REPO MAN
1984

Directed by Alex Cox

“It happens sometimes. People just explode.” Yes they do…and teen idols occasionally make intelligent, funny trash films. Eighties’ brat packer Emilio Estevez takes a break from teen movies to do this decidedly quirky, original portrait of human trash in a stark L.A. neighborhood that seems to be on the end of civilization. Estevez plays Otto, a Black Flag-quoting punk rocker who falls into favor with a bunch of colorful characters in a seedy car repossession business. Yes, it’s a stretch for Estevez, I still see the jock in “The Breakfast Club;” Estevez didn’t come into his own until, two decades later, his role with brother Charlie as the infamous Mitchell Brothers in the spicy “Rated X.” In “Repo Man,” Estevez is more of a walking Gap ad than a punk rocker but his Otto is likeable and it’s 80’s trash, so the film still works under Alex Cox’s clever script and direction.

Otto is taken under his wing and mentored by Bud, a veteran Repo Man played by the classically always-disheveled Harry Dean Stanton. They aren’t very successful; the cars they repossess are generally trashy beaters instead of current models, but the work is exciting. Bud advises Otto on the Repo Code as they do speed and have the prerequisite “if in L.A., use the L.A. River” car chase. Meanwhile, there’s punk rock crime, UFO conspiracies, a killer Chevy Malibu trunk, drug snorting, and bloody shootouts. There’s mayhem galore amid drug-head philosophizing (the “plate of shrimp” concept will stay with you). Sharp-eyed punk rock fans will be able to spot the Circle Jerks in a funny scene.

While, on the surface, it’s a film about the car repossession business and space aliens, “Repo Man” also contains witty social commentary on the 80’s Reagan-era material world. It is a world of low incomes and white trash. Products on market shelves are all generic--for example, people drink out of cans with white labels reading “beer”—which illustrates the generic world Otto wants out of. There’s a jab at the media and religious fanaticism: Otto’s parents are hypnotized by a televangelist. Glued to the TV, they inform Otto they’ve sent large amounts of money to an obviously phony religious cause. “No Christians!” Bud later rules.

Estevez does a good job of making the often-hapless Otto easily the only sane person in the picture. Otto can’t always win: cars aren’t always easy to repo and he can’t get a blowjob when he wants one. Olivia Barash, as Otto’s romantic interest Leila, is a Valley Girl who looks like a mall blew up on her. Leila has no qualms about torturing Otto. Before it’s over, there’s an electrocution, a glowing car, and ice cube rain. And what of the one-eyed driver of the killer Malibu?

“Repo Man” is a fun ride through a potpourri of trashy characters. Check it out. Trivia buffs take note: “Repo Man” is produced by Michael Nesmith, better known in the late 60’s as the cap-wearing member of the Monkees. His mom invented Liquid Paper.

-Zzilly Gutbuckets