Repo Man
Year: 1984 - Edge City Director: Alex Cox Screenplay: Alex Cox Starring: Emilio Estevez, Tracey Walter, Harry Dean Stanton, Sy Richardson, Olivia Barash, and Fox Harris

Perhaps the best thing Michael Nesmith ever spent money on; the cult classic Repo Man, owes much of its existence to Liquid Paper (tm) (that white stuff you can use to paint over a mistake on a typed page, and then correct it). Back before personal computers, Mike Nesmith's mom was a secretary. Mrs. Nesmith invented Liquid Paper (tm), became a millionaire, died, and left all of her money to her son. Michael Nesmith (of the Monkees fame) squandered a good deal of the money on lousy, independent movies. Repo Man is happily not one of these.

The protagonist of Alex Cox's film is Otto, an eighteen year old, white, suburban, punk, played by Emilio Estevez. The son of zoned-out Jesus freaks, Otto drifts from one boring, no skill, job to the next. His life has little meaning and direction. In his spare time, Otto usually just hangs out with his other bored, punk friends. Otto's friend Duke has his own solution to the boredom; armed robbery. Bud (Harry Dean Stanton), recruits Otto into the world of the Repo Man. At first Otto rejects the invitation to join the ranks of men who repossess cars. However, the hopeless prospect of a life filled with mundane jobs convinces him to reconsider.

As Bud tells Otto, "The life of a Repo Man is always intense!" Instead of "just say no", drug use and drinking is a necessary and integral part of a Repo Man's life. Many of the values of Otto's lifestyle are reaffirmed in the Repo Man world. Bud becomes Otto's mentor, expounding on the Repo Man Code, which engenders a pride in Otto toward his job. Bud hates ordinary people and their lifestyle. He also despises a rival group of Repo Men, The Rodríguez Brothers, who he refers to as scum. Lite, played by Sy Richardson, does not share Bud's feeling toward their rivals. He asserts to Otto that the Rodríguez Brothers, like all Repo Men, are nothing more than car thieves. Tracey Walter plays Miller, a strange, nonsensical mystic, whose main responsibility seems to be to burn all of the personal belongings found in the repossessed vehicles. This burning of possessions illustrates the transitory nature of material goods. Miller refuses to drive because, "The more you drive, the less intelligent you become." He tells Otto about UFO's, time travel, and the Cosmic Unconsciousness. As a Repo Man, Otto has in effect joined a tribe, complete with a shaman.

Alex Cox pokes fun at religion in the film. A televangelist has convinced Otto's parents to give all of their money, including Otto's college fund, to the preacher's ministry. Otto's parents have so engrossed themselves in the preacher's telecasts that they have totally neglected their own family. Otto is left to look for a family elsewhere. The Church of Scientology (tm) also is satirized. Several of the characters refer to a self-help book entitled, "Dioretex", a send-up of L. Ron Hubbard's book. There is an obvious implied connection between religion, time travel, and spaceships which is one of Scientology's tenets. The Repo Men repossess cars as a reminder to the car's owners of the transitory nature of the possession of cars, or material wealth in general. Scientology (tm) and other religions look upon the body as a vehicle for the soul. In essence, the Repo Men are repossessing the bodies like Grim Reapers. As wild as the mystical Miller's ideas sound, they are no more weird than those professed by Scientology (tm) or other religions.

Meanwhile, a Los Alomos scientist (Fox Harris) is driving around in a Malibu with the bodies of four space aliens in the trunk. As the scientist drives around with his radioactive cargo, he becomes sick and insane. Several people who are unfortunate enough to open the trunk of his car are instantly vaporized by the intense radiation of the alien bodies. A mysterious organization of Blond Agents are trying to recover the alien bodies. Subsequently, there is a $20,000 bounty on the Malibu. Otto learns the true nature of the Malibu and its cargo from a young girl, Leila (Olivia Barash). Leila is in an UFO group that is associated with the scientist. She and Otto quickly become lovers.

Because of his relationship with Leila, Otto becomes a target of the Blond Agents. The possibilities of UFOs starts Otto thinking about the world beyond that of the Repo Man. The very frightening experience of being shot at while repossessing a car makes Otto seriously reconsider his occupation. Bud's preoccupation with the $20,000 that could be gained from getting the Malibu is in conflict with the idea of the transitory nature of material things Otto has learned from Miller. Much as with a father and son, Bud's and Otto's relationship becomes strained; causing, much to Bud's anguish, Otto to break off their friendship for a time. It becomes clear to Otto that his job is no more noble than that of his friend Duke, the liquor store robber, or of the Blond Agents who legally rob, torture, and kill.

Eventually, after the Malibu is repossessed, stolen, and then recovered by the scientist, Otto gets possession of the car from the dying scientist. Instead of turning the car in immediately for the reward, Otto merely parks the car in the repo lot. Bud betrays Otto by stealing the car from the lot. Later, after reconciling with Otto, Bud is shot and wounded at a liquor store where Duke meets his demise. Bud is taken to the hospital while the Blond Agents and all of the Repo Men are looking for the Malibu. Otto is captured and tortured by the Blond Agents. He escapes with the aid of the Rodríguez Brothers. Through this interaction, Otto learns a solidarity with the men he thought were his enemies. Finally, everyone concludes that Bud is possession of the car and the alien bodies. Bud escapes the hospital and drives the now glowing Malibu back to the repo lot to claim his reward.

The reward is not meant for Bud. The Blond Agents shoot Bud as he exits the car. Dying, he mutters melodramatically, "I rather die on my feet than live on my knees." The glowing Malibu develops an intense force field which keeps everyone from getting near the car. When the local television preacher approaches the car, his Bible bursts into flames. Like all of the people who vaporized upon seeing the alien bodies, it seems that those who are not spiritually ready cannot possess the car or realize its implications. Miller, who understands what the car actually represents, has no trouble climbing into the car's driver seat. He tells Otto that he is going for a drive and beckons Otto to join him. Leila implores Otto to stay with her for the sake of their relationship. Otto mutters, "Fuck that", and joins Miller, proving that the young man has also become enlightened; able to leave the physical world behind. Miller puts the car in drive and it lifts off the ground. To Otto's amazement, the two soar around the city in the glowing car. Together they leave the earth for time travel in the Cosmos.