73
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83The A.V. ClubScott TobiasThe A.V. ClubScott TobiasSuburbia has the attitude and exploitation kicks of other films about youth rebellion, including more than a few Cormans, but Spheeris’ fidelity to the real L.A. scene—including performances by non-actors and musicians like Flea, who appears with a pet rat—compensates for some contrivances in the writing.
- 75The A.V. ClubNathan RabinThe A.V. ClubNathan RabinCompassion and sociological acuity can only take a film so far, however, and clunky dialogue, comically broad supporting characters, and often-amateurish acting sabotage much of Suburbia's plot-and-dialogue-heavy second half. But it still shows enormous empathy and sensitivity in capturing the angst and alienation of American youth, making it seem both rooted in a specific time and place and strangely timeless.
- 75TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineAlthough hardly believable, the story is effective, making its rather unwholesome characters sympathetic.
- The antithesis to the parent-friendly punks of Valley Girl, director Penelope Spheeris' stark, sobering look at the new generation gap pits aging California hippies against their disillusioned kids.
- 75Slant MagazineClayton DillardSlant MagazineClayton DillardIn the end, Suburbia’s greatest strength lies in its assertion of youth as a political state of mind.
- 70The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyProbably the best teen-agers-in-revolt movie since Jonathan Kaplan's Over the Edge.
- 70Time OutTime OutA justifiably angry film, fast and full of violent action, though there's plenty of humour too; and the lack of originality is amply compensated for by its manifest sincerity.
- 70Washington PostRichard HarringtonWashington PostRichard HarringtonAll the kids are believable and Suburbia's shortcomings are mostly in its script, not in its characterizations. [11 Feb 1984, p.G1]