Writer-director Penelope Spheeris followed her iconic documentary debut, The Decline of Western Civilization, with another punk-fueled cult classic, an empathetic & authentic tale about discarded youth forging a family of their own. When a troubled teen leaves his broken suburban home, he finds solace with The Rejected, a like-minded tribe squatting in an abandoned tract house. But their fragile stability is tragically threatened by the Citizens Against Crime, who blame them for society’s ills. Featuring raw performances from its young cast of street kids and punk rockers (including Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers!), plus live concert footage from D.I., The Vandals, and T.S.O.L., Suburbia is an essential addition to the SoCal cinematic canon.
“A clear- eyed, compassionate melodrama about a bunch of young dropouts… the best teen-agers-in-revolt movie since Jonathan Kaplan’s Over the Edge.” – Vincent Canby, New York Times
