Unlike most post-"American Pie" comedies aimed at college-age moviegoers, "Slackers" actually has a lot of funny ideas. But this failure is promising, and therefore even more disappointing, since it is akin to the vast majority of its competition in one very important area — it doesn't know how to successfully execute its concepts.
So instead of finding the right combination of sweet and sour elements, which the first "Pie" movie managed to do, "Slackers" too frequently stoops to the lowest possible gags. Which is frustrating when there are so many opportunities for both the filmmakers and cast. (In fairness, it should be noted that this film can't completely be written off as an "American Pie" wannabe; when its distributor, Destination Films, went out of business, the movie languished on the shelf until Screen Gems picked it up.)
Despite an obvious title similarity, the film has little in common with Richard Linklater's indie smash "Slacker." In this case, the title characters are college students Dave, Sam and Jeff (Devon Sawa, Jason Segel and Michael C. Maronna, respectively) who, rather than get their degrees the "honest way," have cheated their way through. And they're just a few credits away from graduation.
But while pulling one more scam, Dave is busted by Ethan (Jason Schwartzman), a nerdy fellow student who's not above blackmail. His demands are simple: Get him a date with his dream girl, Angela (James King), or he'll fink.
That's not as easy as it sounds. Because Angela is smitten with Dave, he doesn't know whether to follow his heart or hang on to his best chance to graduate.
Director Dewey Nicks is a former fashion photographer, which explains the cameos by the clearly slumming Cameron Diaz and Gina Gershon. But his direction leaves something to be desired, and his cast's performances are all over the map — especially Sawa and Schwartzman ("Rushmore"), who alternate between being amusing and a painful irritant.
Still, one supporting performer does make an impression — Maronna (from Nickelodeon's "The Adventures of Pete & Pete"), who manages to steal scenes in spite of the shaky material.
"Slackers" is rated R for crude humor involving sexual and body functions, frequent use of strong profanity, simulated sex (done for laughs), female nudity (likewise), simulated drug use (marijuana) and brief violence (a scuffle). Running time: 87 minutes.
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