Plot: What’s it about?
Dave (Devon Sawa) has cheated his way through high school, now he is almost finished doing in the same in college, but he hasn’t work alone. His best buddies Sam (Jason Segel) and Jeff (Michael C. Maronna) have also been in on the scams and over time, the trio have caused blackouts, bomb scares, false alarms, and more, just to ensure passing grades. They’ve put together endless smokescreens to steal answer booklets, test sheets, and whatever could help them, but now they’re only one score away from the promised land. Dave simply has to steal a test booklet from one of Sam’s classes, replace it with a different stolen test booklet, then Sam can have someone fill in the right answers and in the process, pass the class. But when Dave pisses off the school nerd Ethan (Jason Schwartzman) and leaves behind crucial evidence, it looks as if their scamming days & college days have come to a close. Ethan has an offer however, that he will not turn them in if they can get him the woman of his dreams, who happens to be the same girl Dave left his number for on the test booklet, which caused this whole situation. As Dave tries to make it happen, he finds himself falling for her himself, but will he finally be honest about his feelings, or will he sell her up the river to avoid being turned in?
The era of the crude teen/college comedy is alive and well, with cinemas almost overrun with childish, toilet humor driven motion pictures. Although a few are actually good and many offer a lot of humorous moments, most of them tank like nobody’s business. So when I saw the previews for Slackers, I was unsure of where this one would fall, as the cast looked well chosen, but the trailer wasn’t too entertaining. As it turns out, Slackers has some enjoyable performances and a fair share of humorous scenes, but it fails to rise above the rest of the grossout pictures out there, though it sometimes comes close. The premise is decent for the genre, but of course, the turn of events is predictable, since the storyline is just an excuse to throw in endless jokes about sex, character quirks, and of course, bodily functions. I found Slackers to be much funnier than I had expected, but it still doesn’t rank as one of the genre’s best examples. So if you’re a fan of crude comedies, Slackers is more than worth a rental, but since Columbia has issued this bare bones disc, I don’t advise a purchase unless you’re a diehard fan.
If you’re expecting another Rushmore kind of performance here from Jason Schwartzman, you’ll be might disappointed. While he did excellent work in that film, I think it was a case where an actor was just a perfect fit for the role, so I can’t say that I expect that level of work from him again. But he is a talented worker nonetheless, as he shows in Slackers and even though the material is crude, his performance wrings as much filth out as possible. He is able to make a crude scene even cruder, an insane moment seem that much crazier, simply hilarious from start to finish. This adds a ton of humor to the material of course, which might not have been as effective with a different person in Schwartzman’s role. In addition to Rushmore, you can also see Schwartzman in such films as Just Like Mona, CQ, and Simone. The cast also includes James King (Pearl Harbor, Happy Campers), Devon Sawa (Final Destination, Idle Hands), and Laura Prepon (Southlander, Tv’s That ’70s Show).
Video: How does it look?
Slackers is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, with a full frame edition also included on this dual layered disc. I’ve come to expect a lot from Columbia’s new releases and while this is not their finest visual treatment, it is a very good one and even on a large screen front projection system, Slackers looks terrific. The print used has a little grain at times, but looks clean otherwise, as expected from such a new release. The film’s bright color scheme comes through well, while black levels seem rich and refined also. In short, a great visual presentation, though some minor issues keep the score down a shade.
Audio: How does it sound?
The mix here is your basic comedy audio treatment, which means a solid overall experience, but not a very memorable one. The included Dolby Digital 5.1 option more than covers all the bases, but this material doesn’t allow for much power or depth, though the rock soundtrack does use the surrounds often. The rest of the audio is front channel based with a few exceptions, though that seems to be effective enough. The dialogue is clear as can be, with no volume errors in the least, a solid, but unremarkable track. This disc also includes English subtitles, but no other audio options were found, odd for a Columbia release.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes the film’s theatrical trailer.
