SubUrbia (1996)

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writers (WGA):

Eric Bogosian (play)
Eric Bogosian (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 February 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A group of suburbian teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults. Loosely based on the life of Eric the scriptwriter of the film.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Parking Lot | Convenience Store | Hanging Out | Rock Star

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jayce Bartok	...	Pony
Amie Carey	...	Sooze
Nicky Katt	...	Tim
Ajay Naidu	...	Nazeer Choudhury
Parker Posey	...	Erica
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Jeff
Samia Shoaib	...	Pakeesa Choudhury
Dina Waters	...	Bee-Bee (as Dina Spybey)
Steve Zahn	...	Buff
Kitt Brophy	...	Sooze's Mom
Jonn Cherico	...	Shopping Channel Host
Keith Preusse	...	Officer Chip
Eric Park	...	Officer Gary
William Martin Hayes	...	Scuff
Bill Wise	...	George the Limo Driver

Also Known As:

subUrbi@
Avoodim B'Parvarim (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Noites Suburbanas (Portugal) (video title) [pt]
Predmestje (Slovenia) [sl]
Suburbia, de Richard Linklater (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language including sex and drug references, teen drinking and brief nudity.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Australia:M | Spain:13 | UK:18 | USA:R | UK:15 (video re-rating)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Castle Rock Entertainment

Trivia:

Marked the beginning of Nicky Katt and Giovanni Ribisi's working relationship.

Quotes:

Buff: Hey, I've been making these tapes, you know, video tapes. I ripped off a camcorder up at the mall and I thought, you know, it could be something that I do, be a video artist, you know.
Tim: Ladies and gentlemen, Buff, the postmodern idiot savant. He willl outdo us all.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Waking Life (2001)

Soundtrack:

Peaceful Day

Really Enjoyable Movie

If "Dazed and Confused" was the 'high' then "SubUrbia" if most definitely the 'down'. It's basically the flipside of "Dazed and Confused", where youthful hedonism has been replaced by 20-something boredom. It's a post-college movie where characters have found themselves unfulfilled in every capacity. It's a pack mentality, where you hang-out with the same gang from high school only to find you've out grown each other and resent one another's ambitions because you know you yourself lack the impetus to do anything constructive with your life. These characters are losers in every respect, clinging on to their high school way of life, reluctant to take initiative and move on. They constantly put each other down, bicker and make efforts to humiliate, yet the depressing thing is they have no one but each other. This is a quality film that remains one of Linklater's most under appreciated efforts. No one has the ability to present young characters with the insight, skill and craft Lanklater possesses. He is truly one of America's finest filmmakers working today and "SubUrbia" is a great film that still holds up.