Movie

Slacker

1990 · 97 min

A drifting, talky ramble through oddball conversations that feels like people-watching on a lazy afternoon, amusing and aimless.

Directed by: Richard Linklater
Genres: Comedy
Starring: Richard Linklater, Rudy Basquez, Jean Caffeine

Overview: Austin, Texas, is an Eden for the young and unambitious, from the enthusiastically eccentric to the dangerously apathetic. Here, the nobly lazy can eschew responsibility in favor of nursing their esoteric obsessions. The locals include a backseat philosopher who passionately expounds on his dream theories to a seemingly comatose cabbie, a young woman who tries to hawk Madonna's Pap test to anyone who will listen and a kindly old anarchist looking for recruits.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.

Directed by: Richard Linklater
Genres: Comedy
Starring: Richard Linklater, Rudy Basquez, Jean Caffeine

In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: whimsicalstrength 2 of 3
satiricalstrength 2 of 3
lightstrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: identity
isolation
conspiracy
art
freedom
Places: big city
road trip
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: ensemble
nonlinear
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	1
Humour	7
Realism	8
Romance	2
Tension	2
Darkness	3
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	3

Titles like Slacker

Movie

Mystery Train

1989

A deadpan, drifting night in a shabby hotel where odd strangers cross paths and nothing quite resolves.

Whimsical, slow-burn · about identity and isolation · ensemble

Via: whimsical
identity
isolation
ensemble
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 106 min

Details

Mystery TrainHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Everybody Wants Some!!

2016

A loose, affectionate hangout that drifts through parties and flirtations with an easy, nostalgic warmth.

Same director: Richard Linklater · Light · about identity and freedom · ensemble

Also: Same director: Richard Linklater
Via: light
identity
freedom
ensemble
Pacing: measured
Attention: easy-watch
Runtime: 117 min

Details

Everybody Wants Some!!Hidden from your suggestions.

TV series

How To with John Wilson

2020–2023

A gently absurd, oddly moving ramble through city streets and strangers' lives, where digressions become the point and awkward honesty feels weirdly comforting.

Whimsical, satirical · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: whimsical
satirical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Seasons: 3

Details

How To with John WilsonHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Lions Love

1969

A loose, drifting hangout with playful experimental edges, more interested in mood and ideas than story.

Whimsical, satirical, slow-burn · about identity and art · ensemble

Via: whimsical
satirical
identity
art
ensemble
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 110 min

Details

Lions LoveHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Midnight Delight

2016

A loose, talky hangout of odd conversations that drifts between funny and philosophical, asking patience but rewarding with quiet absurdity.

Whimsical, light, slow-burn · about identity and isolation · ensemble

Via: whimsical
light
identity
isolation
ensemble
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 85 min

Details

Midnight DelightHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Waking Life

2001

A dreamy, talky drift through big ideas, visually fluid and intellectually restless, asking you to ponder rather than follow a plot.

Same writer: Richard Linklater · Whimsical, slow-burn · about identity and freedom · nonlinear

Also: Same writer: Richard Linklater
Via: whimsical
identity
freedom
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 101 min

Details

Waking LifeHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

It Must Be Heaven

2019

A quiet, deadpan drift through strange cities, where small absurdities quietly echo displacement and belonging.

Whimsical, satirical, slow-burn · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: whimsical
satirical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: demanding
Runtime: 103 min

Details

It Must Be HeavenHidden from your suggestions.

Short film

The Attack

1984

A brisk, deadpan oddity that turns a random slap into a playful philosophical joke you watch with a bemused smile.

Satirical · about identity and art

Via: satirical
identity
art
Pacing: brisk
Attention: easy-watch
Runtime: 9 min

Details

The AttackHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Aren't You Happy?

2019

A drifting, wryly observed wander through city encounters that feels like a deadpan essay on modern malaise.

Satirical, slow-burn · about identity and isolation · nonlinear

Via: satirical
identity
isolation
nonlinear
Pacing: slow-burn
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 80 min

Details

Aren't You Happy?Hidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Lost in America

1985

A wry, low-key comedy of escalating mishaps that makes you chuckle at the absurdity of chasing freedom.

Satirical, light · about identity and freedom

Via: satirical
light
identity
freedom
Pacing: measured
Attention: easy-watch
Runtime: 91 min

Details

Lost in AmericaHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Charm's Incidents

1996

A playful, disjointed drift through odd vignettes, more like watching poetry performed than following a story.

Whimsical, satirical · about identity and isolation · ensemble

Via: whimsical
satirical
identity
isolation
ensemble
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 88 min

Details

Charm's IncidentsHidden from your suggestions.

Movie

Day Off

1982

A quiet, wry slice of urban drift, following mundane errands until the exhaustion of doing nothing becomes quietly funny and faintly sad.}{.

Satirical, light · about identity and isolation

Via: satirical
light
identity
isolation
Pacing: measured
Attention: engaged
Runtime: 75 min

Details

Day OffHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres: comedy
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Written by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Richard Linklater, Rudy Basquez, Jean Caffeine, Jan Hockey, Stephan Hockey, Mark James, Samuel Dietert, Bob Boyd
Cinematography: Lee Daniel
Runtime: 97 min
Country: United States of America
Languages: English

TMDB IMDb Letterboxd Wikipedia Wikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.

Slacker

How it feels

More like this

Titles like Slacker

Where to watch in the UK

Details