SLC Punk!

Directed by James Merendino, SLC Punk! follows a group of subversive anarchists, including Matthew Lillard’s Stevo, Michael Goorjian’s Heroin Bob, and Jason Segel’s Mike, as they experience ups and downs within 1980s Salt Lake City. Filmmaker Merendino, armed with his own script, delivers a predominantly grating misfire that remains unable to capture the viewer’s interest and attention even fleetingly, as the picture has been infused with a less-than-subtle, larger-than-life vibe that’s reflected in its various attributes – with, especially, the recurring emphasis on Stevo’s fourth-wall-breaking conversations and rants enhancing the movie’s tiresome, nails-on-a-chalkboard feel. It is, as such, not surprising to discover that SLC Punk! wears out its welcome long before it arrives at its silly, bizarrely didactic third act, with the final result a woefully unfocused disaster that’s hardly as incisive or endearing as Merendino has surely intended.

* out of ****