Repo Man was a very fun film to watch. Having been told that it was an 80’s cult classic, I was immediately prepared for something that was outrageous. I found the film very entertaining and funny, mostly with the dialogue between the characters as well as the poor visual effects.
The movie reminded me a bit of Brazil with its depiction of a society and those that rebel against it. I found it very interesting that the main character was a punk that turned into a man in a suit. Otto got tired of throwing his life away doing nothing and decided to ditch his old punk life for one that was more exciting and had money. His transformation was evident in his clothes as he would slowly change his appearance until he was wearing a coat and was driving around repossessing people’s cars. I liked the relationship he had with Bud as it was a sort of mentor-apprentice arrangement with how Bud was telling him about the Repo Code and mentioned how most people don’t live by a code anymore. I found that conversation interesting and a bit moving with how Bud displayed his philosophy on life and on being a repo man. Another conversation I found interesting was the one between Otto and Miller when they talked about the plate of shrimp. I related to this very much because I have experienced the plate of shrimp phenomena several times already. The conversation between them was pretty funny as well when Miller when on about people being from the future and that UFOs were also time machines and then Otto asks him if he did a lot of acid in his younger days.
The character of Miller was pretty interesting as well, because despite the fact that he was obviously nuts, in the end, he seemed to be the only one that wasn’t “crazy” with how calm he was about the whole situation. He was even able to get into the car and fly away with Otto. I read somewhere on the internet that they likened Miller’s use of the car to Arthur pulling the sword from the stone and that was something I found both funny and interesting. Just like the unlikely Arthur, Miller was able to do something significant that no one else could.
The movie seems to speak out against consumerism and our media-based society. For me, the movie portrayed Otto as someone who was against the consumerist society depicted in the movie. As a repo man, he had the job of taking other people’s cars because they fell late on their payments. When I thought about it, a person who falls behind on their payments is someone who buys too much, a consumer. In this way Otto fights back against consumerism. The same can be said for Miller who refuses to drive (take part in consumerist culture) because he said that the longer someone would drive, the dumber they get. In the end Otto and Miller “defeat” consumerism by getting into a highly-desired car and flying away, leaving everyone else behind.
Overall, Repo Man was a pretty fun movie, despite how strange it was. I would watch it again if I had time, just to experience more of what it has to offer.
OOH, THAT'S A BINGO! 