Slacker (1990)

A day in the life of Austin, Texas as the camera roams from place to place and provides a brief look at the overeducated, the social misfits, the outcasts and the oddballs.

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writer:

Richard Linklater

Stars:

Richard Linklater, Rudy Basquez, Jean Caffeine

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

Presents a day in the life in Austin, Texas among its social outcasts and misfits, predominantly the twenty-something set, using a series of linear vignettes. These characters, who in some manner just don't fit into the establishment norms, move seamlessly from one scene to the next, randomly coming and going into one another's lives. Highlights include a UFO buff who adamantly insists that the U.S. has been on the moon since the 1950s, a woman who produces a glass slide purportedly of Madonna's pap smear, and an old anarchist who sympathetically shares his philosophy of life with a robber.

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Plot Keywords:

austin texas | twenty something | philosophy | anarchist | pseudo intellectual | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 July 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Richard Linklater's Slacker

Filming Locations:

Texas, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,307, 5 July 1991, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,228,108

Company Credits

Production Co:

Detour Filmproduction

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 100 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Black and White (bar scene) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Only six lights were used to shoot this film.

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Goofs

In the pap smear scene the street sign for 2nd Street is facing the wrong way.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Should Have Stayed at Bus Station: [babbling to silent cab driver] Man, I just had the weirdest dream - back on the bus there? Did you ever have one of those dreams that are completely real. I mean they're so vivid. It's just like completely real. It's like, there's always something bizarre going on, though. I have one about every 2 years or something. I always remember 'em real good. Like there's always someone getting run over, or something really weird. Um, one time I had lunch with Tolstoy. Another time I was a ...

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the credits, the usual disclaimer is replaced with: "This story was based on fact. Any similiarity with fictional events or characters is entirely coincidental."

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: V.I. Warshawski/Trust/Life Stinks/Mobsters/Slacker (1991)

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Soundtracks

America's King
Written and Performed by Triangle Mallet Apron

User Reviews

The plot is... there is no plot

This movie has no discernable "plot" except to follow the lives of some of the most interesting and quirky people you are liable to meet. You follow one person, you get a snapshot of their life and the movie then takes off on the life of a person that may just be walking by on the street. You get just enough to encapsulate where they are at in life right now. Most are going no where and this is the reason for the movies title. Great dialogue here and great stuff to get you thinking about the strangest things (Smurfs as Hindu propaganda???). Great movie if you will just give yourself over to it and release all expectations as far as what a movie is supposed to be.