Slackers

I'm actually a huge fan of all teen films, but I think this one was vastly under-rated. Some comments give the impression that it is another gross-out teen romp with nothing new to offer. In actual fact although it may be ranked alongside films such as American Pie Road Trip etc, and though it shares common themes, it is actually a far superior film. As a result, people expect a film similar to the aforementioned, and are faced instead with one which has slightly more to offer. I found this very entertaining and surprising; quite subversive and original in actual fact, more likely to appeal to a greater intellect than that of a 13 year-old the jokes are more ironic and subtle in general, with a few obvious "gross-out" moments sprinkled in between. Though these as well are done with tongue firmly in cheek.

I would highly recommend this film, and prepare to be presently surprised by a film that most people fobbed off as another teen movie, but which is actually a lot more than that.

Although not the best comedy in recent memory, it's not the worst either. After starting out the year with the dreadful "Orange County", this one has something worse to compare it to. In "Slackers" there are some funny laugh-out-loud moments, even if they are kind of distasteful. First time director Dewey Nicks keeps the pace rolling with this predictable, yet amusing story. As long as you're not going in expecting a comedy masterpiece, you'll probably have a good time. This one follows the gross-out trend that "American Pie" helped to re-launch. Devon Sawa ("Final Destination") and James King ("Pearl Harbor") make a cute couple being torn apart by the purposely annoying and obsessed Jason Schwartzman ("Rushmore"). Throw in a typical "bet about the girl - she finds out and gets mad" plot and supposedly you'll get a successful teen movie. But wasn't this spoofed already? The characters are fairly amusing, but it's pretty hard to pull of a comedy that's funny during its entire length, especially when there's not a lot of new ideas to offer. After the 5th title change, the unoriginally named "Slackers" was chosen and scripted by "American Pie 2" writer David H. Steinberg. While it breaks no new ground and has a pretty cheesy ending, the movie was made for teens and will probably do well with them. If you fit the demographic or just enjoy gross-out humor, go check it out. Otherwise, don't saw I didn't warn you!

When "Slackers" was originally released in theaters, it was given a very low rating. This is difficult to understand, when it turned out to be a very creative movie. The characters are easy to enjoy, as the antics of Dave (Devon Sawa), Sam (Jason Segel), and Jeff (Michael Maronna) make them out to be some sort of wild "A-Team", with a variety of special skills. Ethan's (Jason Schwartzman) obsession over Angela (James King) is more dark than it is comical, and is a fairly good example of a not so rare obsession which is found in young men in everyday life. What I found to be most unique about the movie were the day-dream/imagination sequences, in which there is a good look into the minds of the characters. Although their thoughts are rather bizarre, I think real-people can make a connection when comparing it to their own times of letting their imagination stretch and be non-sensical. My favorite scene has to be the swimming scene between Dave and Angela at night in the school pool. It was beautifully filmed, and combined with the appropriate music, it is a very strong film sequence that really drew me in. Overall, I am glad that I took the time to watch this movie, as I regard it highly as a favorite of mine after now having seen it.

Jesus guy ! C'mon !!! this film is not War and Peace ! Do you rent Robocop thinking its going to be about the Russian Revolution ? No. Slackers is about a bunch of Slackers. They do everything they can to avoid getting kicked out of school whilst doing no work. That's it. the plot has landed.

Everything else is reasonably watchable. The evil dude (I cant remember his name, but he is "cool") is a real sicko, and the hero's of the piece aren't exactly likable, but you do kind of feel for them.

I would give this movie 6/10 (for effort mainly)

<Plus the scene with the old hooker in Hospital is a real good one. It made me cringe !!>

The film is amusing and Devon Sawa plays himself, yet again, in this teen comedy fare that takes place in College. The story centres around these three guys who cheat their way (elaborately) throughout college. This one 'loser' who calls himself Cool Ethan (played by Jason Schwartzman in a stand out role, discovers this and blackmails them in order to get a date with this hot chick that he is stalking. I use the term stalking loosely, he has a shrine dedicated to her, a video of her playing in this shrine 24/7 and he collects her hair all over campus and made a hair doll that he sleeps with/talks to and uses to masturbate. Weird right?

Formulaic script goes on and Sawa falls in love with the girl he was paid to seduce for Schwartzman. She discovers this and hates him, he has to do something romantic and win her back, yawn. Jason Segel is one of the three 'slackers' before his rise to fame and right after his role Freaks and Geeks. It's nothing big, just a supporting role.

The film is really weird and out there, even for a teen comedy. One of the slackers, the ginger one, sings to his penis...and his penis literally sings back to him. He has a sock on it and it sings, mouth moves and everything. Why is this scene here? What does it do for the film? I have no idea. This character is weird and funny though, one standout scene is when he has to finish an exam and the teacher calls for pencils down. He continues to write and flips off the teacher, the teacher yells that he has failed. When he walks up to the desk the teachers says don't even bother handing it in, the ginger asks if he even knows who he is. The teachers replies no, so the kid throws his paper in the middle of the pile of tests and throws them around, then runs away. Funny and something I can see actually happening....singing penis, not so much.

I did laugh, mainly because Schwartzman stole the film. Segel has gone on to be a part of a hit show and a regular for the Apatow crew. Schwartzman has a new show on television and has his bits with Wes Anderson. Sawa? I don't even know what he's doing anymore. He has his fame when he was younger and the girls wanted him. He got ugly and fell off the map. I wanted more of their elaborate cheating schemes and less of the love story that doesn't make sense. They love each other after two or three dates?