Repo Man (1984)

[Ash]

Repo Man is another one of those 80's films I'd always known about since I was a kid but never saw.  It somehow managed to slip through the cracks all these years.
I had a vague idea as to what it was about, but definitely wasn't prepared for the experience.
Netflix has it available for live streaming so I sat down and watched it for the first time the other day.

Wow!
What a weird and cool movie this was!
I can tell you right now that I've never seen anything quite like it.
The only thing that comes close would be some of the Troma films I've seen.  Repo Man had, at least to me, a kind of "Class of Nuke 'Em High" vibe to it.

I knew that aliens were somehow involved, but didn't know how or exactly why.  The weird guy driving the Chevy Malibu with his secret cargo in the trunk was a great way to start the film.  It set the stage for the weirdness that follows. 
I also liked the way they introduced Harry Dean Stanton's character.  Having Otto repo the car was a hilarious idea as was the trio of Otto's friends who go around robbing everyone.

Once Otto becomes a full-on repo man, the movie just kept getting weirder and weirder!
I think at one point Otto asks Tracey Walter's character if he did any acid back in the hippie days.

 

That's what this movie was like.  A really weird and bizarre acid trip!   

And what was up with the generic labels on everything?  I laughed out loud when Otto is drinking out of a can that just says "Drink" on it.

I can't decide whether this was a great film or not.  I liked it, but it left me with this weird feeling I can't accurately describe.  A second viewing is definitely in order a bit later down the road.

3 out of 4 stars.   

"Don't open the trunk!"

[Mofo Rising]

"The life of a repo man is always intense."

Great movie. Can probably be summed up in one phrase:

"Ordinary f**king people; I hate them."

[Flick James]

I put the movie in the greatness category, full of great quotes, quirky characters, satire, and one of the best opening scenes ever. Arguably Brian Cox's best film. Great performances, yet the film never takes itself seriously.

[Flick James]

One more comment. Repo Man has always struck me as a film that just happened to work. It could have been terrilble. It just happened to have certain elements that combined to make it right. Made at the wrong time by a different director it could have been completely forgettable. I think it caught Brian Cox at just a certain point in his career and it somehow made this little gem work.

[SPazzo]

I love Repo Man!  I had a Harry Dean Stanton phase a while back, and this was the movie I watched the most.   

I put the movie in the greatness category, full of great quotes, quirky characters, satire, and one of the best opening scenes ever. Arguably Brian Cox's best film. Great performances, yet the film never takes itself seriously.

Isn't the director Alex Cox?  According to IMDb it is.

[Flick James]

I love Repo Man!  I had a Harry Dean Stanton phase a while back, and this was the movie I watched the most.   

I put the movie in the greatness category, full of great quotes, quirky characters, satire, and one of the best opening scenes ever. Arguably Brian Cox's best film. Great performances, yet the film never takes itself seriously.

Isn't the director Alex Cox?  According to IMDb it is.

Yes, Alex Cox. That was what is commonly referred to as a brain fart.

[joejoeherron]

this was the first dvd I ever bought.
if the dvd with the commentary is availble, I recomend it. If I remember right, the generic white with blue lettered products in the movie were from the RALPH's grocery store chain. The only sponsor for the movie was the company that makes the car pine tree air freshners.

[Rev. Powell]

Great movie.  Glad you liked it, Ash.

[Jim H]

I think my favorite part of this movie is the ending, where every crazy ludicrous thing Tracey Walter says turns out to be completely correct.

It's not my favorite film, but I enjoyed it.

[Flick James]

The scene where the crazy old man in the Malibu pulls into the carwash is different depending on what version you happen to catch. In one version, he gets out of the car and asks the nerdy guy at the carwash if they have a vending machine, then goes into a bit about how all a person's nutritional needs can be found in a vending machine, then he walks off screen and you hear him vomiting in the background. In another, the whole vending machine monologue is edited out and you just see the old man get out, and walk off screen to vomit. I've always wondered what was up with that. I saw someone here once say that it had to do with sponsorship, that is, the old man mentioned a registered snack food by name and so it gets edited out for broadcast for some legal reason. I don't know. More useless trivia.

[lester1/2jr]

I'll turn you into a toadstool

I'm lookin for a joke I'm lookin for a joke with a microscope

I tell you what I am, I'm a repo man

[AndyC]

Not much I can add that hasn't already been said. Brilliant movie. Funny, entertaining, quotable, sometimes thoughtful, and it stands up to repeated viewings.

Hard to pick a favourite character with so many good ones, but I think Harry Dean Stanton definitely takes top spot for me. But even the bit players are memorable, like the old lady yelling about the knocked over garbage. "You pick it up! You know you were wrong!"

It's one of those movies where the best lines just pop into my head in the right situations.

[BeyondTheGrave]

"I Blame society"
"You are just a white suburban punk like me"
"Yeah but Still....."

Look for a appearance by the band Circle Jerks in bar scene playing lounge music and Otto says "They used to be good".

[Flick James]

"I Blame society"
"You are just a white suburban punk like me"
"Yeah but Still....."

Look for a appearance by the band Circle Jerks in bar scene playing lounge music and Otto says "They used to be good".

"Doobie do-doo wop say what yeah..."

[Zapranoth]

My favorite exchange from that movie:

"What about us?"

Emilio, obtusely:  "WHAT?"

"What about our RELATIONSHIP?"

Emilio:  "F*** that!!!"