How sad is this?

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998) **** (out of 4)This third and to date final entry in Penelope Spheeris' series takes us back to the punk rock scene just like the first film but instead of looking at the people on the stage this here takes a look at the punk kids who are mostly homeless and living on the streets.This third film in certainly a lot different than the first two in the series and if you're looking for a fun time you're aren't going to find it here. I say that because these "kids" are all a rather sad bunch and I can't help but be somewhat judgmental here. Sure, the film itself doesn't judge this kids and that's what makes it great because the director really digs into the subject but as a viewer you can't help but form an opinion.The film takes a honest look at the subjects and that includes some of them that were abused by their parents as well as many who see only death in their future. The film shines a spotlight on these kids who are homeless, living in the streets and bugging people for a little change to try and earn a few bucks for alcohol. They steal what food they eat and they have very little to no plans to be an adult, get a job or do something with their lives.As I said, I respect Spheeris for not being judgmental and instead just showing the kids and their situation as is. Of course, it's rather ironic that the kids are constantly badmouthing the police yet look at how they live. It's easy to see why these kids would hate the "establishment" and it's because they don't want rules and instead want to do things their way. Watching this twenty-years after its release I can't help but wonder what happened to these kids.

The Decline of Western Civilization Part III: In the third of the Decline films, director Penelope Spheeris revisits the punk scene she illuminated in her first Decline film. Here she finds the struggle of street kids and young adults in West Hollywood trying to make it day by day, fighting off attacks from skinheads and following the ever decreasing number of punk bands that remain in the scene.The Good: Like her previous two films Spheeris highlights some bands and one of them is actually pretty good. Naked Aggression led by lead singer Kirsten Patches seemed like America's answer to Chumbawamba. The band even shows their not inconsiderable classical music chops. As Todd in the Shadows would say they deserved better.The Bad: In 1999 Rory Kennedy made a documentary about a family in Appalachia that had been beset by poverty for the last 100 years. Being the youngest daughter of Robert F Kennedy this was a topic that was close to her heart. Her film American Hollow would expose us to the real people behind the poverty and help bring in a new age of help for those folks dependent on handouts whom the American Dream had passed by.Unfortunately for Rory, her film features the laziest bunch of yokels this side of Jerry Springer. Rory simple didn't see it. One cannot watch her film and not think we need to cut welfare of yesterday and get these people a clue.Spheeris doesn't see it as well. Yes, the kids featured are broken. In reality, many of them are pretty horrible people. There is a scene where they all crash at a poor black man's apartment. He is in a wheelchair from an auto accident, doesn't drink and lives in a humble one bedroom. About sixty of these street hooligans pile in there as if it was a scene from Aronofsky's Mother!. They trash the place beyond recovery and the look of pain in the man's eyes is haunting. He just wanted a friend.Spheeris does her interviews like the previous two films and once again most of her subjects are understandably about as deep as a puddle. She seems interested in the dirt about how they left home but leaves some obvious questions on the table. Starting with why are they dressed in fashions that went out of style before they were born.In conclusion: Punk is long dead by the time the documentary starts. The bands, with one exception noted above, are barely garage bands and the fans are begging for a dollar to buy a pint of MD 20/20. Apparently, there are skinhead Nazis that prey on these youth but we never see one and Spheeris really drops the ball not getting one to sit down and tell their story.On some level, it is an interesting look at a slice of life on the margins but the combination of bad people and bad music make this an unpleasant ride. One wishes for a filmmaker who could see what she really was looking at.

This documentary on the bleak and rough lifestyle of homeless gutterpunk teenagers and young adults who eke out a thankless existence on the mean streets of Los Angeles paints a searing and startling portrait of a segment of society that's basically been ignored and abandoned by the mainstream culture. Director Penelope Spheeris does a remarkable job of getting these kids to open up and lays themselves bare emotionally for the camera: They are essentially toxic products of abusive and dysfunctional families who drink lots of beer and embrace the nihilistic ethos of punk as a means of surmounting the pain and anguish bubbling just underneath the surface of their devil-may-care posturing attitude. It's particularly depressing to witness how the gutterpunks have completely given up on hope for a better tomorrow: When asked where they will be in five to ten years, the bulk of them answer that they will most probably be dead -- and two of them it's revealed did indeed die prior to the release of this movie. Not surprisingly, the few punk bands featured herein are extremely bitter and more critical and resentful of both politicians and organized religion. (In a neat ironic touch, the various members of the group Naked Aggression turn out to be classical musicians!). An extremely sad and sobering film.

This movie is an accurate description of a small sect of the punk scene. Since the 80s it has grown so much and has so many parts, and this is just about a few squatters from L.A., most of whom i know. And it is good as a documentary about them but don't pretend that this is at all a documentary about hte punk scene of today