Suburbia

R

Released Jul 22, 1983

1h 36m

Drama

List

93%

15 Reviews

Tomatometer

80%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

An overwhelming sense of despair impels a teenager to leave his suburban home and join up with a group of punk rockers.

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Peacock

Prime Video

Rent Suburbia on Prime Video, or buy it on Prime Video.

Zachary M

This movie is brilliant in the execution of showing of the squatter punk life style through a fictitious lense while also showing the actual realities behind this life. The movie is an emotional roller-coaster through and through. The recruitment of actual street youth and punk musicians lends credibility to the movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/14/23

Full Review

decadepast d

I consider this to be the best Punk Rock film of all time.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/04/23

Full Review

dax h

I don't understand the high ratings. I guess it somewhat captured the spirit of a certain group of kids that existed back then (some kids like that still exist), and maybe had I watched it when it came out I would have liked it more. But having just seen it the other day for the first time, it seemed like a movie that middle school kids would enjoy.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

euler n

Low budget, but very good story. It's about teenagers who are living together and following the punk movement. Their enemies are conservative but hypocritical people. Noboby is innocent, and nobody is evil as well. All of them (punks and conservatives) have their reasons to behave like that, and both make mistakes. But the focus is the punk teenagers and their problems. I'm not sure how to put across this, but this is a moving film about complex situations.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Suburbia-1983-Penelope Spheeris We have a baby mauled by a rampaging Doberman Pincher, a mom who is so dysfunctional that she uses the oven as a liquor cabinet, a girl being sexually assaulted by a group of punk rockers and kid being dosed with drugs and lying in a pile of puke and that's all Within the first 30minutes of this film. Party on Garth! Spheeris, who before making blockbuster films the likes of Wayne's World, directed this amateur acted, I believe only two of these actors ever went on to have a career film, Punk rock fueled angst ridden tale. This movie has an edge that hits upon a realistic angle of the early 80s LA Punk scene that I've never seen depicted in film. The concert scenes are straight out of time capsule. Real punk bands from that era have three separate very realistic sets. Really enjoyed this aspect. Aside from a couple of shots of 80s street scenes the film is largely uninspired in its camerawork and directing. I wanted more of the odd building restaurant shots while driving from the cinematography, This was such a fascinating niche she was documenting I think a little more world building outside of the ramshackle house and the suburban street would have gone a long way. The effort of this movie must be rewarded but the acting is awful and narrative is not strong or gripping. Overall there is enough here to recommend. I give it a B-

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I have this movie on d.v.d. it is kind of a hard find but you can get it online. I forgot where I got it online, some seedy site that sells hard to find movies probably. Be sure to see a young Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) as he has a role in this film. Very urban/ suburb life of teenagers in the 80's growing up on the streets you will like this film if you like punk rock music as it also has a lot of that in this film. I bought this movie and I did not see it before, I was looking for punk rock/ hard to find movies. I gambled and it became one of my faves. So if that is what you are looking for see this film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

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Penelope Spheeris

Director

Bill Coyne

Evan Johnson

Chris Pedersen

Jack Diddley

Jennifer Clay

Sheila

Flea

Actor

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Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

All the kids in the squat - literally branded with the initials TR (for 'The Rejected') - come from broken homes, and are forming their own unruly family together on the edge not just of town but of all their decade's ideological bromides.

Sep 6, 2021

Full Review

Nathan Rabin

AV Club

It still shows enormous empathy and sensitivity in capturing the angst and alienation of American youth, making it seem both rooted in a specific time and place and strangely timeless.

Jun 9, 2014

Full Review

Geoff Andrew

Time Out

A justifiably angry film, fast and full of violent action, though there's plenty of humour too; and the lack of originality is amply compensated for by its manifest sincerity.

Jan 26, 2006

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

...lives up to a reputation as a cult classic that offers something unique and engrossing...

Rated: 4/5

Sep 8, 2021

Full Review

David Bax

Battleship Pretension

Spheeris' empathy and lack of judgment allow her to conform to the pace of the world she's entered, as opposed to trying to corral it into her own.

Feb 12, 2019

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Suburbia is for the most part wretchedly acted and broadly scripted, but it has a raw vibe that can't be denied.

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 6, 2019

Full Review

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Synopsis

An overwhelming sense of despair impels a teenager to leave his suburban home and join up with a group of punk rockers.

Director: Penelope Spheeris
Distributor: New World Pictures
Production Co: Suburbia Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 22, 1983, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 18, 2018
Runtime: 1h 36m

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