Repo Man

• Available DVDs
• Fun Facts

Main Details

• Released in 1984
• Color

Cast and Crew

• Directed by Alex Cox
• Starring Emilio Estevez, Harry Dean Stanton, Dick Rude, Vonetta McGee, Miguel Sandoval, Sy Richardson, Richard Foronjy, Zander Schloss

Film Review

Film Review

"I shall not cause harm to any vehicle nor the personal contents thereof. Nor through inaction let that vehicle or the personal contents thereof come to harm." - The Repo Code

In 1984, Director/Artist Alex Cox brought his indie comic strip Repo Man to life on the silver screen. One of the great elements in Repo Man was that as well as being a hilarious punk rock-sci-fi-comedy cult classic, it was also a social commentary on many pop culture crazes of the time including: junk food, evangelism, UFO's and the imposing Nuclear threat during the Reagan era. The opening begins with a scientist named J Frank Parnell (Fox Harris) driving a stolen 64 Chevy Malibu near Roswell New Mexico. This was where there were many supposed sightings of UFO's in the mid 20th Century. Parnell is carrying dead alien remains in his trunk. He sweats, loses his hair and gets sick because of the alien bodies which are nuclear components that radiate the car. When anyone opens the car trunk (which glows brighltly), they are instantly burnt and turned to dust. This is a reference to a classic crime film called Kiss Me Deadly (1955) in which there is also a mysterious box that when opened, kills its victims with a deadly nuclear fury.

In Los Angeles, Otto Maddox (Emilio Estevez) is a punker/grocery store stockboy. When his nerdy co-worker/friend Kevin (Zander Schloss) annoys him by singing the 7-Up Soda jingle ("Feelin 7, Feelin 7 Up!..") Otto loses his cool and pushes Kevin into some cans they were stacking. The store owner and the store security guard tell Otto to get out. So he rips off his tie and apron and splits.

In the next scene, we see Otto in his favorite habitat: a punk slamdancin' party. Otto and the punk rockers run around like loons and listen to the LA Punk band The Circle Jerks' "Coup De'Tat". Ottos friend Duke (the hilarious Dick Rude) has just got out of jail and when he shows up Otto shows his affection by slamdancing with him. Otto goes to a party at his ex co worker Kevin's house one night and is on the make with a girl named Debbie (Jennifer Balgobin), Debbie tells Otto she wants a beer, when Otto returns he finds Debbie making out with Duke, Otto gets pissed and leaves. Disallusioned, Otto sits on the sidewalk by himself, drinking beer and then he breaks into Black Flag's classic punk anthem "TV Party".

The next day, Otto is walking somewhere in a bad part of town. as he's strolling along a car slowly pulls up along side him. The guy inside asks Otto if he wants to make a few dollars, Otto replies with a "Fuck Off Queer". The man tells him he's not asking him for that kind of thing. The man is Bud Wiser (Harry Dean Stanton) and he is a repo man. He tells Otto all he has to do is steal a car and follow him back to the Repo office. Otto agrees and he hops in the car and starts it up, before he can get outta there, the owner runs out and grabs Otto through the window, but Otto presses on the gas and the spanish guy falls down as he speeds off. Otto laughs and you can tell he's having fun.

When Otto and Bud arrive back at the Repo office, Otto sees just what repo men look like. He isnt impressed. Bud asks Otto if he wants a job, but Otto replies with opening the can of beer they give to him, and pouring it on the floor in defiance. He doesn't like Repo men. After persuading Otto to take the job, Bud tells Otto he has to dress like a cop for special reasons. A Repo man has to look like an important person. Bud also tells Otto the Repo Man code. While working at his new job, Otto meets the Repo office's janitor and yard worker Miller (Tracy Walter). Miller tells Otto all kinds of strange theories he has. The other workers at the Repo Shop include: Lite (Sy Richardson), the secretary Marlene (Vonetta McGee), and the knitting Rent A Cop: Otto Plettshner (Richard Foronjy).

Otto's parent's are hippies and they sit in their house like zombies and watch evangelical TV programs. They are hypnotized and they barely pay attention to Otto. After Otto explains that he'd like to take his college money and do some traveling, they robotically explain they gave his money away to the evangelist on TV. Meanwhile Otto's punk pal's Debbie (now sporting a mohawk), the dimwitted moron Archie (Michael Sandoval) and the snarling punk Duke have started a life of crime. They steal cars and rob people throughout the film and they add a really funny element to the story. Debbie's famous line in these scenes is to yell "GET THE LEAD OUT!!" at her partners as they run away from the crime scene.

While cruising down the street, Otto picks up a girl named Leila (Olivia Barash) and she has heard about the Alien bodies in the man's trunk from a National Enquirer type newspaper (another reference to the fanatical Alien spotting craze of the mid 80s) and tells Otto about it. Then he drops her off where she works. The place is called "The United Fruitcake Outlet". Otto reads the name and laughs hysterically.

Some of the funniest scenes are when Bud Wiser is teaching Otto how to Repo cars. In one hilarious sequence, Otto goes to an old black woman's house to repo her car. While hes talking with her, her sons come home (they are HUGE dudes). Otto is nervous as hell as he politely tells the lady he has to go, he fumbles with his briefcase and quickly leaves. When he gets outside he hops in the ladies car and tries to start it, but he doesn't realize the ladie's sons put the car up on jacks so noone could take it. They hear him outside and they run out and beat him up. Throughout the rest of the film Bud Wiser and Otto are competing with another Repo business run by The Rodriguez Brothers (Del Zamora and Eddie Velez) to find the Chevy first. A special Federal Agent Squad are looking for the stolen Chevy which the strange man is driving as well.

Soundtrack

The Repo Man soundtrack is a punk rockin' good time. You'll hear the main title sung by Iggy Pop and classic LA punk music by Black Flag, Fear, The Circle Jerks, The Plugz and more.

REPO MAN SPECIAL TV VERSION

As a common TV watcher, Director Alex Cox was familiar with the use of editing and overdubbing for the purpose of deleting gratutous violence and offensive language. So, he created a special edited for TV version of Repo Man himself. By using crazy words, in place of swears, Cox made an even wackier version of Repo Man than the actual R rated film. Some examples of the dialogue he changed is as follows: "Fuck You Motherfucker" became "Flip You Melonfarmer". "Fuck Off Queer" became "Shove Off Pervert". "Doesn't mean shit" became "Doesn't mean zilch". These slight changes might sound relatively tame, but in the context of the movie, they add yet another layer of zaniness to an already bizarre film.