Common Sense Media Review
By Charles Cassady Jr.
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Defiant, antisocial 'tude in '80s punk sci-fi satire.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Repo Man
What's the Story?
Otto (Emilio Estevez), an alienated LA youth, gets fired from his latest lousy stock-boy job and loses a chance at sex when an ex-convict pal steals his girlfriend. Otto's life changes when he's tricked by a middle-aged stranger named Buddy (Harry Dean Stanton) into helping repossess a car whose owner fell behind in payments. Buddy works for a small agency with other "repo men," and he aspires to mentor Otto. For a while Otto enjoys the "intense" and semi-outlaw lifestyle, but ultimately he views Buddy as a broken-down old addict-drunk, and the repo job just another thankless hassle. Meanwhile, the competing repo businesses, other punks, some Men in Black types, and Otto, are swept into the hunt for a car that's really hot, in more ways than one -- a $20,000 bounty is out for a classic Chevy Malibu driven by a mad scientist, which may have lethal UFO alien corpses, pilfered from an Air Force base, thawing in its (glowing) trunk.
Is It Any Good?
Older teens may be interested in this edgy sci-fi satire, although the movie isn't really geared toward kids. Invoking a modern-day Los Angeles that's all bad neighborhoods, ugly parking lots, and concrete roads traveled by disgruntled creeps, REPO MAN has been called a cult classic of youth-oriented "punk rock" cinema, even though there's no music-related storyline. It's still got punk's restless energy, quotably cranky dialogue ("The more you drive, the less intelligent you are"), and bracingly anarchic attitude prized by rebellious post-adolescents. The narrative feels casually thrown together, yet is actually amusingly well constructed, and the modest f/x are more satisfactory than tons of modern CGI. The satirical sci-fi angle is kooky enough that it helps make the sour theme go down -- that society stinks.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what makes a film like this a "cult" movie. Ask teens what they like (or didn't) about Repo Man. Does its humor work as well now as it did in the Reagan-era 1980s?
Talk about the punk music that infuses the film. What does punk music have to say that makes it different from rap/hip-hop, grunge, or emo?
Movie Details
- In theaters : March 3, 1984
- On DVD or streaming : January 24, 2006
- Cast : Emilio Estevez , Harry Dean Stanton , Olivia Barash , Vonetta McGhee
- Director : Alex Cox
- Inclusion Information : Latino Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Universal Studios Home Entertainment
- Genre : Science Fiction
- Run time : 92 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : August 23, 2022
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