Слакер: День из жизни Остина

1990 film by Richard Linklater

Slacker premiered at the USA Film Festival on April 21, 1990, and was released in the United States on July 5, 1991, by Orion Classics. The film received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $1 million against a production budget of $23,000. In 2012, Slacker was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Slacker follows a single day in the life of an ensemble of mostly under 30 bohemians and misfits in Austin, Texas. The film follows various eccentric and misfit 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. The characters include Linklater as a talkative taxi passenger, a UFO buff who insists the U. S. has been on the moon since the 1950s, a JFK conspiracy theorist, an elderly anarchist who befriends a man trying to rob his house, a television set collector, and a hipster woman trying to sell a Madonna pap smear. The woman selling the pap smear appears on the film poster, and was played by Butthole Surfers drummer Teresa Taylor. Most of the characters grapple with feelings of social exclusion or political marginalization, which are recurring themes in their conversations. They discuss social class, terrorism, joblessness, and government control of the media.

The idea for Slacker came from Richard Linklater's "long gestating" desire to make a movie about characters who are unconnected except by film's movement. Linklater had considered the idea for five years, but only began work on it after finishing filming his low budget debut, It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books, which he shot on Super 8 film with a minimal cast. The movie was financed with money from Linklater's friends and relatives, as well as credit cards and savings. Slackers working title was No Longer/Not Yet.

Slacker did not have an organized casting process. Rather, Linklater employed friends and approached people in the street with off beat looks or personality. He carefully worked with each actor to shape their roles, carefully constructing the improvisational look of the film. Linklater also cast notable Austinites of the era, such as Louis Black, Abra Moore, and Teresa Taylor of the band Butthole Surfers. According to Linklater, the film was shot without permits. They were approached by the police at one point, but were allowed to proceed when Linklater explained they were making a movie.

Slacker was released on VHS in June 1992 by Orion Home Video. An estimated 7,000 copies were shipped (it was also released on LaserDisc, but a reliable estimate of units shipped is lacking). A book also titled Slacker containing the screenplay, interviews, and writing about the film was published by St. Martin's Press, also in 1992. The film was re released on VHS on March 7, 2000, by MGM. The film was released to DVD worldwide on January 13, 2003. A two disc Criterion Collection boxed set edition was released on August 31, 2004, in the US and Canada only. The set has many "extras", including a book on the film and Linklater's first feature film, It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books, released on home video for the first time. Entertainment Weekly gave this edition an "A−" rating.

The release of the film is often taken as a starting point (along with the earlier Sex, Lies, and Videotape) for the independent film movement of the 1990s. Many of the independent filmmakers of that period credit the film with inspiring or opening doors for them, including Kevin Smith, who has said that the film was the inspiration for Clerks. Linklater has said that he wanted the word to have positive connotations. For example, in a self interview in the Austin Chronicle, Linklater stated: "Slackers might look like the left behinds of society, but they are actually one step ahead, rejecting most of society and the social hierarchy before it rejects them. The dictionary defines slackers as people who evade duties and responsibilities. A more modern notion would be people who are ultimately being responsible to themselves and not wasting their time in a realm of activity that has nothing to do with who they are or what they might be ultimately striving for." In the early 1990s, Slacker was widely considered an accurate depiction of Generation X because the film's young adult characters are more interested in quasi intellectual pastimes and socializing than career advancement. Linklater—who is a member of the "Baby Boom" generation—has long since eschewed the role of generational spokesperson. Moreover, Slacker includes members of various generations, and many of its themes are universal rather than generation specific.