James Merendino

SLC Punk! -- Growing up punk in Mormon Salt Lake City wasn't easy in the mid-eighties, and this soundtrack-driven film demonstrates why.

It's 1985 and Stevo is that rare animal, a punk rocker in the Mormon stronghold of Salt Lake City, Utah. He just graduated from college with honors and now his life is a nutty roller coaster ride of rock shows, stealing cars, beating up rednecks and non-stop partying with his buddy, Heroin Bob, and his girlfriend. But with the scene getting lame and Stevo going nowhere fast, he has to put his punk ideals to the test. With a choice between "No Future" and Harvard Law School, what's a guy with blue hair supposed to do? Fueled by a classic punk rock soundtrack and hilarious, energetic performances from Matthew Lillard (Scream, She's All That), Michael Goorjian (Leaving Las Vegas, Hard Rain) and Annabeth Gish (Beautiful Girls, Nixon), SLC PUNK is one punk's madcap search for a way to grow up without selling out.

Growing up punk in Mormon Salt Lake City wasn't easy in the mid-eighties, and this soundtrack-driven film demonstrates why.

Growing up punk in Mormon Salt Lake City wasn't easy in the mid-eighties, and this soundtrack-driven film demonstrates why.

In conservative Salt Lake City in the early 80's, Stevo and Bob are the only two dedicated punks in the city.

Rupert is a small time crook trying to do the right thing. But when his younger brother gets in trouble and needs a new liver, Rupert gets his old gang together and they plan a heist on New Year's Eve.

Rupert is a small time crook trying to do the right thing. But when his younger brother gets in trouble and needs a new liver, Rupert gets his old gang together and they plan a heist on New Year's Eve.

Their plan was simple...Get the Cash. As Rupert, an ex-con, tries to go straight, his younger brother James pursues a life of delinquency. Days after being released from jail, James is gunned down and lies waiting in a hospital for a liver transplant. In a desperate attempt to save his brother's life, Rupert decides to execute a heist at a downtown club on New Year's Eve that will give him the money he needs. Rupert assembles an eclectic crew of ex-cons, including his best friend and his ex-girlfriend. Rupert and his gang converge on the nightclub for a climax that spins out of control. New Year's Eve has never been so explosive!

Their plan was simple...Get the Cash. As Rupert, an ex-con, tries to go straight, his younger brother James pursues a life of delinquency. Days after being released from jail, James is gunned down and lies waiting in a hospital for a liver transplant. In a desperate attempt to save his brother's life, Rupert decides to execute a heist at a downtown club on New Year's Eve that will give him the money he needs. Rupert assembles an eclectic crew of ex-cons, including his best friend and his ex-girlfriend. Rupert and his gang converge on the nightclub for a climax that spins out of control. New Year's Eve has never been so explosive!