Click here to buy movie posters!
|
The Movie: "Slackers" is a perfectly promising movie with a perfectly promising cast. "Slackers", however, really has no interest in being anything besides being the next gross-out comedy. The film actually starts off well: a trio of professional slackers (Devon Sawa, Jason Segel, and Michael C. Maronna) lead by Dave (Sawa) pull off a complex scam that allows them access to a test and one of them to fake getting hit by a truck. There's even some funny lines: when one of the three scams their way into a free birthday celebration, he's congratulated and responds, "I know, third one this week." When one of their classmates, Ethan (Jason Schwartzman of "Rushmore") catches the three cheating, he decides to blackmail them into helping Angela (James King) fall for him - in reality, she won't give him the time of day. Then - and stop me if you've heard this one before - Dave falls for her. Schwartzman displayed brilliant comedic timing in director Wes Anderson's "Rushmore", a picture that generated an enormous cult based on the actor's hilarious scenes with Bill Murray. Here, he's called upon to be creepy and irritating - often at once. Instead of simply being in love with her, it seems instead like he's stalking her. As for Angela, model James King is progressing nicely as an actress, offering a mixture of heart and sweetness. She seems like the most realistic character in the film and she also manages to generate decent chemistry in her scenes with Sawa. Obviously, I don't request that a movie like this have a complex storyline or award-worthy performances, but there's essential things: laughs, timing, clever dialogue that are in short supply here. Rather than build upon jokes or characters, "Slackers" seemingly has thrown a few raunchy ideas into the mix and went with whatever was pulled out first - the resulting 86-minute feature skips between romantic comedy, gross-out and slapstick, feeling more like skits stuck together than an actual movie. While I didn't feel "Slackers" was a good film, I didn't feel it was a bad film plain and simple, either. Given the few clever moments (the opening, one scene having a choir sing Ace Of Base's "I Saw The Sign") and a solid cast, the film really could have made something of itself had the screenplay had the ambition to be something more aside from just another gross-out comedy. I didn't hate sitting through it, but I'd hoped for a lot more. The DVD VIDEO: Columbia/Tristar presents "Slackers" in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and 1.33:1 pan & scan. Both editions are included on the same side of a dual-layer disc. The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation is a perfectly fine offering from the studio - most of it looks superb, but there are areas where some flaws are apparent. Sharpness and detail are excellent, as the picture appeared crisp and well-defined at all times. The film's glossy cinematography actually makes the film's uneven raunchness seem somewhat elegant on the surface. As for the problems on display, there were a few instances where slight-to-mild edge enhancement was apparent. While not terribly distracting, it was somewhat noticable. The print was in fine condition throughout much of the film, but there were a couple of stretches where some slight wear was seen in the form of a few little specks. The film's warm color palette was well-presented here, appearing nicely saturated and crisp, with no smearing or other flaws. SOUND: "Slackers" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1. The film's soundtrack is an example of a comedy soundtrack - there's little or nothing for the surrounds to do, while most of the film's audio is firmly rooted in the front speakers, which don't even provide all that much. The film is certainly dialogue-driven, with the music given a decent amount of presence. MENUS: Tristar has provided fun animated menus that look like college tests. EXTRAS: Trailers for "Slackers", "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer", "Not Another Teen Movie, "Riding in Cars with Boys" and "The Forsaken". Final Thoughts: "Slackers" had a potentially amusing idea and a talented cast, but the film rarely generates any mild laughs. Columbia/Tristar's DVD presents the film with fine audio/video quality, but little in the way of supplements. Not recommended, although those still interested might want to try a rental. 
Film Grade The Film * 1/2 DVD Grades Video 87/B Audio: 85/B Extras: 70/C- Menus: 85/B |