Repo Man is one of the granddaddies of the modern concept of "cult" films, so how much you enjoy this film will depend on whether you prefer classic "cult" or the new interpretation of that phenomenon.
It used to be that "cult" movie were bad movies that a small number of people liked an awful lot. They were generally not well acted or well written or well directed but there was something about them that a distinct minority of the audience would embrace and cherish. Maybe it was the basic idea of the story or a particular character or scene but there would be something that would catch the attention of a few while most viewers simply considered the film a piece of crap. That definition has changed in the last couple of decades. A "cult" movie is no longer a bad film that has a small but devoted audience. "Cult" now signifies a deliberate weirdness and a disinterest or refusal to be conventionally entertaining. No longer attempts at normal filmmaking that failed, "cult" movies today are never meant to or try to appeal to broad audiences. The whole goal is now to be as distinctively odd and incomprehensible as possible.
While certainly not the first modern "cult" film, Repo Man is one of the first widely known and established some of the conventions of the modern "cult" genre. In a very generic sense, the movie is about the coming of age of Otto (Emilio Estevez) a young punk who tires of his life working days at a grocery store and nights slam dancing with his fellow losers. By chance, Otto falls in with Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), a repo man who brings Otto into the business and tries to teach him the "repo code". While that's going on a bunch of federal agents are trying to find a 1964 Chevy Malibu with some alien corpses in the trunk and there's also another side story where three of Otto's former punk friends embark on a crime spree that turns into the worst afterschool special of all time.
There's a lot of weird stuff in Repo Man. All the federal agents are blonde except for the lead agent who has a metal hand. Everything the characters eat or drink comes out of a generic package. A grimy mechanic dispenses zen wisdom and the repo men have an angry debate over whether or not John Wayne was a "fag". If you take out the weirdness, this is a terrible movie. The story is haphazard and none of the actors except Harry Dean Stanton ever get much chance to emote, and he's basically stuck reciting lame theories about the way of the world to Otto. But with all the strangeness, I can definitely see the appeal.
You'd certainly need to be the right age and the right attitude to be grabbed by the story "eff the world" outlook on the pointlessness and absurdity of life, but it also helps to be old enough to remember what the 1980s felt like to people who weren't in tune with Ronald Reagan's new America. With its blaring punk soundtrack and its wallowing in oddity, Repo Man is definitely an acquired taste. But it you can acquire it, it is pretty tasty.
It used to be that "cult" movie were bad movies that a small number of people liked an awful lot. They were generally not well acted or well written or well directed but there was something about them that a distinct minority of the audience would embrace and cherish. Maybe it was the basic idea of the story or a particular character or scene but there would be something that would catch the attention of a few while most viewers simply considered the film a piece of crap. That definition has changed in the last couple of decades. A "cult" movie is no longer a bad film that has a small but devoted audience. "Cult" now signifies a deliberate weirdness and a disinterest or refusal to be conventionally entertaining. No longer attempts at normal filmmaking that failed, "cult" movies today are never meant to or try to appeal to broad audiences. The whole goal is now to be as distinctively odd and incomprehensible as possible.
While certainly not the first modern "cult" film, Repo Man is one of the first widely known and established some of the conventions of the modern "cult" genre. In a very generic sense, the movie is about the coming of age of Otto (Emilio Estevez) a young punk who tires of his life working days at a grocery store and nights slam dancing with his fellow losers. By chance, Otto falls in with Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), a repo man who brings Otto into the business and tries to teach him the "repo code". While that's going on a bunch of federal agents are trying to find a 1964 Chevy Malibu with some alien corpses in the trunk and there's also another side story where three of Otto's former punk friends embark on a crime spree that turns into the worst afterschool special of all time.
There's a lot of weird stuff in Repo Man. All the federal agents are blonde except for the lead agent who has a metal hand. Everything the characters eat or drink comes out of a generic package. A grimy mechanic dispenses zen wisdom and the repo men have an angry debate over whether or not John Wayne was a "fag". If you take out the weirdness, this is a terrible movie. The story is haphazard and none of the actors except Harry Dean Stanton ever get much chance to emote, and he's basically stuck reciting lame theories about the way of the world to Otto. But with all the strangeness, I can definitely see the appeal.
You'd certainly need to be the right age and the right attitude to be grabbed by the story "eff the world" outlook on the pointlessness and absurdity of life, but it also helps to be old enough to remember what the 1980s felt like to people who weren't in tune with Ronald Reagan's new America. With its blaring punk soundtrack and its wallowing in oddity, Repo Man is definitely an acquired taste. But it you can acquire it, it is pretty tasty.