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American Punks (1997)

DVD Cover (Bloody Earth Films)
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Overall Rating 40%
Overall Rating
Ranked #13,987
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American Punks tells the story of a group of twenty-somethings who plot revenge on the Mercedes-driving yuppie who killed their best friend, unleashing a violent rampage of street justice. --IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: November 7, 2007
Who ever said that those of us from the so-called "Generation X" were a bunch of slackers who would never do anything with our lives? Apparently, those who said that never saw American Punks, because... well, alright, maybe they came up with those claims after watching American Punks. Yes, the gang of kids found in this one - most sporting such clever names as Raven, Leaf, Nail, and Dolphin - aren't exactly the brightest chaps that one could hope to meet, nor are they the most proficient at crime; however, that doesn't stop them from talking a lot of shit to anyone who crosses their paths.

Bobby Tilton (Mike Passion) is the leading man for this one, and much like all of the cool kids from Gen-X, he's pissed off at life and feels that everyone owes him. Unbeknownst to him, his buddy Nail (Ron Ramsey) actually does owe somebody something: namely, he owes about a thousand dollars to a cruel and ruthless drug dealer named Chachi (Bobby Drew). If anybody needed a hip nickname, this would be the guy... but I digress. Anyway, it doesn't take long before Chachi shows just how ruthless he can be as he stabs Nail to death in a local steakhouse, and when Bobby finds out about this, he swears that he will avenge his friend.

The only problem is that he doesn't exactly know who did it, so he decides that he'll just get his vengeance by murdering a yuppie named Thunder Goldbird (Ron Wicks). After all, those yuppies are always out murdering young teens, right? With that problem solved, he encounters another problem: this particular yuppie isn't exactly defenseless, and in fact, he's more than able to take care of himself. As his attempts at vengeance fail, Bobby swears that he will do whatever it takes to murder Thunder, and he even goes so far as to seek help from the local weapons dealer... who just so happens to be Chachi. Talk about a vicious little circle there.

While not a great movie by any stretch, American Punks is an entertaining one. We basically watch as Bobby gets shit on by everyone he comes across, and we also discover that while he can make himself sound tough, he's actually a pussy when it comes time to back up his words. This certainly isn't the traditional type of "hero" that we've grown accustomed to from other films, but us viewers know that he will finally get his revenge when all is said and done... right? One would think so, but I'm not going to reveal the final outcome in this review. Suffice it to say that this is a very "different" type of film, and viewers will rarely find themselves thinking that they've seen this scene or that speech somewhere else.

The acting is... well, the actors obviously weren't professionals, but they do deserve a mention here regardless of that. You see, on the one hand, these guys and gals weren't exactly award-winners and wouldn't go on to become Hollywood stars, but on the other hand, they did put forth an honest-to-goodness effort to make their characters stand out. This leads to a number of characters who were memorable: perhaps not always for the right reasons, but memorable nonetheless.

I did, however, enjoy Mike Passion in the leading role. Again, this is not a guy that I ever expect to see headlining the next Hollywood blockbuster, but he did bring a certain something to the character, and actually, he was singlehandedly responsible for keeping me entertained for chunks of the running time. He plays the loser character to perfection, which may not sound like a compliment, but I say it with no insult intended as I found that his portrayal leaves the audience wondering if they should be rooting for him as the underdog, or if they should be rooting for the yuppie and / or the drug dealer to put an end to his miserable little life. Accomplishing one aspect of the character or the other wouldn't be terribly difficult even for an amateur actor, but being able to straddle that fine line throughout the entire film took some obvious talent.

Overall, it's not a perfect film nor is it even a great one, but as previously mentioned, American Punks is a fairly entertaining night in front of the tube for those of us who grew up with the flannel shirts, Nirvana albums, and an intense hatred for both "the man" and yuppies alike. 6/10.
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