Punk Vacation (1987*)

*listed as 1987 on Letterboxd, 1990 elsewhere, and apparently it was filmed in 1984

Punk Vacation is the only film from director Stanley Lewis. It is listed as a 1987 release on Letterboxd, 1990 elsewhere, and apparently it was filmed in 1984 (which makes sense as the styles seem very early to mid 80s). A group of "punk" bikers roll into a small California town. They immediately get into it with the local diner owner, when an orange soda-based argument turns violent. Obviously they are overreacting, but as someone who is constantly hoping to find orange soda in Pepsi-based establishments I can relate. They kill the man and traumatize (possibly assault?) his young daughter. The dead man's older daughter Lisa (Sandra Bogan) seeks revenge while her cop boyfriend investigates. The punks hide out on a local farm, and back and forth exchanges result in casualties on both sides.

From that premise, you probably have a pretty clear idea of what this movie could be, but it makes some unexpected choices. First of all it is not very violent or sleazy. It took me a moment to realize they had even killed the diner owner at the beginning, because it doesn't directly show them stabbing him, and there is some visual implication they assault the younger daughter but it is not shown or described (she is mute afterwards). People get shot or killed but it isn't super bloody and there is no gore. This makes sense, as the Punks themselves aren't the usual cartoon psycho-sadists you would assume based on the premise and opening scene. Instead they are a large group (about a dozen) with different (albeit thinly shaded) personalities. One guy says he just wanted to get out of L.A. with the group and relax, maybe do some fishing, then they had to go and kill a guy and ruin it (they actually were going on a Punk Vacation, holy crap!). Two girls only seem interested in the group dynamic, both talking about possibly leaving the gang (one wants to go to school for computers!). They get scared, they argue, they joke around. Once again, this is not award-winning characterization, but compared to the usual Punks and "punks" seen in many 80s movies it is notable. Only a few of them seem excited about the potential for more violence, even though they eventually all go along with their leader's plans.

thinking about getting out of that gang life and into computer sciences

That leader is probably the best part of the movie. In another unique choice, the badass punk leader is a woman(!) named Ramrod(!!). Played by Roxanne Rogers with grit and a healthy dose of eyeliner and hair product, you can see why they follow her (and not just because she has the best outfit). She makes plans and gives orders, and in one nifty sequence she takes advantage of how similar she looks to Lisa by de-punking herself and going into the hospital undercover to find her injured gang member. Ramrod rules.

all hail our new queen ramrod

The actors playing the punks all feel pretty natural, I enjoyed their scenes hanging out or dealing with Lisa or the cops. That makes it all the more jarring when we cut to the police station and all of a sudden the acting takes a nosedive. The old man sheriff would fit right into an Amir Shervan (Samurai Cop) movie, as he yells and blusters through flubbed and non-sensical lines with incoherent anger. Main cop Steve (Stephen Fiachi) is fine in scenes with his girlfriend Lisa, but he and another cop have an exchange where they just straight up repeat lines until the other person catches their queue and moves the dialogue forward. I don't know why there is a such a stark difference in quality, maybe most of the cop stuff was shot later and they didn't have time or money for rehearsals or multiple takes? Rogers as Ramrod is great, the rest of the punks are good, Bogan as Lisa is solid, Fiachi as Steve is a mixed bag, and every actor over the age of 40 sucks.

lisa's pretty cool too, i guess

In the end this is more interesting than entertaining, as the third act starts to drag and get repetitive. I appreciated that the punks weren't one-note monsters, but it does mean the climax lacks some intensity as they take on incompetent old people in the woods but never get really crazy or savage. That is also when the repetitive score became very noticeable and exhausting. Maybe if they had been able to afford some actual punk or new wave music or just tried for a harder edge on the score it would have given some energy to that last act. The very end does make some more interesting choices that help make up for the slog to get there, though. Those weak points mean this doesn't quite qualify as a Tubi Treasure, but it is definitely better than a lot of my Tubi Trash random picks.