Slacker

1991 movie

Rating: 17/20

Plot: A day in the life of Austin's lunatic fringe. Should Have Stayed at Bus Station, Grocery Grabber of Death's Bounty, Hit-and-Run Son, Espresso Czar/Masonic Malcontent, Dostoyevsky Wannabe, Been on the Moon Since the 50's, Tura Satana Look-Alike, Comb Game and Sadistic Comb Game Players, Pap Smear Pusher, Sidewalk Psychic, Happy-Go-Lucky Guy, Traumatized Yacht Owner, Recluse in Bathrobe, Guy Who Tosses Typewriter, 'Conspiracy A-Go-Go' Author, Hitchiker Awaiting 'True Call,' Old Anarchist, Teacup Sculpter, Scooby Doo Philosopher, Papa Smurf, Bike Rider with Nice Shoes, Handstamping Arm Licker, Dairy Queen Photographer, Old Man Recording Thoughts, Day Tripper, and dozens of others wander, interact, and philosophize.

This movie has such a unique rhythm and flow that I'll admit isn't for everybody, but if you just allow yourself to float with the current, it's a treat. Definitely an experience as the rules of cinema are completely trashed. It's metaphysical comic pages, sleepy koans, and scrambled haiku, and you can wait for a central character, search for a central theme, or try to follow a plot, but it ain't gonna happen. Ideas, ideas, ideas! They come in sketches and jabs, and I'm not really sure they all fit together and add up to anything, but that's not the point. I think this works as one of the most insightful and humorous glimpses at the minds of human beings in film history. Linklater's camera is a completely objective one, and the characters stick around until they're finished sticking around and then wander out of the motion picture never to be seen again. The approach--filming snippets of characters and then passing the baton to another character or set of characters who have wandered on screen--never gets tiresome, but I sort of wish it was all real time. There's some amazing acting considering nobody in the film is an actor, and the dialogue, on which the actors collaborated, just seems fresh and is quotable and humorous. What's really cool about the movie is that you could close your eyes, reach in and grab a random character, and probably find enough in that character to make devote ninety minutes to. Slacker is probably too weird to be an instant classic or a voice for Generation X or anything like that, but I can't imagine many people watching this and not enjoying at least parts of it. Different viewers will definitely feel connected to different scenes and have different favorite characters. This is also the type of movie that will change every time you see it.