Dudes (1987) ***
Penelope Spheeris' punk rock western road revenge movie, Dudes (1987), has an interesting cast (I always love seeing Lee Ving show up), but the plot is threadbare with lots of haphazard detours, all the characters are underdeveloped, there is some unfortunate (just silly and unnecessary) cultural appropriation, the soundtrack is more hard rock/hair metal than punk, and the tone of film is messy (it mostly plays as a comedy but has some jarringly serious moments and bursts of violence that feel out of place). I also wish that Catherine Mary Stewart's role was bigger—while she is actually pretty badass, she kind of does the same loyal love interest thing here that she did in 1984's The Last Starfighter (review) (but she at least had more screen time in that picture). Overall, this is a fun little flick, but I can't help wishing it was weirder, funnier, and swung a little bigger.
Recommended for fans of Repo Man (1984), Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985) (blogpost), and The Wraith (1986) (review).
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