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Slackers

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Slackers (2002)

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Reviews Counted:104

Fresh:10

Rotten:94

Average Rating:3.1/10

Consensus: Another teen comedy with little on its mind but moving to the next gross-out gag, Slackers strains for laughs and features grating characters.

Runtime: 86 mins

Genre: Comedies

US Box Office: $4,814,244

Synopsis: Dave (Devon Sawa), Sam (Jason Segel) and Jeff (Michael C. Maronna) are about to graduate from Holden University with Honors in lying, cheating and scheming. The three roommates have proudly scammed... Dave (Devon Sawa), Sam (Jason Segel) and Jeff (Michael C. Maronna) are about to graduate from Holden University with Honors in lying, cheating and scheming. The three roommates have proudly scammed their way through the last four years of college and now, during final exams, these big-men-on-campus are about to be busted by the most unlikely dude in school. Self-dubbed Cool Ethan (Jason Schwartzman), an ambitious nerd with a bad crush, enters their lives one day and everything begins to unravel. When Ethan accidentally catches Dave in an exam scam and gathers some incriminating evidence against him, Dave and his friends find themselves completely at his mercy. Threatening to expose the three Slackers Ethan offers a deal: he’ll let the guys off the hook on one condition – that they use their unethical expertise to get him the object of his desire, the brainy babe Angela (James King). Dave agrees to the plan, thinking this will be the easiest con they’ve pulled all semester. In no time they’ll return to drinking beer, picking up girls and paying smarter students to take their tests for them. There are just two problems. First of all, Cool Ethan’s experience with women is, to say the least, minimal. Secondly, and perhaps more problematically, when Dave meets the incredible Angela he starts to fall for her himself. Ethan soon discovers that despite Dave’s help and his own pathetic attempts at seduction, Angela isn’t interested in him – she’s falling for Dave. Refusing to see the writing on the wall, Ethan sabotages their relationship, and in a final attempt to insinuate himself, provides Angela with ‘a shoulder to cry on.’ To get revenge, Ethan also cancels the deal, announcing that Dave and his friends are going down, putting all of their futures at risk. But Cool Ethan just may have underestimated this trio. -- © 2001 Screen Gems [More]

Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Jamie King, Jason Segel, Michael C. Maronna

Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Jamie King, Jason Segel, Michael C. Maronna, Devon Sawa, Laura Prepon, Mamie Van Doren

Director: Dewey Nicks

Director: Dewey Nicks
Screenwriter: David H. Steinberg
Producer: Erik Feig, Neal H. Moritz
Studio: Screen Gems

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Reviews for Slackers

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 >> >|
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There's nothing new or particularly memorable about it to make the effort stand out from the batch, but its up there with most efforts of the type.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
06/13/02
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This debut for helmer and vid vet Dewey Nicks and scribe David H. Steinberg, a feverishly naughty revenge comedy, is awful and subversively spunky at the same time.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
04/03/09
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

good acting, nothing much more

Full Review Source: sbs.is | comment Comment
04/24/08
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
Stefan Birgir Stefansson
sbs.is

It’s several good jokes, a whole lot of character development and some skilled direction away from crossing the line from moronic to crudely inspired.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
07/19/07
Brian Webster
Brian Webster
Apollo Guide

I found myself laughing a lot.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

If it's unlikely to stimulate the brain cells, it will almost certainly make you laugh out loud.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out

...should have been a lot better.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
08/01/03
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

This may be a vaguely gratifying rent someday if you are intrigued with Schwartzman's early movies. He'll surely be around for a while.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Jim Shelby
Jim Shelby
Palo Alto Weekly

The less said about this, the better.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marrit Ingman
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle

You really have to wonder how on earth anyone, anywhere could have thought they'd make audiences guffaw with a script as utterly diabolical as this.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
02/13/03
Tom Grealis
Tom Grealis
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

Isn't it a pity when the best words a film critic can say about a movie are 'not an absolute bomb'?

Full Review Source: Film Quips Online | comment Comment
02/08/03
John R. McEwen
John R. McEwen
Film Quips Online

Calculated swill.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
01/20/03
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
L.A. Weekly

Ultimately as generic as its title.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
Film Threat

It turns out to be a cut above the norm, thanks to some clever writing and sprightly acting.

Full Review Source: Movieline | comment Comment
12/02/02
Stephen Farber
Stephen Farber
Movieline

It’s elevated into watchability thanks to the presence of Jason Schwartzman and some inspired off-the-wall moments amongst the smutty gags.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
10/30/02
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

There is so much wrong with Slackers, it may be more efficient simply to point out the one acceptable ingredient: Jason Schwartzman.

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

Its effect could appeal only to hardcore masochists: you pay it $9.50 and it spends the next two-hours laughing at how dumb you are.

Full Review Source: Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) | comment Comment
08/27/02
Mark Palermo
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

Going with this title is about as original as calling the movie Animal Houses.

Full Review Source: Lawrence Journal-World | comment Comment
08/22/02
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

This is not your average low-brow university comedy; these filmmakers have a much more twisted sense of humour, pulling laughs from the most surprising places to liven up what is essentially just a sweet romance.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
08/12/02
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Although not the best comedy in recent memory, it's not the worst either.

Full Review Source: Supercala.com | comment Comment
07/09/02
Paul Salfen
Paul Salfen
Supercala.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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January 07, 2002: Deliciously dorky Schwartzman makes his first big-screen appearance since Rushmore. Opens in new window
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