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Dudes (1987)

Directed By: Penelope Spheeris
Screenplay By: Randall Jahnson
Starring: Jon Cryer, Daniel Roebuck, Flea, Lee Ving, Catherine Mary Stewart, Glenn Withrow, Pete Willcox and more
Rated: R


Dudes is a really odd comedy from director Penelope Spheeris, who is responsible for the Decline of Western Civilization. The documentary, not the actual decline. I blame that on global warming and people who don't use their turn signals when driving.

Beware, spoilers abound here.

I am not joking when I tell you this movie includes Glenn's character being attacked by Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, getting in a fight with Ducky from Pretty in Pink, and, of course, dying. Oh, but not just any death. This time there's horns. And did I mention the sideburns? No? Well, the screencaps will do a better job of it than I ever could.

In case you haven't figured it out, Dudes is a really odd movie.

We start out in New York City, with three punk friends - Grant (Jon Cryer - yes, I know. Ducky as a punk. It's somewhat inconceivable), Biscuit (Daniel Roebuck, known to me as Rick Bettina from Nash Bridges. He seriously played one of the most annoying characters I have ever come across on television, outside of Kramer on Seinfeld. Recently you may have seen him blow up on LOST - he was Arzt) and Milo (Flea - yes, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I am not kidding.). After a bad encounter with a hot girl's boyfriend in a restaurant and chatting about their futures, Milo convinces the guys to come with him to Hollywood. So, they pack up the Volkswagen Beetle and start the drive from New York to LA.

They pull over to help a man on the side of the road - Daredelvis and his travelling Elvis show. He says if they ever need anything, he's there. They soon decide to pull over (they're in the Arizona desert now) and camp out for the night. They chat around the fire for awhile - and I'm sorry, but Flea? Please continue to play the bass. I beg you. No sooner have they laid their punky heads down, when the baddies show up.

Lead bad guy, Missoula (Lee Ving, who is just frickin' awesome in this lol. Lee's the lead singer of the band Fear, who Flea played with in the early '80s) and his bunch of redneck gang members are usually out patrolling the deserts for Mexicans to rough up and kill, only tonight they've come across these punk kids from New York. Glenn appears as Wes, one of Missoula's henchmen, and proceeds to rob Milo of his jacket. The baddies steal their cash and Milo decides the way to make it all better is to fight back. He then proceeds to smash Wes in the head with a rock.

They run, baddies follow, and eventually Milo is killed when he falls and is captured. Grant and Biscuit stay quiet, and the next morning they find a cop - the only problem is there's no evidence. As the guys begin to see Old West images (Grant sees a cowboy, while later on Biscuit dreams of his past life as a Native Indian ... ), they decide to take revenge on Missoula and his men. They meet up with Jessie (Catherine Mary Stewart, who appeared with Glenn in Nightflyers) who takes them to her place. Grant learns to ride horses, while Biscuit ... well, he embraces his past life, let's just say that.

Using info gathered from a dying henchman of Missoula's, they know where to find him. As they roll into town, they learn everyone is at the local rodeo, which they visit. While there, they spot Wes and discover he's the local drug dealer. Luckily the guys also spot Daredelvis (who is essentially working as an Elvis impersonating rodeo clown), who agrees to help them. Daredelvis lures Wes to his trailer where Grant and Biscuit confront him and take Milo's jacket back. They ask after Missoula, but Wes escapes. Grant goes after him, and the two of them end up fighting each other - in the bull enclosure. Grant gets away, but Wes is gored to death by the bull. Yes, yet again, Glenn's character dies.

The guys camp out in a ghost town and are again visited by the cowboy and Native Indians - they believe it was a dream/hallucination until Grant finds a matchbook in his pocket from the saloon in his "dream". They then continue on and find their way to a bar where Missoula and his henchman are hanging out. After a confrontation there and a gunfight in a movie theatre (playing an Old West film, natch) which results in Grant and Biscuit being thrown in the slammer (and a call to Jessie to save their sorry butts), Missoula and his guys break into the jail to kill Grant and Biscuit. Jessie rescues them, Biscuit wounds Missoula with an arrow and Grant takes off on horseback after Missoula. After a shootout in an old warehouse, Grant and Biscuit are victorious and have revenged their friend's death.

It's definitely a strange movie - with a decent soundtrack if you're into the early 80s punk scene (Vandals, Jane's Addiction).

Purchase Information

DVD - Not available, although I presumably have some people in China to thank for the copy I bought on eBay
VHS - You can sometimes find it on eBay and it usually goes for $20 USD or more.

Pictures
(Click to enlarge)



Flea (oh, let's just credit him with his human name - Michael Balzary) and Glenn. And sideburns. Surprisingly, not large enough to warrant a separate credit in the movie.



Milo whacks Wes in the head with a rock. If I had told you all that Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers attacks Glenn with a rock in this movie, would you have believed me without pictoral proof? I think not.



Wes out plying his drugs at the rodeo, like a good drug dealer should.



Daredelvis chats up Wes for Grant and Biscuit.



Wes shows Daredelvis what he's got for sale.



Grant jumps out with his big ol' gun.



Wes is a little apprehensive of said big ol' gun.



Wes is all "WTF?" when Biscuit shows himself.



"Your buddy was the first white guy we killed, honest!" Yeah, Biscuit's not too impressed with that.



Wes takes off running, with Grant in pursuit.



If someone had told me, "Hey, Glenn Withrow and Jon Cryer have a fight scene in this movie." I would've been all "How long have you been hitting the crack pipe?" but it's true!



Uh oh, Grant is getting the upper hand.



That kind of looks like a really mad bull over there. Maybe getting the hell out of Dodge is a good idea.



Can't you run any faster?!



Wes, contemplating his fate as a pin cushion for an angry bull.



I'm thinking he might die.



Yeah ... that doesn't look like a nice way to go.



It's never nice when the rodeo ends with the coroner.

So there you have it - sideburns, Flea, fights with Jon Cryer and death by goring. Try and find a copy on eBay if you can - it's worth it for the sideburns alone lol.
 

Video Clips




In this clip, Daredelvis agrees to go and lure Wes to his trailer so that Grant and Biscuit can 1) get Milo's jacket back and 2) find out where Missoula is.