Many young people succumb to self-destructiveness as they pass through the transition from youth to adulthood in their 20s. This turf is covered in subUrbia, a hard-edged drama directed by Richard Linklater (Slackers) and written by Eric Bogosian (Talk Radio).

When Pony (Jayce Bartok), a rock star, arrives in Burnfield for a visit, a group of his old high school buddies gather to meet him. They include Jeff (Giovanni Ribissi), a depressed nihilist; Tim (Nicky Katt), an alcoholic Air Force dropout; Buff (Steve Zahn), a sex-obsessed pizza joint employee; Sooze (Amie Carey), an aspiring performance artist; and Bee-Bee (Dina Spybey), who is desperately trying to stay off drugs.

Pony's visit brings out the worst in his friends who get caught up in fits of anger, melancholy, jealousy, envy, and suicidal despair. A hard-working Pakistani who runs a convenience store where they hang out says to them, "You people are so stupid, you throw it all away." The suburban dream is skewered here with the film's grim portrait of the soullessness of these twentysomethings.