“Repo Man” is everything a cult film should be. It’s set in an offbeat subculture (1980s Los Angeles punk), it focuses on a bizarre cast of characters (sleazy repo men), is driven by a memorable soundtrack (the aforementioned 1980s L.A. punk) and is full of quotable lines (including a monologue that makes the most of the words “plate,” “shrimp” and “plate of shrimp.”
No wonder Alex Cox’s 1984 sci-fi comedy found a devoted audience of young folks (okay, mostly young men) who bought the soundtrack, hung up the poster and endlessly quoted that dialogue.
But now, 36 years later, a question arises: Does a cult movie still work if its cult has grown up, gotten jobs and moved on? We explore that question on this week’s episode of Out of Theaters, where Will (who saw and loved the movie as an ’80s college student) and Billy (who’s never seen it before) debate its merits, its music and the fact that a genuine movie star — Emilio Estevez — plays the lead role.
Plus, on this much-awaited return episode, Will reveals his picks for the top movies of 2019 (yes, we realize it’s a little late for such a list) and Billy asks why in the world “Joker” didn’t make the cut.
