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Under the Radar

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Speaking for myself, and as a lover of film, I have always respected Richard Linklater as a director ever since my first viewing of 'Dazed and Confused'. For many attendng my high school, watching that movie was practically a right of passage. It was like, the only movie at the time that totally got what us kids were thinking. To some, Linklater could have taken the torch from John Hughes as the filmmaker who spoke for the youth of today. Hell, it, combined with 'That 70's Show', pretty much made it so a bunch of 70s styles came back, including things like bell bottom jeans.

However, I'm not here to talk about 'Dazed and Confused' this month, I'm here to talk about every other Linklater movie I've missed along the way (for real, I've seen so few, but have enjoyed everything I've seen). Starting things off here with 'Slacker', this marks Linklater's sort of kind of debut as writer/director, although he comes close with the concept of something called 'It's Impossible to Learn to Plow by Reading Books'. Either way, this is probably the big debut he's known for.

So what's it all about? It's actually really simple. Taking pace in Austin, Texas, we see a bunch of different stories compiling in what is essentially a voice for the weirdos. It takes every nut you've seen from the street, conspiracy theorists, the over-educated, and just people with mental health issues and tells you their story. That said, if those kind of people drive you nuts, this film won't do you any favors. In a roundabout way, I mean that as a compliment though, because the film holds a certain realism with it as it goes.

That said, in a weird way, I found it sort of fascinating. Just to hear what these people had to say, and to watch as your average Joes and Janes would listen to their ramblings. You pretty much feel what they feel - a little creeped out, but perhaps wondering if there's something to what's being said.

Linklater has this almost hyper-realistic style to a lot of his movies. In many, many ways, this reminded me of one of the few I have seen of his called 'Waking Life'. In my opinion, that film could almost be a refurbished 'Slacker', but discusses topics from a more philosophical point of view as opposed to something that leans more towards conspiracy, like this. Personally, I enjoyed 'Waking Life' a LOT more, and would recommend it to a higher degree.

However, that's not to say this film should just be avoided, either. It has some stuff to say, it's often pretty funny, and again, it speaks for the average freak off the street. It seems weird, but one has to admit that it's not something very deeply explored in as honest a fashion as this.

In the end, this is a movie to sit down and watch if you feel like a good thinker. Although, from 1991, it may feel a bit dated on subject matter, it still provides a fascinating perspective from the other side of things. It's not something I'd recommend to just anyone and everyone, but I thought it was neat for what it was, and a pretty damned solid "debut" for Linklater.

3/5

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