Slacker (1991)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writer:

Richard Linklater (writer)

Release Date:

5 July 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Presents a day in the life in Austin, Texas among its social outcasts and misfits, predominantly the twenty-something set...

Plot Keywords:

Philosophy | UFO | Austin Texas | Anarchist | Terrorism

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Richard Linklater	...	Should Have Stayed at Bus Station
Rudy Basquez	...	Taxi Driver
Jean Caffeine	...	Roadkill
Jan Hockey	...	Jogger
Stephan Hockey	...	Running Late
Mark James	...	Hit-and-Run Son
Samuel Dietert	...	Grocery Grabber of Death's Bounty
Bob Boyd	...	Officer Bozzio
Terrence Kirk	...	Officer Love
Keith McCormack	...	Street Musician
Jennifer Schaudies	...	Walking to Coffee Shop
Dan Kratochvil	...	Espresso Czar / Masonic Malcontent
Maris Strautmanis	...	Giant Cappuccino
Brecht Andersch	...	Dostoyevsky Wannabe
Tommy Pallotta	...	Looking for Missing Friend (as Tom Pallotta)

Also Known As:

Richard Linklater's Slacker (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

97 min | 100 min (DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | Canada:G (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Detour Filmproduction

Trivia:

The "Oblique Strategies" cards that appear in the movie were originally invented by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt in 1975.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the GTO guy arrives he places a few aluminum drink cans on the ground and they clearly sound empty. When he and Nova pick up the Hitchhiker Awaiting 'True Call', they give him one of the cans which is now full.

Quotes:

Hitchhiker: I may live badly, but at least I don't have to *work* to do it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in One Minutes (2009)

Soundtrack:

America's King

Diversional social dissection (whatever that means)

Slacker is the first feature-length offering from indie filmmaker Richard Linklater (of later Dazed and Confused fame). After touring American film festivals with great success, Slacker was blow up to 35mm print and released on the commercial market. The film itself is extremely difficult to categorise, being devoid of conventional plot and major characters. Instead, individuals or groups of characters are followed around for several minutes each, until the camera is distracted by a passer-by. The end result is that close to a hundred characters are met, each linked only in eccentricity, all loosely categorised as 'slackers': students, the under- and unemployed, petty criminals, artists, musicians, conspiracy theorists.

Slacker is an interesting experiment. However, the transitory nature of the script is fairly intensive upon the audience. Some characters work, some don't. Some may seem familiar to current or former students and slackers out there. Of particular praise is the final scene, featuring a group of young people playing with 8mm cameras, which would have to be about the most joyful scene in film history. Overall, Slacker is an interesting experiment and is well worth a look at.

Three and a half stars (from five)