SUBURBIA

SUBURBIA: As one of the inaugural films in Shout Factory’s “Roger Corman Cult Classics,” this Penelope Spheeris directed punk-rock slice of life just goes to show that Roger’s portfolio was more diversified that you might think. Recruiting genuine street kids and young anarchists (like Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) to play the roles of…well, street kids and young anarchists…Suburbia reeks of amateurism and heavy handed life lessons. But it also unspools with a tragic honesty and genuine alternative angst that wouldn’t work any other way. You can feel the connection between these kids, driven to live in an L.A. shack by a society that doesn’t have the patience to understand them. Actors could have played the parts with more professionalism, but they wouldn’t have been a fraction as believable. As for a plot, there’s not much of one. The kid’s gang sign (T.R. for The Rejected) turns up at a murder scene and gets them on the wrong side of the law and local residents. With live performances from bands like The Vandals and T.S.O.L, this is much closer to edgy Spheeris films like The Decline of Western Civilization than the her mainstream success with Wayne’s World nearly ten years later. That movie had its fair share of rocker cameos, but Suburbia has Flea swallowing his pet rat. Top that, Garth! The DVD has a new transfer and new audio commentary plus a still gallery and trailers.