Suburbia (1983) review

Teenager Evan (Bill Coyne) is living with his abusive mother, runs away from her and winds up living with other young adults (Chris Pedersen, Jennifer Clay, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc.) who also have terrible home lives and spend their time going to punk shows (D.I., The Vandals and T.S.O.L. are all featured) and ticking off the L.A. community.  It's a shame there are some truly ugly moments in this (not one but two women have their clothes ripped off them, wild canines are shot, one child is killed by a dog and another is run over by a car) because you can tell Spheeris has a great deal of empathy and understanding for the misguided youth, and while the acting might not be all that great (so many line readings!) the sense of authenticity is there (and there's nothing more punk than starting a fist fight at a funeral).  She would revisit this very subject many years later in the more refined documentary The Decline of Western Civilization Part III.