Part of Midnight Movies
“The life of a repo man is always intense…” utters haggard veteran repo man Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) to the recently-initiated punk Otto (Emilio Estevez) he’s just taken under his wing. Soon, Otto finds out how intense it can get when a 1964 Chevy Malibu turns up on their list with a big reward, triggering a chain of events that pits the group of repo men up against a shadowy government organization, punks on a crime spree, rival gangs, and representatives of the United Fruitcake Outlet (“UFO”). Skewering President Reagan’s domestic and foreign policy, government conspiracies, TV preachers and consumerism, Alex Cox’s cult sensation features the ultimate early ‘80s L.A. punk soundtrack supervised by none other than Iggy Pop with cuts from Circle Jerks, Fear, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, Burning Sensations, the Plugz, and a title track by Mr. Pop himself. Welcome to the world of the Helping Hand Acceptance Corporation. Buckle up. It’s gonna be a wild ride.
“The utter weirdness of Alex Cox’s remarkable debut — a document of L.A.’s hardcore punk scene that’s also an ode to its car culture, a critique of the American middle class, and a kind-of sci-fi comedy about a radioactive Chevy Malibu — would seem to preclude its existence.” —John Semley, Slant Magazine “The real thing. It's a sneakily rude, truly zany farce that treats its lunatic characters with a solemnity that perfectly matches the way in which they see themselves.” —Vincent Canby, New York Times (Jul 6, 1984)
