Slacker (1991)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Randy T

  
  A series of vignettes on life as a twenty-something resident in and around the city of Austin, Texas. Known in some circles as a "cult classic", <i>Slacker</i> features atrocious acting, shaky camera work and Madonna's pap smear.

• Melvin W

  
  Anti-Artist: Uh, I don't do much really, I just read, and work here, and, uh, sleep and eat, and, uh, watch movies.  This review is going to be pretty short, as there's nothing really worth talking about.  Slacker is a plotless film that follows losers around. Most of the… More
  Anti-Artist: Uh, I don't do much really, I just read, and work here, and, uh, sleep and eat, and, uh, watch movies.  This review is going to be pretty short, as there's nothing really worth talking about.  Slacker is a plotless film that follows losers around. Most of the time, these losers think they are geniuses. They talk about complicated issues, and give their theories on these issues. Every person the movie follows is that guy or girl you see on the street that starts talking to you about shit you don't care about. The only thing you can think about when around them is, I wanna get the fuck away from this weirdo.  Linklater made some good movies after this, and a bunch of critics adore this film. In my opinion, it is useless and boring. If listening to crackpots talk about nothing that really matters is your idea of a good time, have at it. I'll take Dazed and Confused, and Suburbia over this.

• Coxxie M

  
  if i was a cab driver who went to bed at 2:00 every morning and woke up at 4:30 every morning and worked with shitty, racist, boring, stupid people and had to drive a shitty car that worked less than half the time and had to drive around ugly places and pick up different shitty,… More
  if i was a cab driver who went to bed at 2:00 every morning and woke up at 4:30 every morning and worked with shitty, racist, boring, stupid people and had to drive a shitty car that worked less than half the time and had to drive around ugly places and pick up different shitty, boring, pretentious people like the one in the first monologue (Richard Linklater) and this stale prick started babbling at my fucking tired, shitty personality about quantum science and lucid dreaming or what the fuck ever then i think i would be fairly entitled to do what Robert De Niro did at the end of "Taxi Driver."

• Jim H

  
  This film depicts various characters in Austin, all of whom share the same post-modernist, anti-establishmentarian philosophy. The beginning of the film shows a man getting into a taxi cab and discussing quantum physics with the cab driver. When he gets out, the film's focus… More
  This film depicts various characters in Austin, all of whom share the same post-modernist, anti-establishmentarian philosophy. The beginning of the film shows a man getting into a taxi cab and discussing quantum physics with the cab driver. When he gets out, the film's focus switches to another story about a woman who got run over. The focus of the film gets passed from character to character over the next hour and forty-five minutes. It's an interesting idea - passing the film's action like a hot potato - but I found two major issues with the execution. First, every character is interchangeable. I can't imagine the quantum physics guy radically disagreeing with the conspiracy theorist or the old anarchist. The film could have been one long monologue by the same character; it seems only coincidental that it's divided into different people. Second, the stories are often senseless and pointless. Yes, I understand that the point of <i>Slacker</i> is to portray slackers who, on the surface, may lead senseless and pointless lives, but there are occasions when the bullshit these characters spew becomes overwhelmingly deep. The film defies all the usual structural demands; there's no climax, rising action, or denouement. It just ends. And overall, when it did, I though that I had just completed a chore, a marathon that got me nowhere and taught me nothing.

• Graham J

  
  A very original debut from Richard Linklater.

• Chris W

  
  Richard Linklater's debut film is one I was expecting to (or figured I would) love. Instead, I merely really like it. For now it gets a strong B+. Many of his trademarks (which coincidentally arew things I like anyway) show up here: rambling conversations (often… More
  Richard Linklater's debut film is one I was expecting to (or figured I would) love. Instead, I merely really like it. For now it gets a strong B+. Many of his trademarks (which coincidentally arew things I like anyway) show up here: rambling conversations (often intellectual/philosophical in nature), haivng the movie take place over the course of roughly 24 hours, oddball characters, long takes, and tracking shots. There is no pliot here, which'll alienate a lot of people, but I mostly liked that. This is essentaiily a plotless tour through the bohemian or slacker culture of Austin, Texas where the audience follows people from one conversation to another (it's a cool technique) and gets a glimpse at some oddball people that can be really fun to listen to. The film is something of a generational statement defining what makes Generation X tick. I't kind of plays like a free-form documentary, which is kind of cool. It's hard to tell how many of the people are really actors, and how much acting is really happening. Of the many eccentric characters, my two favorites are the Madonna Pap Smear Pusher (Butthole Surfers drummer Teresa Taylor) and an edlerly anarchist who befriends a guy who tries to burglarize his house. They probably are also the funneist and most interesting, but that's just me. I just wish that Taylor would have had more screen time. Even though this film is an acquired taste, it's still gonna have a limited appeal. I'd give it a higher grade, but it was a little more boring than I thought it might be, and also a bit too long and rambling. I'm glad I saw it though because it kind of seems like the sort of thing that I myself would make (or would like to). Probably the greatest compliment I can pay this film is that it really helped push along the independent film scene of the 1990s. Without this film Kevin Smith wouldn't have a career, and the popularizing of the slacker culture wouldn't exist, and not having those two things would be a real shame.

