- Let me be perfectly clear: Repo Man is a terrible film. It's not especially funny or clever, and it's not even all that well made. The best part of the movie is a gag featuring generic food labels, and the rest is an bizarrely rendered stew of quirkiness and rudeness. As such, this is probably one of the best examples of what is commonly called a "cult film." There was a time in my life when I might have enjoyed the experience of watching such a film. Specifically, when I was sixteen and staying up late on a Friday night with my high school buddies. As it is, I'm 33, it's not yet 8 o'clock, and I'm really disappointed.
- In fact, I feel let down precisely because Repo Man has some sort of critical reputation. I've actually heard the film praised in a non-ironic manner by critics whose opinions I generally value. Its director, Alex Cox, is a faculty member at my current institution. It even features actors whom I generally like, including Harry Dean Stanton, Emilio Estevez, and Tracey Walter (not to mention cameos by Jimmy Buffett and producer/Monkee Mike Nesmith). Stanton in particular is always watchable, so it's too bad he and the others spend the entire movie trying to find a Chevy Malibu that may or may not contain space aliens in the trunk. Even worse is the fact that the filmmakers think punks, aliens, and weak attempts at social commentary are ingredients enough to make a good movie. When I realized that the trunk shots were likely in homage to Kiss Me Deadly, it just reminded me how many thousands of times better that film was than this one. Like Estevez's character says, "You repo men, you're all out to fuckin' lunch."
