee Carey), a budding artist; her friend BeeBee (Dina Spibey), a recovering alcoholic; and an old high school buddy named Pony (Jayce Bartok), now a major rock star who drops by the old stomping grounds while in town for a show. Of the group, only Pony and Sooze have any ambition in life - Pony is well on his way to achieving his dream, and Sooze is preparing to move to New York to pursue her career.Except for those two, and the convenience store owner who is studying to become an engineer, every character in the film suffers from a kind of inertia that prevents them from taking charge of their lives and achieving any meaningful success or happiness. Tim has seen the third world, but has no sympathy for its inhabitants or appreciation for how good he has it. Buff is mired in perpetual adolescence. BeeBee lives vicariously through Sooze, and, despite her own sordid history, cares little for the substance abusers she tends to as a nurse's assistant, .Then there's the liquor store clerk whose life revolves around the local high school football team, and Pony's slutty manager (Parker Posey) the rebellious poor little rich girl who went into the music business against daddy's wishes. Jeff is the one character in the film who is truly sensitive to the plight of others, but he is immobilized by his own self-pity. That is, until one night on the town with Pony when he realizes that he indeed controls his own destiny, and decides to strip away his shackles (represented by his clothes) and move to NY with Sooze. But, ironically, it's too late... Sooze hooked up with Pony while he was experiencing his revelation.At the end of the movie, the Pakistani store owner belittles Jeff and his buddies for being so stupid as to throw away all of the opportunities they are afforded by living in the greatest, most prosperous country on earth. But he, like everyone else, is blind to the desperation of those around him. Desperation that can engulf even the lives of those in the land of plenty. Thanks to the mesmerizing script by Eric Bogosian, the outstanding direction by Richard Linklater, and the performances of the stellar cast, the audience gets the message loud and clear.

mellowinman You don't like this film because it's pretentious. It makes a statement that is high-minded and artistic, and it dares to speak the unpopular truth about life in this America. You don't like this film because there's no real action, at least not very much. You don't like this film because maybe the snooty, arrogant immigrant is the good guy, and the "why can't we all just get along" boyscout might be the bad guy, and the really bad guy isn't a bad guy at all, he's just a guy who is screwed, and probably always will be.Sometimes we come by our hatred honestly enough, but where it leads us is a hollow place, devoid of even the drama we wish for in our emptiness. And that's a lot of statement for a mere movie, with people talking, and acting stupid, and doing nothing of any consequence really. This film is pretentious art-house flop for so many, but for me, it was beautiful, and it was only because I waited for my reward, after a long time of wondering if maybe the negative reviews were right, and if maybe it was a piece of crap.Well it spends most of its time on screen teetering on the brink of craptitude; ready to be some pointless, angst-filled pseudo nightmare of profanity and cheap voyeurism, which is all the rage these days, but then it turns out it was something far above all that.It was a work of love. The writer did us all a huge favor, and told us something very simple, and very true, and the filmmaker told us that story without any pretense at all, after fooling us into thinking he was trying for the top prize at Cannes, or just to get into bed with hot French chicks.Life is a gift, and you can use it how you wish.I hope that's not a f*cking spoiler.