• Conner R

  
  It's a very particular type of movie. While I didn't find it all that fun or entertaining, it's a very important story being told. Generation X's meaning is literally being displayed on camera. A lot of the dialogue is obviously improvised and at times it feels… More
  It's a very particular type of movie. While I didn't find it all that fun or entertaining, it's a very important story being told. Generation X's meaning is literally being displayed on camera. A lot of the dialogue is obviously improvised and at times it feels more like a mockumentary than a narrative, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just frustrating at times when you're used to expecting a straight forward movie.

• Nicki M

  
  Interesting. Not a lot happens and there's no real plot to talk of, but it does have some appeal. What that is, I couldn't quite say.

• Aaron N

  
  Working on Same Painting: Sorry, I'm late. Having a Breakthrough Day: That's okay, time doesn't exist. The first film written and directed by Richard Linklater, this is a uniquely-structured and plotless film, following a single day in the life of an ensemble of… More
  Working on Same Painting: Sorry, I'm late. Having a Breakthrough Day: That's okay, time doesn't exist. The first film written and directed by Richard Linklater, this is a uniquely-structured and plotless film, following a single day in the life of an ensemble of mostly twenty-somethings in Austin. The film follows various characters and scenes, never staying with one character or conversation for more than a few minutes before picking up someone else in the scene and following them. Old Anarchist: And remember: the passion for destruction is also a creative passion. The movie is literally about nothing. We meet a whole assortment of characters, never see them again after their scenes consisting of either banter or dialog, and the movie eventually ends without having any standard structure. This is the kind of things some cult films are made of. Disgruntled Grad Student: Every action is a positive action, even if it has a negative result. Obviously done very cheaply and with no professional actors, the movie still manages to work due to the fact that the dialog is interesting, sometimes funny, but consistently approached in some sort of surrealist manner. Hitchhiker: Every single commodity you produce is a piece of your own death! This was one of the several films in the 90s that brought in the wave of independent films to wider audiences. It is also the film that inspired Kevin Smith to become a filmmaker. These points do not necessarily mean anything, but in terms of relating it somehow to someone, this is the kind of movie it is. Nothing happens, but it is filled with conversations that are interesting and intriguing. Yep, that is what will pass as a recommendation. Has Conquered Fear of Rejection: Do you have a car? S-T-E-V-E with a Van: Do you have a car, I have *a van*, lets go!

• Lenny M

  
  The movie is pointless.

• Michael S

  
  The greatest movie about people doing nothing you'll ever see.

• Michael G

  
  Very creative and really well done.

• Brandon K

  
  Pretentious isn't quite the word, but I suspect Linklater thought a lot of these conversations (and I use "conversations" lightly as it's more of a series of monologues) were a lot funnier or more interesting than they actually are.

• Sarah B

  
  Richard Linklater is definitely a god of filmmaking. I never thought that I could enjoy a film that's little more than people simply walking around and talking and to be fair, that's what this film is; constant dialogue. This film is said to have inspired Kevin Smith to… More
  Richard Linklater is definitely a god of filmmaking. I never thought that I could enjoy a film that's little more than people simply walking around and talking and to be fair, that's what this film is; constant dialogue. This film is said to have inspired Kevin Smith to become a filmmaker so do you really need any more incentive to watch it? I think not.

• Linda K

  
  This awesome film might not have a linear narrative but the discussion which the characters are having are brilliant! Linklater did a good job as a first time director!

• Sean L

  
  In theory I love this movie. In reality I don't even like it. It's a great concept and Linklater's direction is very good. Unfortunately I just didn't care for about 90% of the characters, and their conversations were mostly boring. Once or twice I'd get… More
  In theory I love this movie. In reality I don't even like it. It's a great concept and Linklater's direction is very good. Unfortunately I just didn't care for about 90% of the characters, and their conversations were mostly boring. Once or twice I'd get pulled in by a character, but then it would move on and I'd lose interest again. I respect the spirit of it, but I didn't really like it.

• Tom S

  
  I may completely forget about this or it may become one of my favorite movies ever. There's really no in between. We'll see.

• Patrick D

  
  It's like a journey through lifes of people who don't do a whole lot. It's like a stream of consciousness that is actually a series of snapshots of lives. It's pretty engrossing, if you let it in with open arms.

• Wu C

  
  What's the fuss about?

Read all 19 featured audience ratings