"We're sending Bibles to El Salvador."

People see films for many reasons.  Some people see films to be entertained.  Some people see films to be informed.  Some people, like my friend Katie, see films for their weirdness factor.  Repo Man is a gem from 1985 that is entertaining, informative (in a anti-consumerism, anti-war sort of way) and WEIRD.  I watched this film after viewing Donnie Darko.  The weirdness factor was almost, but not quite, too much.
Otto (Emilio Estevez's best performance - forget The Mighty Ducks, oh wait, you already did), is a punk 18 or 21 year old living in L.A.  At the beginning of the film, he loses his loser job as a stocker in a grocery store.  After losing his job, he goes slam dancing, drinks Beer and wanders the streets of L.A. As his wandering continues through the morning, he is conned by a repo guy into "stealing" someone's car.  Once at the repo lot, he is offered a job as a repo man.  Otto takes the job.  He repos cars without remorse.  He seems to enjoy the company of his fellow repo men even when crazy things happen to them, including encounters with UFOs (United Fruitcake Organization and those of the ET variety).  
The best reason to see the film is for the dialogue.  For example, Otto's partner (Molly Ringwald's father in Pretty In Pink, Harry Dean Stanton) says "Lets go get a drink."  The next scene cuts them in a store buying a six pack of Drink.  The beer of choice is Beer.  The food of choice is Food, even though you can also choose from Potato Chips and Cereal.  There is NO product placement in the film.  There is a hysterical scene in which Otto is talking to his parents in their living room.  The title of this review was taken from a line in that scene. 
The social commentary is rampant.  Otto is watching the news in one scene, and while the TV is background noise, the story on the news is about the US sending troops to Guatemala and El Salvador to lay waste to indigenous villages.  There is also a scene where the older repo men make fun of people who car pool (ironically, while they are all riding together), "commies" and "fags". 
The film was written and directed by Alex Cox.  Marshall, take note - he was a Fulbright Scholar!  He left law school in England to attend film school at UCLA. 
 
FILM VIEWING PROTOCOL
Honestly, see this film if you have an open mind about movies.  Ignore the plot and special effects but pay attention to the dialogue.  It is a Saturday night DVD or video rental - with cool friends and/or cool significant other. Judge their coolness factor at their own risk
I recommend eating Candy and Popcorn, and drinking a Drink during the film.  Actually, I recommend Reese's Pieces because they seem to be the candy choice of Extra Terrestrials.  Maybe drink Beer - that would make the film more comical. 
 
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