Grant, played by John Cryer (
Pretty in Pink), Biscuit, played by Daniel Roebuck (
The Fugitive), and Milo, played by Flea (bassist for Red Hot Chili Peppers) are three disenchanted New York City punk rockers who decide to drive across the country in a Volkswagen for a new life in California. When they stop and spend a night sleeping under the stars in the desert landscapes of the American west, however, they are attacked by a group of vicious redneck outlaws led by Lee Ving (lead singer of the punk band, Fear). Grant and Biscuit manage to find a hiding place, but Milo is shot and killed.
After seeking help from apathetic local police, Grant and Biscuit take matters into their own hands by pursuing the rugged outlaws north through old western towns. Grant, who has visions of a mysterious cowboy, goes full-tilt into the wild west ethos by learning to shoot a pistol and dressing up in cowboy gear himself, while Biscuit is visited by Native American spirits during a hallucination and becomes convinced that he himself is a Native American warrior.
Catherine Mary Stewart (
Night of the Comet,
The Last Starfighter) plays a beautiful tow truck driver who brings out the best in Grant and teaches him to believe in himself. Pete Willcox plays a daredevil Elvis impersonator who also comes to the aid of Grant and Biscuit.
The 1987 film,
Dudes, was directed by Penelope Spheeris, who also helmed
The Decline of Western Civilization,
Suburbia, and
Wayne's World. Spheeris had her finger on the pulse of American punk rock and heavy metal of that era, and this strange combination of a western revenge thriller and a teenage coming-of-age comedy exudes that punk spirit in a wonderful way. The opening scene, which takes place in a New York dive where punkers are slam-dancing to “Urban Struggle” by The Vandals, is golden. The soundtrack also features Jane's Addiction, Faster Pussycat, Steve Vai, and The Tail Gators.
Tonight was my first time watching
Dudes since I rented it on VHS tape almost 30 years ago, and, as is usual when I revisit these old 1980s standouts from my misspent youth, I am surprised at how much of this movie I still remember by heart. One character's “18 and Bored” T-shirt sticks out in my memory. Another moment that left its mark on my psyche is when a villain is viciously killed by a bull at a rodeo.
Dudes was a weird trip of a movie in so many ways, and it still comes across as endearingly unconventional today, although three decades have passed since its release. It's also a long lost movie, since it fell off the face of the Earth after enjoying minor success at VHS rentals. I love it when forgotten films like this surface again.
There is a fair bit of print damage on this Shout Factory Blu-ray of
Dudes, but, for the most part, the movie looks pretty great. The audio comes across well to my ears, and the punk and metal tunes sound quite good.
The lion's roar of this Blu-ray, however, is its present-day interviews with Spheeris, Cryer, Flea, Roebuck, Stewart, and others. Right now, I'm watching Flea and Spheeris reminisce about 1980s punk.
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Dudes (1987) (Collector's Edition)
Linear Mode
