Dudes (1987)

Fresh and Exciting

Captivating movie !

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Director Penelope Spheeris has produced mixed results when it comes to directing feature films. She's done some good movies ("Wayne's World", "The Boys Next Door"), but also some duds ("The Beverly Hillbillies", "Black Sheep"). "Dudes" is not one of her better efforts. Part of the problem is with the screenplay, which doesn't flesh out the protagonists enough, or explore their minds when they make the transition from punkers to gun-wielding vigilantes. It's even worse with the bad guys, who aren't fleshed out at all! Spheeris should have sent the screenplay back for a rewrite, but she shares some of the blame for making a tired feeling to everything, such as (yes) staging the climatic battle in an abandoned warehouse. There's some good scenery and photography, and the music isn't bad, but that's all that's good about this movie. Instead of watching it, track down the soundtrack instead.

Film-maker Penelope Spheeris's 80s absurdist road-tripping slacker black comedy sees three punk rockers leaving New York on their way to a better life in California, but on their way there they become targets of a ruthless hillbilly gang (led by an impressive Lee Ving) with one of them ending up dead. For the remaining two, instead of heading to California they decide go after the gang. This is one very odd, slapdash journey narrative with broad humour, but an even brutal tone and cross-cultural conflict as the modern punk scene meets old west philosophy as actors Jon Cryer, Daniel Roebuck and Flea find themselves along for the ride. I'm not that much of a fan of Cryer, but this is definitely the best thing I've seen him in. Also showing up in the cast is Catherine Mary Stuart. For a road movie, scenery is important and here the Arizona backdrop provides many picturesque sequences. Director Spheeris crafts out some surreal dynamics from the visuals and sets up some good stunt pieces. Pumping soundtrack, edgy script and kooky characters only added to this cult film's spontaneous and jarring charm."I'm so sick of waiting for the world to end."

I bought this movie for $1.99 at my local video store and while I was expecting it to be better considering that it was directed by Penelope Spheeris, it didn't turn out to be too bad. It certainly is an interesting picture. DUDES starts off comedic and light with three punk rock friends (Jon Cryer, Daniel Roebuck, and Flea, all good in their roles) heading out to L.A. to find a better life. 20 minutes into the movie, the film becomes more dramatic when they are attacked by a group of rednecks led by the nasty Missoula (Lee Ving). Missoula kills Flea by shooting him in the head and the rest of the movie has Jon Cryer and Daniel Roebuck looking for revenge. It's hard to say exactly what genre DUDES fits under. It's a mix of genres. It's part comedy, part drama, part western, and part action adventure. The mixing of genres is not entirely successful, though it does make DUDES a somewhat fascinating motion picture. It's unlike any other film from the 80s, that's for sure. With some more character development and better dialogue, DUDES could have been pretty good. The ingredients to a good picture are here, but the screenplay is not as strong as it should have been. There's still some stuff to like about DUDES. There are some decent laughs, the music is very 80s yet enjoyable, the action scenes are handled quite well, and the revenge plot, though clichéd, is fairly intriguing. I'd be interested in a DVD release with a making-of documentary since I'm sure it would be just as interesting as the film is. However, that will never happen since it seems nobody has ever heard of this movie. Slightly recommended. 5/10

I understand director Penelope Spheeris' loyalty to the punk culture as she was the director of the Decline of the Western Civilization documentaries as well as one of my favorites, Suburbia. But for crying out loud, this is just a slap in the face. Dudes is about three young punks (Cryer, Roebuck, and Flea) on a road trip from New York to ye old West Coast. Except, after a little mishap, one of their punker friends is violently murdered. So Captain Dumbass (Cyer) "Grant" and his fat pal, Mr. Oblivious (Roebuck) "Buscuit," have some kind of stupid epiphany out in the desert and dress up like cowboy and Indian to avenge their friend's death caused by a mock Hells Angels. There's not even much here about good old fashion good times and die hard freedom punk ethics at work in this story. Save your money, your time, and your brain. Dudes is just one thankless big pile of garbage.