Slacker (1991)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Slacker rests its shiftless thumb on the pulse of a generation with fresh filmmaking that captures the tenor of its time while establishing a benchmark for 1990s indie cinema.
Movie Info
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Cast
as Should Have Stayed at Bus Station, Should Have Stayed at the Bus Station
as Taxi Driver
as Roadkill
as Jogger
as Running Late
as Hit-and-run Son
as Grocery Grabber of Death's Bounty
as Officer Bozzio
as Street Musician
as Officer Love
as Walking to Coffee Shop
as Espresso Czar/Masonic Malcontent
as Giant Cappuccino
as Dostoyevsky Wannabe
as Looking for Missing Friend
as Been on the Moon Since the 50s
as Tura Santana Look-Alike
as Co-op Guy
as Bush Basher
as Comb Game Player
as Sadistic Comb Game Player
as Ultimate Loser
as Stephanie from Dallas
as Papsmear Pushover
as T-Shirt Terrorist
as Anti-Traveler
as Wants to Leave Country
as Sidewalk Psychic
as Devoted Follower
as Happy-Go-Lucky Guy
as Two for One Special
as Has Change
as Traumatized Yacht Owner
as Cranky Cook
as Paranoid Paper Reader
as Recluse in Bathrobe
as Shut-in Girlfriend
as Peeping Kid
as Coke Machine Robber
as Budding Capitalist Youth
as Jilted Boyfriend
as Guy Who Tosses Typewriter
as Based on Authoritative Sources
as Has Faith in Groups
as Street Dweller
as `Conspiracy A-Go-Go' Author
as Nova
as GTO
as Hitchhiker Awaiting `True Call'
as Video Interviewer
as Video Cameraman
as Sitting at Cafe
as Hit Up for Cigarettes
as Video Playing Store Security
as Shoplifter
as Old Anarchist
as Anarchist's Daughter
as Burglar
as Get-Away Accomplice
as Cadillac Crook
as Video Backpacker
as Slapping Boyfriend
as Choking Girlfriend
as Disgruntled Grad Student
as Having a Breakthrough Day
as Teacup Sculpter
as Working on Same Painting
as Card Playing Waiter
as Cafe Card Player No. 1
as Cafe Card Player No. 2
as Scooby Doo Philosopher
as Papa Smurf
as Questions Happiness
as Has Conquered Fear of Rejection
as Smoking Waiter
as S-T-E-V-E with a Van
as Doorman at Club
as Bike Rider with Nice Shoes
as Cousin from Greece
as Sitting on Ledge
as Handstamping Arm Licker
as Pixi-Visionary
as To Be Buried By History
as Going to Catch a Show
as Band Playing at Club
as Dairy Queen Photographer
as Anti-Artist
as Late Night Pick-up
as Watching Early Morning TV
as Old Man Recording Thoughts
as Post-Modern Paul Revere
as Super 8 Cameraman
as Club Owner [uncredited]
as Day Tripper
as All-Night Partier
as Convertible Driver
as Tosses Camera Off Cliff
as Bicyclist (uncredited)
Critic Reviews for Slacker
All Critics (35) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (30) | Rotten (5) | DVD (9)
What Linklater has captured is a generation of bristling minds unable to turn their thoughts into action.
The experience is funny, surreal and weird. Sometimes it's even scary.
This is a work of scatterbrained originality, funny, unexpected and ceaselessly engaging.
A movie with an appeal almost impossible to describe.
On the whole, this is a fascinating example of apparently fly-on-the-wall film-making, made all the more intriguing when you discover it was all planned like a military exercise.
Pretension is kept at bay by the fact that whenever someone is holding court, the others in the scene barely seem to be listening.
Audience Reviews for Slacker
A perfect portrait of Austin, Texas in the nineties, this film is full of vignettes of what it is like living out your twenties in that time period. It balances between being a love letter to Austin, and a diatribe about the collective characters that you meet when you're young. Linklater's films have often been heralded as centering on realism in contrast against the absurd. From the "Anti-Artist" in the bar scene to the conspiracy theorist in the book store, we've heard, and listened to, and felt exhausted by many of these same people in our lives. Though this film is nearly twenty-five years old, it feels just as relevant in today's times. Academia is always full of hotheads and passionate centenarians alike. This too is the world of liberal society, happy to philosophize about every aspect of life but intent on not living it. This film is funny, intellectually stimulating, and perversely amazing with its characters and cult following. A definitive piece of Linklater filmmaking and cultural iconoclast in the world of indie filmmaking, this is a must watch, in any case.
Super Reviewer
In Richard Linklater's first feature film, there are clear moments of technical mishaps and set issues, however, with such an ambitious project most of that is forgivable for being his first film. There is no linear plot in this film, but it feels more like a relay race/hangout film, as one scene with characters seamlessly leads into another scene with new characters, and so on. "Slacker" is all about the lives of burnout teenagers as they live their lives after college. It was just very interesting to see how alike and how different some people are from each other. This film is brilliantly written, but that is what Richard Linklater's films are (character driven). Aside from some technical issues that may or may not take you out of the film, you should be able to really enjoy this film. It is a fantastic first attempt for director Richard Linklater, who Produced, Directed, Wrote, and appeared in this film. "Slacker" is great!
Super Reviewer
Even in this early stage of his career, Linklater makes his ambition known. Though the entire thing probably won't resonate with everyone, there may in fact be something for everyone in this weird, meandering narrative experiment that will change the way you think about the strangers you see every day.
Super Reviewer
Slacker Quotes
| Working on Same Painting: | Sorry I'm late. |
| Sidewalk Psychic: | It's all right, time doesn't exist. |