SubUrbia (film)

SubUrbia is a 1996 American comedy drama film directed by Richard Linklater from a screenplay by Eric Bogosian, based on his play of the same name. It follows the relationships between a few young adults as they spend their time standing on "the corner" outside a local convenience store.

Bogosian based the story on his own experiences growing up in Woburn, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The convenience store setting is based on the 7-Eleven in the "Four Corners" section of the west side of Woburn, and the high-school fight song that is sung in one scene is the actual Woburn High fight song ("Black and Orange" to the tune of "On Wisconsin").

Plot
Three years out of high school in the fictional town of Burnfield (filmed mainly in Austin, Texas), four friends are in the daily habit of hanging out drinking by the garbage dumpster of a corner convenience store, occasionally taunting the Pakistan-born owners and operators, married couple Nazeer and Pakeesa. Jeff is an aimless soul unsure of his future since dropping out of college. He is dating Sooze, a student at the local community college who plans to leave Burnfield and study visual arts in New York City. Jeff's best friends are Buff and Tim. Tim, recently honorably discharged from the Air Force, is a troubled heavy drinker with a knack for shooting off his mouth. Sooze's friend Bee-Bee hangs out with the group this evening.

The group are expecting a visit from a high school friend, Neil "Pony" Moynihan, lead singer for Dreamgirl, an up and coming rock band that is on a stadium tour as the opening act for a major rock band. Dreamgirl performed in Austin that night, but the gang could not afford tickets. Pony arrives with Erica, Dreamgirl's publicist. Erica tells them how excited Pony has been about seeing the gang and most of the group is glad to see him, although some of them are bitter and jealous of his recent success. As the expanded group hangs out beside the store, their actions and conversations show that they all are contemplating what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Tim and Erica go off to have sex in a van, but Tim cannot perform. Bee-Bee is revealed to be a recovering alcoholic. Sooze leaves town with Pony.

Tim is arrested after trying to fight Nazeer. While in the police car, he tells Jeff that he knocked Erica unconcious and left her in the van. Hours later, Jeff meets up with Buff, who tells him that he slept with Erica and is planning to go to Los Angeles to shoot a Dreamgirl music video. This turns out to be true, as Erica shows up unharmed to pick up Buff. Tim is released. Jeff confronts him about lying, but Tim mocks Jeff for believing him. He then threatens Nazeer with a gun, taunting him as he climbs up on the roof of his store. There, he discovers Bee-Bee, unconcious after drinking hard liquor. As they wait for medical help, Nazeer berates Jeff, telling him he and his friends "throw it all away".

Cast

 * Jayce Bartok as Pony
 * Amie Carey as Sooze
 * Nicky Katt as Tim
 * Ajay Naidu as Nazeer
 * Parker Posey as Erica
 * Giovanni Ribisi as Jeff
 * Samia Shoaib as Pakeesa
 * Dina Spybey as Bee-Bee
 * Steve Zahn as Buff

Actors Samia Shoaib and Steve Zahn reprise their roles from the original stage production (1994) at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. In the stage play, the character of Nazeer was named Norman.

Soundtrack
In addition to existing songs by various artists heard during the film, Sonic Youth composed and performed new songs for the film. The film's score was composed by Stewart Copeland.


 * 1) "Unheard Music" – Elastica & Stephen Malkmus
 * 2) "Bee-Bee's Song" – Sonic Youth
 * 3) "Bulletproof Cupid" – Girls Against Boys
 * 4) "Feather in Your Cap" – Beck
 * 5) "Berry Meditation" – U.N.K.L.E.
 * 6) "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" – Boss Hog
 * 7) "Cult" – Skinny Puppy
 * 8) "Does Your Hometown Care?" – Superchunk
 * 9) "Sunday" – Sonic Youth
 * 10) "Human Cannonball" – Butthole Surfers
 * 11) "Tabla in Suburbia" – Sonic Youth
 * 12) "Hot Day" – The Flaming Lips
 * 13) "Psychic Hearts" – Thurston Moore
 * 14) "Town Without Pity" – Gene Pitney

Reception
The film earned a ranking of 68% on Rotten Tomatoes from 25 reviews. The site's consensus states: "SubUrbia succeeds in its blistering, ensemble-driven exploration of middle America, though it never quite reconciles the disparate stylings of director Richard Linklater and writer Eric Bogosian." Roger Ebert gave the film a positive review giving the film 3$1/2$ stars out of 4, calling it "dark, intense and disturbing".

Awards
Ajay Naidu was nominated for Best Supporting Male at the 1997 Independent Spirit Awards but lost to Jason Lee.