Writer & director Penelope Spheeris certainly knows her way around this sort of material, having previously made the landmark documentary "The Decline of Western Civilization". She treats her subjects with sensitivity; while not really condoning their actions, the film does let you know where these kids are coming from: a society that's let them down in one way or another, or which has failed to understand them. This is low key and believable, with some potent and emotional moments and fine performances by the young cast. This is as good an example of "punks on film" as one is apt to see.

Spheeris does wonders with her low budget, creating a narrative that's absorbing and entertaining if undeniably disturbing at times. This movie *is* going to lose some viewers early on due to a scene with an infant, but some of those who don't immediately turn it off will find something pretty interesting and visually arresting. The concert performances by punk groups T.S.O.L., The Vandals, and D.I. add to the experience.

Young Bill Coyne is front and centre as Evan, a teen who flees his alcoholic, judgemental mother, and hooks up with a pack of punkers who all squat in an abandoned home near an L.A. freeway. It's a filthy, run-down, vermin infested place, but they call it home. An uptight group who dub themselves Citizens Against Crime vow to combat the kids, whom they see as merely a menace to polite society. And things take a real downturn when our protagonists attend a funeral, believing that they have every right to be there.

The punks are a fairly colourful bunch, and they include characters such as Razzle (played by future Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea),runaway Sheila (Jennifer Clay),drug addicted Keef (Grant Miner),and charismatic leader Jack (Chris Pedersen). Their stories do keep one watching, even if there are moments that are off-putting. The finale is a real heartbreaker.

Overall, this is enjoyable to watch.

Eight out of 10.

A motley bunch of disaffected punk kids take up residence in a grubby old abandoned home on the outskirts of an affluent California suburb and form their own messed-up, but loyal and loving alternative family. Unfortunately, a hostile group of intolerant redneck vigilantes who call themselves the Citizens Against Crime take issue with the punks living in their neighborhood. Writer/director Penelope Spheeris's extremely raw and rough-around-the-edges low-budget indie drama astutely captures the profound sense of burning anger and acute alienation that were key hallmarks of the 80's punk scene. Moreover, Spheeris neither glorifies nor vilifies the punks; instead she shows these sullen malcontents in a blunt and brutally honest warts'n'all manner that's both nonjudgmental and compassionate, but never sappy or exploitative. Better still, Spheeris does a commendable job of precisely nailing why these kids are so bitter and rebellious by showing that they are the toxic products of such things as poverty, prejudice, and broken dysfunctional families. Granted, the acting from the cast of mostly unprofessional thespians is admittedly crude and amateurish, but the kids are nonetheless believable in their roles, with stand-out contributions from Chris Pederson as charismatic punk leader Jack Diddley, Jennifer Clay as the hard-bitten Sheila, Timothy Eric O'Brien as the surly Skinner, Flea as the rowdy Razzle, and Grant Miner as zonked-out druggie Keef. Don Allen is likewise solid as pragmatic police officer William Rennard. Timothy Suhrstedt's no-frills cinematography gives the picture an appropriately gritty and unpolished look. Alex Gibson's bluesy thrashin' score and the first-rate punk music soundtrack are both on the money excellent and effective. The shocking downbeat ending packs a potent punch. A very powerful and praiseworthy exploration of an interesting and often misunderstood youth subculture.

The Wild Side (I personally know it as Suburbia) is a very well done film. It may not have a lot of heart or plot or other things some good films have, but it does have one thing- attitude. And that is something that counts in this type of film. It also has some good acting (Flea makes his screen debut in this film) and good scene design. And I think the film is insightful because it shows ordinary film buffs about a world not many of us know or want to know about- the world of punks. The film does have plenty of drama to go around (if you don't believe me, just look at the first scene where a rabid dog attacks a defenseless baby) and even though it doesn't have enough heart to back it up, it brings it back up with it's cool punk rock scenes, stylish techniques, and other small things. In short, besides Wayne's World, this is Penelope Spheeris' best film yet and most likely nothing like this will come around again.