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Parents' Guide to

Repo Man

By Charles Cassady Jr., Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Defiant, antisocial 'tude in '80s punk sci-fi satire.

Movie R 1984 92 minutes
Repo Man Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 1 parent review

Sircjalot
Sircjalot Parent of 18+-year-old
July 1, 2021
age 17+

A cult classic 1980s film. NOT a good influence for children!

Cuss words of all kind are said often, F word is said dozens of times. Main character is not bad guy, but he still is a disrespectful delinquent, which you would not want this to influence on your kids. There are no sex scenes, but a lot of sexual talk. There is though a deleted sex scene, with female breast nudity. There's violence throughout the movie, but some actions scenes are played in a comedic way. Alcohol, cigarettes, cocaine are consumed.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 1 parent review

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?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (1 ):

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?

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