SLC Punk!(1999)

Sony Pictures Classics

R
Rated R for pervasive language, drug use, violent anti-social behavior and some sexuality
1h 37m

Release Date: Apr 16, 1999

7.3

In the early 1980s, Stevo and Heroin Bob are the only two dedicated punks in conservative Salt Lake City.

Release Details

Original Release | Apr 16, 1999 | Limited

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Box Office Results

2026-10-25T14:28:09.148Z

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$36,218
Total US & Canada:
$299,569
Total Worldwide:
$299,569

Current Showtimes

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Location

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Director & Top Cast

Matthew Lillard
Stevo

Michael A. Goorjian
Bob

Annabeth Gish
Trish

Jennifer Lien
Sandy

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

The film outlines the daily life of a punk named Stevo (Matthew Lillard) in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the fall of 1985. Stevo's best friend, "Heroin" Bob (MICHAEL GOORJIAN), is also a punk. The nickname "Heroin" is ironic, as Bob is afraid of needles and actually believes that any drug (with the notable exception of alcohol and cigarettes) is inherently dangerous.Stevo and Bob go from party to party while living in a dilapidated apartment. They spend much of their time fighting with members of other subcultures, particularly rednecks. Stevo has a casual relationship with a girl named Sandy (JENNIFER LIEN), while Bob is in love with Trish (ANNABETH GISH), the owner of a head shop.The two of them are shaped by their experiences with their parents. Stevo's parents, now divorced, are former hippies who are proud of their youthful endeavors; however, Stevo is revolted by what he perceives as their "selling out" by becoming affluent professionals, which they try to justify. Stevo's grades are excellent, and when his father sends an application to Harvard Law School and Stevo is accepted, he nevertheless rejects it because of his beliefs. By contrast, Bob's father is a mentally ill alcoholic who mistakes his son and his friend for Central Intelligence Agency operatives and chases them away with a shotgun when they visit him on his birthday.Stevo begins to see the drawbacks of living the punk life. Sean (DEVON SAWA), a fellow punk, was a drug dealer who once attempted to stab his mother while under the influence of an entire 100-dose sheet of acid; in the present, Stevo finds him panhandling on the street with some obvious mental issues.While Stevo understands that his relationship with Sandy is casual, he is still enraged when he discovers her having sex with another man and savagely beats him, later loathing himself because his action contradicts his own belief in anarchism. His social circle also begins to drift away, as his dealer, Mark (TIL SCHWEIGER), and his friend, Mike (JASON SEGEL), both leave Salt Lake City (Mark to return to Miami, Mike to attend the University of Notre Dame). Soon after, Stevo attends a party and falls in love with a rich girl named Brandy (SUMMER PHOENIX), who points out that his clothing and hair are fashion as opposed to true rebellion. Rather than being offended, Stevo takes the criticism thoughtfully, and they passionately kiss.At the same party, Bob complains of a headache (induced by Spandau Ballet's "She Loved Like Diamond" playing on a stereo), and is given Percodan, which he consumes with alcohol after being told the pills are simply "vitamins" that will help his headache. The accidental drug overdose kills him in his sleep. When Stevo discovers Bob's body, he breaks down completely. At the funeral, he appears with a shaved head and changed clothing, having decided he is done with being a punk. He plans to go to Harvard, and earlier narration suggests that he eventually marries Brandy. He notes in his closing narration that his youthful self would probably kick his future self's ass, wryly describing himself as having been ultimately just another poser.

Storyline

Stevo and Heroin Bob are two typical average anarchist punks of the kind that could be seen all over New York City or the UK in the early-to-mid-1980s. These two, however, live in the most religiously-oppressive place in America: Salt Lake City, Utah; so they are viewed as and treated like aliens or devil worshippers by all the local "rednecks". After they graduate college in 1985, they decide that the only way to rebel against the system is to do nothing, waste their educated minds, and keep the party going. But with his dad hounding him to go to Harvard Law, Heroin Bob getting a girlfriend, and a growing doubt in his belief system, Stevo can't help but feel that the good times could be over and it's time to move on. But what if moving on proves the one thing he's not ready to know: that he might just be a poser after all? — T.S. Abupabup

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