SubUrbia (film)
7 /10 1 Votes
3.5/4 Roger Ebert 62% Metacritic Genre Comedy, Drama Story by Eric Bogosian Country United States | 6.8/10 IMDb 64% Rotten Tomatoes Director Richard Linklater Screenplay Eric Bogosian Duration Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date February 7, 1997 (1997-02-07) Based on subUrbia
by Eric Bogosian Writer Eric Bogosian (play), Eric Bogosian (screenplay) Cast Jayce Bartok (Pony), Amie Carey (Sooze), Nicky Katt (Tim), Ajay Naidu (Nazeer Choudhury), Parker Posey (Erica), Giovanni Ribisi (Jeff)Similar movies Fish Tank , Jupiter Ascending , Factory Girl , The Last Witch Hunter , The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things , At the Edge of the Abyss | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Suburbia trailer
SubUrbia is a 1996 American comedy-drama film written by Eric Bogosian, based on his play of the same name, and directed by Richard Linklater. It follows the relationships between a few young adults as they spend their time standing on "the corner" outside a local convenience store.
Contents
Bogosian based the story on his own experiences growing up in Woburn, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The convenience store setting is based on the 7-11 in the "Four Corners" section of the west side of Woburn, and the high-school fight song that is sung in one scene is the actual Woburn High fight song ("Black and Orange" to the tune of "On Wisconsin").
Plot
Set in the suburban neighborhood of "Burnfield" in Austin, Texas, five young adults are in the daily habit of hanging out by a garbage dumpster on the corner of a local convenience store, occasionally taunting the foreign clerk, Nazeer Choudhury, who works there. The film's main character, Jeff, is an aimless soul unsure of his future. Jeff is dating Sooze, who has expressed the desire to leave Burnfield and become an artist. Jeff's best friends are Buff, and Tim, a troubled young honorably discharged military man who drinks too much and has a knack for shooting his mouth off. Sooze's friend Bee Bee is a recovering alcoholic who is invited to join the group.
One evening, an old friend of theirs, Pony, now a rock star, shows up looking to reconnect with them. Most of the group is glad to see him, although some of them are bitter and jealous of his recent success. Through actions and conversations they all contemplate what they want to do with the rest of their lives.
Cast
Soundtrack
- "Unheard Music" – Elastica & Stephen Malkmus
- "Bee-Bee's Song" – Sonic Youth
- "Bulletproof Cupid" – Girls Against Boys
- "Feather in Your Cap" – Beck
- "Berry Meditation" – U.N.K.L.E.
- "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" – Boss Hog
- "Cult" – Skinny Puppy
- "Does Your Hometown Care?" – Superchunk
- "Sunday" – Sonic Youth
- "Human Cannonball" – Butthole Surfers
- "Tabla in Suburbia" – Sonic Youth
- "Hot Day" – The Flaming Lips
- "Psychic Hearts" – Thurston Moore
- "Town Without Pity" – Gene Pitney
Reception
The film earned a ranking of 64% on Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review giving the film 3 1⁄2 stars out of 4, calling it "dark, intense and disturbing".
Awards
Ajay Naidu was nominated for Best Supporting Male at the 1997 Independent Spirit Awards but lost to Jason Lee.
References
SubUrbia (film) WikipediaSubUrbia (film) IMDbSubUrbia (film) Roger EbertSubUrbia (film) Rotten TomatoesSubUrbia (film) MetacriticSubUrbia (film) themoviedb.org