Whenever someone asks me what my favorite all-time movie is, I typically waver between answering with one of four films. Depending on where I am at in my life and how I'm feeling at that particular minute, I'll either answer with "The Godfather" (if I'm feeling a tad bit violent and especially fond and protective of my family), "Razor's Edge" (a wonderful non-comedy film from Bill Murray that always makes me rethink my life and its purpose), "High Fidelity" (because music means more to me than anything else in life, and this film is filled with characters who feel the same way), or "Slacker."
"Slacker" is Richard Linklater's first major film release, and I learned today it became available on YouTube for free viewing. "Slacker" went a long way toward helping create the "indie" movie scene that thrives today, but it also went a long way to making me the weirdo I'm pretty fond of.
You probably know Linklater from directing "Dazed and Confused" (also awesome), "Waking Life" (artistically beautiful), "Scanner Darkly" (the jury is still out for me), and "The School of Rock" (the first film that fit Jack Black like a glove). But "Slacker," it's special. Oh so very special. At least to me.
I saw "Slacker" at The Ross Theater way back in the day. That was the only place in Lincoln you could see it. We're talking a very obscure film where the masses where concerned. This wasn't mall or movie complex material. My girlfriend at the time took me, and I vividly remember as walking into the theater thinking, "What the hell am I getting myself into here?" But damn if "Slacker," just like about everything else in my life that has ended up pleasantly surprising me, didn't turn my world upside down.
I still think of that girl when I think of "Slacker," and I give her major credit for opening my eyes to a whole new world that didn't exist prior. Maybe it was because I wasn't a terribly enlightened soul at the time, but "Slacker" made me see and feel things that never appeared in the fabric before. In short, the movie sent me down philosophical roads that I'd like to think I still travel upon, or at least try to.
I haven't met too many people over the years that have watched "Slacker." I've forced a couple of people to view it with me over the years, and pretty much every time has ended with the same reaction: "Uh, that . . . was . . . different." But I'm cool with that. I've learned over time that many of the things I gravitate to aren't available for mass consumption. Often, sharing something full of light and wisdom and potential is better done on a small scale. Not everything is meant for everyone. "Slacker" is definitely one of those movies.
I've often thought over the years and the repeated viewings of this movie about what it is I like so much. A big part of my love stems from the constant movement that exists in the film. There are no "scenes." Every minute just flows into the next, but it all fits together seamlessly. Just like life. There's seemingly no start and no stop.
A big part of my love is also due to the theme (if there indeed is one) that there's no hurry to life. Examination happens at its own pace. Responsibility, my friends, isn't always something to aspire it. Broadening one's base, however, almost always is. "Slacker" exudes that mentality.
Certainly, "Slacker" appeals to me immensely because of its quirkiness. I'm a big believer in the quirky. I like music that resides "left of the dial." I love ideas that float left or right of center. I like people who don't follow convention. I like those who stray and explore and daydream and form hypotheses that are simultaneously impossible and definite. Up until "Slacker," I wouldn't say I was a devoted traveler of the mainstream, but I didn't venture too far away from it that I couldn't make my way back. "Slacker" completely and utterly blasted a new trail for me, one that I didn't care where it took me. I haven't been interested in getting off that path since I got on it some 20-plus years later, either.
Different entities and different people enter your life at different times for different reasons. The key, I believe, is always having your eyes open so that you're prepared to recognize them when they do come knocking, and then for God's sake, let them in. Let them in.
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