jaredmobarak Always having been a fan of Richard Linklater's work, it confounded me that his film after indie darlings Dazed and Confused and Before Sunrise has never been released on DVD. SubUrbia is the kind of movie you hear that fans of his work love, but never found a place in cinema history. Flipping through the movie channels on TV, I happened across the film and could not stop watching until it was over. Much in the same way as his other work, the movie is dialogue driven and concerning a small group of people talking about life and what comes next for them. He has compiled a very nice cast, all of who take their character and roll with it. It is a scary thing, post high school, deciding what to do with one's life. Having been stuck in the suburbs for so long, one begins to wonder if they can survive outside it.The compelling thing for me in Richard Linklater films is the general waxing philosophic feel they all seem to have. These are kids that are college age who have things to talk about, questions to have answered, and are not afraid to ask them when they are surrounded by those they trust. This group of friends is caught at a crossroads, not knowing if what they are doing is the right way to go. Many have tried their hands at something, but ultimately gave up to continue loitering around their corner convenience store. When one of their friends, who found success in leaving the small town of Burnfield becoming a rockstar, happens to come home for a show, the group's equilibrium goes off-kilter as they face what could be. Some feel that if they had applied themselves they could have been successes as well, while others see the shell of a man their buddy has become after being sucked into the machine. The return home opens everyone's eyes to the situation they are in and for better or worse changes the way they decide to continue living their lives.While a drama, there are many funny scenes. When a few of them begin talking about the reason Pony became a rockstar, to be able to tell the world his thoughts, to have someone listen to him, they say how rough it is to feel like no one can hear what they are saying. Through the entire conversation Giovannu Ribisi's Jeff is trying to be heard chiming in with his own ideas. The irony of the situation may be a bit heavy-handed, but it is also very true to form. Ribisi shines in this role as an intelligent youth who has never applied himself, always being content with hanging around his troubled friends. He soon realizes that the freedom he has is more important than selling out for fame and fortune, it is the people he cares about that keep him going, not the material things in life he could have. Steve Zahn is again brilliant in one of his earlier roles. He plays the idiot comedian to perfection while also evolving into someone who uses his cheery disposition for success. You begin to see that he knows exactly who he is and is in control at every moment. It's a shame he now only gets roles that are one-dimensionally that stupid guy there for laughs. It is also a pleasure to see Office Space alum, Ajay Naidu in a good role, touching on the bigotry of American small town life. The success his character is having, while not being American, prays on the jealousy of those who feel their heritage should entitle them to happiness. The lazy toughs around town would rather pick on the foreigners for working hard instead of doing the time themselves.Rounding out a very good cast is Dina Spybey and Nicky Katt. Spybey is great in a tough role. She is the lackey friend of one of the main group members and tries to fit in. It seems that every time she begins to connect, she is ultimately left alone. The depression her character feels comes through at all times; the despair of someone that troubled around you without knowing how to help is tough. There is so much going on this night that her anguish gets pushed aside until there is no turning back. Then there is Nicky Katt who makes the film. He is an intellectual trapped in the body of a jock who has partied and been king of the town for too long. He sees the world around him for what it is and hates himself for living amongst the grime. Toying with the emotions of his best friends, he seems to have a death wish to just end his suffering. No longer the star football player, the character of Tim can't apply his intellect constructively and instead uses it to help the others while self-destructing himself.Linklater is one of the most consistent directors working in and on the fringe of Hollywood today. His films always seem to have a message coming through them, trying to uncover a truth of life. Every one of his characters is true to themselves and connecting with humanity at every step. SubUrbia is so much like his other smaller films that I was surprised to see it was written by and based from a play from Eric Bogosian. I am a fan of his acting work, but after seeing this I might finally wipe the dust from my copy of Oliver Stone's Talk Radio and check it out. Also, maybe I will turn on the movie that started it all for Linklater, Slacker, and see the true evolution he has taken. Hopefully SubUrbia will find its own way to DVD, maybe even the Criterion Collection will release it to join the other Linklater masterpieces it already has.

