06/28/06 That Darn Punk

That Darn Punk (2001), directed by Jeff Richardson

watched w/ Leslie (partially); DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

Having partaken in this year's version of the annual punk rock odyssey that is the Warped Tour yesterday with my friend Jason, I felt it endearing to watch something that may fall under the ethos of DIY culture that is punk. As much as I love punk rock music, and had a blast watching some of the greats live yesterday (NOFX, Buzzcocks, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Bouncing Souls, A.F.I. to name a few)...why do so many so-called punk rock movies fall so flat? It had so much potential here, with an insider's press pass, and a lot of punk rock talent (including The Vandals, Guttermouth and Kyle Gass from Tenacious D). But alas, as is the case with most of these DIY efforts...it's all about who's in it, the music, and how weird (or stupid) their friends can be. Aside from the solid music provided, and occasional (I mean, very seldomly) punchline gags...uh, it was moronic. If I can pain myself to try & recount the lasting images I had from the film, in no particular order, it would go something like this. Dirk (The Vandals' Joe Escalante) is a womanizing punk geek who has an artist girlfriend that goes out of town for the weekend. He slips into bed with some new-age crystal-reading hippie-chick, gets caught, then ends up on some sort of mind-bending journey across the desert to get back with her & prove he's sorry. He encounters homophobic gangsters, drug-addled gypsies, neurotic payphone watchers, zombie police officers, UFO's, aliens, other punk rockers, in-bred redneck stalkers and Hollywood execs. Yeah, it's random, and so is the movie...it doesn't make sense or try to. I won't ruin the brilliant (I think I threw up a bit in my mouth) ending for you, but suffice it to say, he learns something from all this. It's unconventional from Hollywood standards, and I think that's all they really care about. It lets you into some of the punk rock culture, but only into the feeble-minded parts. Just listen to the soundtrack to enjoy, or stick to catching their day/night jobs of rocking on stage with a better message.

2 out of 5 stars