SubUrbia

1997 Drama

Director Richard Linklater and writer/actor Eric Bogosian collaborated on this adaptation of Bogosian's play about a handful of people edging into their 20's who seem like the poor relations of the genial eccentrics in Linklater's Slacker. While the Texas bohemians in Slacker has their myriad obsessions to keep them occupied (even if they didn't do much about them), SubUrbia's protagonists have few if any clear goals and hang out not as a means of killing time, but as a way of life. Jeff (Giovanni Ribisi) talks about going back to college some day while he lives in a tent in his parents' garage. His girlfriend Sooze (Amie Carey) imagines herself a performance artist; most of her "work" is displayed in he parking lot of a convenience store, though she often talks about moving to New York. Tim (Nicky Katt) was bounced from the Air Force and spends his evenings soaking up alcohol and bitterness. Buff (Steve Zahn) is obsessed with pizza and is content with his reputation as the wacky guy who will do anything. And Bee-Bee (Dina Spybey) is Sooze's best friend, just out of rehab, with her willpower hanging by a thread. It's a big night in front of the convenience store; Pony (Jayce Bartok), who used to play guitar at school dances, has become a rock star, and promises to stop by after his show at the local hockey arena (none of his friends have the money to see him play). Meanwhile, the American work ethic is represented by Nazeer (Ajay Naidu), an immigrant from Pakistan who runs the store where the kids hang out; he's sick to death of them, and lives for the day when he gets his engineering degree and never has to see their faces again. Bogosian has said this play (and in particular the character of Jeff) was freely drawn from his own post-teenage years. more..

Director: Richard Linklater

Starring: Jayce Bartok, Giovanni Ribisi, Nicky Katt, Steve Zahn, Ajay Naidu

Reviews

  • Mr. Bogosian's venomously funny play, which he adapted himself for the screen, is given warmth and generosity by Mr. Linklater, whose elegantly fluid direction and great skill with actors are accentuated by the play's spareness.

    Elvis Mitchell - The New York Times

    19 January 2013

  • The movie is dark, intense and disturbing.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    19 January 2013

  • The fierce and funny film version has been directed by Texan Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise) with rare grace and compassion.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    19 January 2013

  • Driven by Bogosian's finger-snapping dialogue and theatrical structure, subUrbia doesn't allow for much pleasurably Linklaterish lounging; each character has got some serious orating to do before the night is over.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    19 January 2013

  • SubUrbia is depressing comedy -- the more so because director Richard Linklater's satirical picture of youthful alienation rings painfully true.

    Peter Stack - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Best Supporting Male

    Independent Spirit Awards (1998)