Starring; Timothy Eric O`Brien, Wade Walston, Mike B. the Flea, Maggie Ehrig, Grant Miner, Christina Beck
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Written and Directed by Penelope Spheeris, Produced by Roger Corman
Starring; Timothy Eric O`Brien, Wade Walston, Mike B. the Flea, Maggie Ehrig, Grant Miner, Christina Beck |
There is a roving gang of spiked-haired punks who prowl like a pack of wild dogs, pillaging and plundering for sustenance and survival. They are rejects of the white middle class of the Southland, who are also the primary victims of their predations. Are they simply too smart to fit into what they view as a cookie-cutter society, or simply without any self-discpline? YMP is prejudiced toward the latter in any situation of this sort until evidence convinces him otherwise.
One teenager, ignored by his hardworking but alcoholic mother, leaves her and his little brother to go out on his own. He is soon adopted the the "TR" family-The Rejected. Abandoned and abused, they have banded together as best as they can to form their own family. They live off what they can steal from homes in their adopted neighbourhood and spend most of their time watching trash TV, their only social activity being the regular punk concerts they go to in the city.
Even there they are too extreme for most of the bands and normal, suburban fans attending these shows [let no one fail to understand this very important fact: Punk, death metal and especially Grunge are middle-class phenomena. The Kids here are not just out for a social or moral joyride!]
Working class neighbors, fearful of losing their jobs in the "Reagan recession", are resentful of the punk rock squatters in their midst, and go after them, as well as the real packs of wild dogs in the nearby Wasteland. A black cop, stepfather of the leader of the TR kids, tries to mediate a truce, but fails.
Meanwhile, a family member purposely OD`s on drugs which one newcomer has smuggled into the house. On the other hand, our teen runaway from before brings his little brother into the house when he sees on TV that their mom has killed someone in a drunk driving accident. Two of the punk girls tell bedtime stories to their newest little family member, then read reassuring fairy tales to each other after he`s asleep.
A final confrontation takes place between the punks and the working guys, involving violence and ending in the accidental death of the little boy in a car accident. Fade to black as the punks, working guys and cops stand in awed silence over what has happened.
No answer to the problem, no definite movie ending...
Trivia: Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers makes his film debut here.
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