Dudes is a film that I really wanted to enjoy. Director Penelope Spheeris successfully created two punk classics before with the gritty documentary Decline of Western Civilization and the cult classic Suburbia. Dudes is merely a pathetic 1980’s comedy that is excruciatingly painful to watch. I wish that I had never tracked down the film(I have been wanting to see it for years).
Dudes opens with an enticing scene featuring a concert performance by The Vandals (the original line-up). From there, the film goes down the fashion punk shitter. Dudes lead protagonist is played by love shy wuss Jon Cryer (who plays the pathetic Duckie in Pretty in Pink). Cryer is about as believable of a punk as Emilio Estevez was in Repo Man (which is a classic despite Estevez). Dudes also features Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Daniel Roebuck (who played stoner metalhead killer Samson 'John' Tollet in River’s Edge). Dudes lacks the “authentic” punks found in Suburbia.
A group of Hollywood exaggerated rednecks kill one of the punks (Flea) and his two aimless buds decide it’s time for payback. This boring plot never captured me for second in this wretched generic punk garbage. The two punks would have been better off if they had killed themselves and had their bodies tied to a pole to be used as redneck target practice. I wanted to drag Daniel Roebuck by his Mohawk down a couple flights of stairs. As for Jon Cryer, I would just drop him off in Northeast, Washington D.C. I am sure that someone creeping around in a dark alley will make use of his fragile and pale body.
Dudes features a horrible generic 1980’s soundtrack that would put John Hughes films to shame. I was expecting to hear some tunes by The Germs, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys (which are merely mentioned), and The Circle Jerks. Fear front man Ving Lee stars as one of the dirty and blood thirsty rednecks. His appearance doesn’t save this punk rock abomination.
I hate to be harsh on a 1980’s punk rock comedy but it’s necessary. Dudes lacks the character and punk authenticity that makes Suburbia the timeless classic that it is. I am really not interested in seeing Indian dream sequences and Jon Cryer try to shoot a gun. I will always have Suburbia.
-Ty E
Do you happen to know where the movie was filmed? The area where Flea gets killed looks a lot like Utah -- Moab and Castle Valley, to be specific.
ReplyDeleteHow about reveiwing "LICENSE TO DRIVE" (1988), another famous and gorgeous Heather is in it when she was 17 and theres a scene where shes dancing around on a car and her dress blows up and you can see her incredible arse for a second (a second that lasts for hours in the freeze frame mode obviously) i think she was wearing knickers but they`d ridden up and for that blissful moment it looks as though she hasen`t got any knickers on, its also a pretty good and under-rated little comedy. By the way, its another one of those films that was filmed towards the end of 1987 when that other incredible Heather that i`m obsessed with was still alive so again its like bringing her back to life when you watch it, i think it might have even been filmed around the area where she used to live (and was still living in at that time as i said).
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