PUNK NOIR OF REPO MAN

"The more you drive, the less intelligent you are."

This is to indie punk rock cinema what KISS ME DEADLY is to Film Noir: an L.A. based odyssey with a rogue in search of what can’t be found: Enter Emilio Estevez as Otto, a slacker without purpose or motivation, and whether drinking beer or working at a grocery store, he's got time on his hands and very little money in-between...

Harry Dean Stanton & Luis Contreras in Repo Man

So fate has him joining Harry Dean Stanton's Bud in “legally stealing” a car, and he soon becomes a REPO MAN..

Year of Repossesion: 1984

But repossessing cars is dangerous business: especially in the bad part of town where Otto learns the ropes along with Bud's randomly insane philosophy as they go from one task to another, snorting speed and, when there's no work to be done, cruising around with aimless abandon. One scene, as they race two Mexican gang members along a sewer wash, is both funny and suspenseful.

REPO MAN RATES: ****

All the while a crazy guy's driving a Chevy Malibu with something bright and lethal inside the trunk. This is connected to space aliens and/or conspiracies of: as ingenue Olivia Barash's lovely and paranoid Leila brings Otto closer to a hotbed involving UFO's and underground fanatics.

First-billed Harry Dean Stanton as Bud

Then there's Sy Richardson as Otto's secondary, more hands-on repo partner and scene-stealer Tracey Walter as a quotable pontificating mechanic who questions the universe and John Wayne's sexuality, making this an ensemble venture with classic dialogue resulting in, like all worthy cult films, memorable quotes busting from the seams, but, as Harry Dean's Bud gets more grumpy and unlikable, taking a back seat to Otto's plight as a bevy of strange "Feds" move in, the quirky charm turns convoluted...

And yet this chaotic mess is very punk rock as director Alex Cox keeps the ball rolling even when the script meanders through a convoluted third act resulting in an extremely forced conclusion. For the most part, when things get too strange, you'll wish Otto remained a beer guzzling nobody at a Grocery Store... Or better yet, a newbie Repo Man with no time to lose yet all the time in the world before the inevitable plot kicked in.

Third-billed Olivia Barash as Leila phoning into Alex Cox's REPO MAN

OLIVIA BARASH reflects REPO MAN: It was a phenomenal experience to be a part of that film! 

From researching the UFO world by going to Extraterrestrial Conventions and such to working with a cast and crew of some of whom I’ve maintained friendships with to this day...

Tto the authenticity of the Punk Movement that was portrayed in the film, (a scene that I was part of in real life, therefore, close to my heart): I think that REPO MAN was the one project that enmeshed itself perfectly with my life. Everyone who worked on that film seemed to be of the same ilk.

Repo Man's punk rock crossing paths with post disco Staying Alive on the marquee

Otto and Leila's Emilio Estevez and Olivia Barash start "our relationship" in REPO MAN

Olivia Barash and Emilio Estevez in REPO MAN

Emilio Estevez and Olivia Barash loving the alien in REPO MAN

Olivia Barash on the run in REPO MAN

Olivia Barash and Emilio Estevez in REPO MAN

Olivia Barash in REPO MAN

Olivia Barash at alien watcher headquarters in REPO MAN

"What about our relationship?" Olivia Barash with Emilio Estevez in REPO MAN w/ Sy Richardson