Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows Shop News Showtimes

Suburbia

R Released Oct 11, 1996 1h 58m Comedy List
68% Tomatometer 25 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Five teen friends (Giovanni Ribisi, Amie Carey, Steve Zahn, Nicky Katt, Dina Spybey) spend their time hanging out behind a convenience store in a sleepy Texas town. Through pointless discussions, the group descends into a self-perpetuating cycle of malaise. Their routine, however, brakes when Pony (Jayce Bartok) returns to town after finding success as a rock star, forcing the group to question their desire to stay in the suburbs doing nothing with their lives.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Suburbia

Suburbia

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Suburbia succeeds in its blistering, ensemble-driven exploration of middle America, though it never quite reconciles the disparate stylings of director Richard Linklater and writer Eric Bogosian.

Read Critics Reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (252) audience reviews
Mason M Many consider in one of Linklater's worst films but I think it is just wonderful. The director's signature hyper realism is on full display here and the second half is surprisingly deep. I also love all of the performances, especially Steve Zahn's. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 09/07/24 Full Review Judson P Los Angeles is my hometown, and this is such an incredibly real depiction of life for the lower classes and the rejects. The acting is actually spot on. The situations are actually spot on. It leaves you feeling angry and empty and that's also very spot on. It reminds me of my youth, it reminds me of my social circles, it reminds me why I am who and am I why I turned out how I did. It's also a pretty damn good depiction of the different neighborhoods of greater LA. I kept looking for landmarks the whole time. The broken chain link fence at the beginning hasn't been fixed in 40 years ha. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/28/23 Full Review david l Exploring alienation, frustrations with society and the slacker way of life, SubUrbia goes in tandem with ‘Dazed and Confused' and especially ‘Slacker' in terms of themes and filmmaking approach, but it's actually a much better movie than either of those overrated flicks. It's uneven and less concerned with technical aspects, but the dialogue is excellent, there are some important sentiments to be found here, and the main character played so well by Giovanni Ribisi is very relatable and stupendously written. It's a film that is maybe strangely condemning to its characters, but that made it deeper and more important. It's an immensely underrated Linklater effort that needs more attention than it received. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member It's a classic in my opinion Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member There are moments in the Bogosian script that seem at home in a Linklater film, but mostly their approaches are at odds with each other. It's far too bleak and pessimistic for Linklater. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review camille l Ce qui démarre comme l'habituel film de Richard Linklater se transforme très vite en une comédie noire, qui ne recule devant peu de choses pour traiter d'une jeunesse de banlieue perdue et en colère. SurUrbia est le genre de film qui monte crescendo et qui ne fait sens que dans ses dernières minutes, cruellement hilarantes et salvatrices. Les acteurs sont formidables (Amie Carey & Nicky Katt sont particulièrement bons) et chacun rend parfaitement hommage au texte d'Eric Bogosian, qui ne manque pas de bons mots et de phrases cinglantes. En n'incriminant personne en particulier mais juste en observant le système en place, Linklater laisse le spectateur trouver ses propres réponses. C'est ce qui rend SubUrbia aussi réussi dans sa filmographie pléthorique. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Suburbia

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Dazed and Confused 93% 90% Dazed and Confused TRAILER for Dazed and Confused Palookaville 64% 63% Palookaville Wedding Bell Blues 40% 47% Wedding Bell Blues Beautiful Thing 92% 93% Beautiful Thing Waiting for Guffman 91% 91% Waiting for Guffman Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Five teen friends (Giovanni Ribisi, Amie Carey, Steve Zahn, Nicky Katt, Dina Spybey) spend their time hanging out behind a convenience store in a sleepy Texas town. Through pointless discussions, the group descends into a self-perpetuating cycle of malaise. Their routine, however, brakes when Pony (Jayce Bartok) returns to town after finding success as a rock star, forcing the group to question their desire to stay in the suburbs doing nothing with their lives.
Director
Richard Linklater
Producer
Anne Walker-McBay
Screenwriter
Eric Bogosian
Distributor
Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Castle Rock Entertainment, Detour Filmproduction
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 11, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA)
$656.2K
Runtime
1h 58m
Sound Mix
Dolby, Surround
Most Popular at Home Now