skacorerobdog Richard Linklater definitely has an eye for America's mundane middle class, his films Slacker (1991) and Dazed and Confused (1993) brought an artistic perspective to the experience of the suburban miscreant that in many ways becoming the defining discourse on youth in the 1990s. Highlighting the ritualistic 'Friday night' and purposeless afternoons, Linklater uncovered the hidden cultural vibrancy within a section of the population who are so often maligned as 'cultureless'. In a particular montage from Dazed and Confused, images of young people cruising the main drag are flashed within a backdrop of the neon twilight typical of America's commercialized sprawl. From the eye of the uninspired, the environment seems completely homogeneous, yet Linklater's intrinsic sensibility of the suburban aesthetic succeeds in portraying this as a scene of excitement and all out possibility where the characters look alive and enthusiastic amidst such an artificial and wearisome environment—it is a defining moment in Linklater's uniquely modern depiction of the sublime, his triumph to find beauty in monotonous. Linklater's adaptation of Erica Bogosian's play subUrbia (1996) follows the same current as the scene in Dazed, yet sans the youthful idealism and expanding upon the central theme of Bogosian's work: suburban decay.SubUrbia is stock full of familiar images of the suburban aesthetic 20 years down the road from Dazed (Both filmed in suburban Texas) and backed with a soundtrack courtesy of Sonic Youth (a band whose sound I would argue replicates the feeling of 1990's America.) In a consistently sedated tone, the film follows a group of substance abusing 20-something nobodies in their stagnant town of Burnfield. Terrified to actually confront any progress or purpose, these pseudo-adults stand around in a convenience store parking lot talking about themselves in self-congratulatory manner (the film's particular capitalization of the second 'U' in the title speaks to this theme of self-absorption.) The story's protagonist Jeff (played very convincingly by Giovanni Ribisi) is a jaded, unmotivated anti-hero with seemingly good intentions, but never the follow through to back them up. Consequently, he lives out of a pup-tent in his parents' garage, barely holding a part time and satisfying his latent intellectual streak with a night class at the local community college. Jeff's girlfriend Sooze (Amie Carey) is a sort of caricature of the suburban bred artist set on 'escaping' to New York, while Sooze's character hints at aspects of the genuine, she is ultimately malleable to outside forces such as the romanticized escape dream and the reemergence of a former fellow burnout turned rock star 'Pony'(Jayce Bartok.) The others group in the group of misfit are decidedly more volatile, killing time with a self-destructive consumption of booze and harassing a Pakistani convenience store owner Nazeer (Ajay Naidu) who they xenophobically refer to as 'Mohammed' even though his real name is not revealed until the film's closing climax. Jeff's best friend Tim (Nicky Katt) is the prime perpetrator of the racism towards Nazeer, referring to him as a 'brown bastard' and yelling sexual and racial epithets at the store owner's wife after she pulls a gun on him during one confrontation. Tim is far and away the least likable character of the film, and it would be easy to write him off as a cut-out racial bully, yet he is also the films most powerful representation. Tim alludes on several occasions to his service in the air force and success as a high school football star, but never does he portray his experience as being in any way glorious or important, nor does he speak of anything in such a manner, he seems numbed by his blasé surroundings and only displays emotion in the context of anger or violence toward outside forces. He is the archetype of what a harsh suburban environment creates: an angry, ignorant addict trapped in his own misdoings. Interestingly, Tim is the only one of the characters who does not in at least some way attest to being an 'artist'. Jeff justifies his laziness with a hobby of creative writing, Pony has found success with his songs (a success that Jess and Tim highly resent) and even goof-ball druggie Buff (played with the now familiar zaniness of Steve Zahn) claims to make videos. The motif is very ironic for the filmmakers Linklater and Bogosian, as it seems to critique the salience of white, suburban-raised voices in the artistic world. The group of friends exists in opposition to the film's only pragmatic character, Nazeer, who takes pride in being a business owner and on his way to a computer science degree, while the likes of Tim and Buff drift through life with their only goal being to wake up the next more and start the cycle of decay over again. Jeff sits on the fringe of these two worlds as evidenced by his civil interactions with Nazeer and being the only one to actually ask for his real name. There is a sparkle of enlightenment in Jeff, and he even reaches his own cathartic epiphany, screaming passionately about the privilege of being able to be alive, yet the motivation draining presence of his friends and environment ultimately appear to have him cornered. In the films closing scene, a lesser mentioned friend of the group Bee Bee is found on the convenience store's roof having suffered an overdose. Nazeer looks directly at Jeff in disbelief and sadness, saying "You have everything and you throw it all away!" Jeff says nothing in response, just staring back at Nazeer blankly, his face distraught but blank in the same moment—he recognizes the plague of his situation, yet remains incapable of action. ********