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Suburbia

Play trailer Poster for Suburbia R Released Oct 11, 1996 1h 58m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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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.
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Suburbia

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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.

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Critics Reviews

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: B Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle Rated: 3/5 Oct 8, 2006 Full Review Globe and Mail Rated: 2.5/4 Apr 12, 2002 Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault The tension underneath the movie is the friction between Bogosian’s tense urban sensibility and Linklater’s relaxed, generous style. Rated: B Sep 1, 2022 Full Review Stephen Silver Tilt Magazine Suburbia is dark as hell- much darker, in fact, that I remembered it being, having not watched it since it was new (25th anniversary.) Rated: B+ Feb 11, 2022 Full Review Michael Atkinson Spin Effortlessly funny, Linklater's film is also devastating and spooky in its dead-on rendering of middle-class, Middle America nothingness. Oct 25, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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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 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 Audience Member Uneven, too long, and above all frustrating to watch. While it is well-directed, smartly written, and solidly acted, I never found myself engaged in the story of "SubUrbia". Linklater has explored themes of young adults' discontent with their lives in films like "Slacker" and "Dazed and Confused" and he is very good at it, but one of the things why those themes work in these films is because of the characters. Watching "Slacker" and "Dazed", you can tell that he cares about the people he is depicting and that he likes these people. The characters in this film, however, are just so annoying and I have no affection for these people. Although some of the dialogue is very interesting and the performances are very natural, I find it difficult to connect with any of them. This might just be my least favorite Linklater film. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Suburbia

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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
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