Slackers have long occupied a beloved place in the hearts of movie audiences. There’s often something in their laziness that we can relate to — and eitherbecause the character is too overconfidentor completely lacking self-esteem, they often find solace in simply chilling out. Characters that buck the system by living on their own schedule tend to always annoy their parents and employers, but become cult heroes to fellow students or co-workers, especially if their laziness belies a brilliant mind, just waiting to be put to work.
The slacker character, itself, became a mainstay of ’90s and 2000s films, after Richard Linklater gave a platform for the phenomenon withSlackerin 1991, extending the idea even further with his hippie burnout characters inDazed and Confusedtwo years later. While earlier depictions of slackers, say Jeff Spicoli fromFast Times at Ridgemont High, tended to make the characters brainless, by the ’90s films regularly saw a new type of “super slacker”,who may have enjoyed some time on a gaming console, but still carried a quick wit and a smart mouth.
The following are 10 great movies about brilliant slackers.
10National Lampoon’s Van Wilder
Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds first came to prominence in 2002, whenNational Lampoon’s Van Wildergave him his first starring role in a feature, after some smaller roles as a child actor in the 90s. WithVan Wilder, Reynolds finally had a platform to show his comedic range, as Vance “Van” Wilder, who has taken slacking to new levels bystretching his undergraduate tenure out to aTommy Boy-levelseven years. Van Wilder uses brilliant means to extend his life as Coolidge College’s most beloved prankster and party-hopper, and uses the overwhelming charm that would become an earmark of his characters to come.
Related:Ryan Reynolds Blames Hugh Jackman for X-Men: Origins Trash Fire
9The Individualist
Ricky Powell is one of the most celebrated celebrity photographers of the 80s and 90s, as he captured the rise of hip hop acts like Run-DMC and The Beastie Boys on the way up the fame ladder, documenting one of the most fertile times in Rap, as well as the surrounding lifestyles inThe Individualist. Powell was a notorious partyer and slacker, but was smart enough to always keep his camera close, as he took incredibly famous photographs oficons like Madonna, Andy Warhol, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.The Individualistshows Powell’s dark side as well, as he wanders from the seclusion of his East Village apartment to his local drinking hole, the infamous Black and White Bar on 10th Street, recounting stories about celebrities and groupies — part papparazzo and part philosopher.
8Toy Soldiers
Sean Astingave some of his greatest performances in his adolescence, first as Mikey inThe Goonies, then as Billy Tepper in the boarding shool hostage movie,Toy Soldiers. Tepper has things other than schoolwork on his mind in the film, including an epic prank where he manages to rearrange the Headmaster’s entire office on the school’s lawn. Still, his slacker persona belies a dogged intellect, and when the entire school is held hostage by a group of terrorists, Billy is the first to spring into action, hatching a plan to disable the terrorists' rigged explosives and lead his fellow students to safety. Billy had a tall order, first dodging the terrorists to get to an army post where he can give info to the surrounding SWAT teams, then escaping back into the school and disguising his tardiness with a sink shower and towel. Clever!
7Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Kumar Patel (Kal Penn) has medical schools knocking down his door, thanks to some brilliant test scores inHarold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Kumar has bigger priorities than med school, however, which consist primarily of smoking a lot of weed and eating WHite Castle sliders, an appetite for which leads Kumar and Harold on a stonerquest that sees them dodging foursomes,meeting Neil Patrick Harris, getting locked up, and surviving a hallucinogenic cheetah ride. Every time the heat ramps up, Kumar uses his smarts to get the duo to the next stage of their mission to munch burgers and eventually reach Kumar’s goal of fleeing to Amsterdam to pursue his love interest, Maria.
Bill Murray plays John Winger, an uber-lazy cab driver who decides to enlist in the military inStripes. Winger turns his bad prospects upside-down along with his cohort Russell (Harold Ramis), who helps him survive basic training. Winger has a brilliant knack for making the best of a bad situation, finding romance with a Military Police officer, which gets him out of several jams. His hidden smarts come to the fore when his company is dispatched to protect an armored personnel vehicle disguised as an RV, which Winger promptly hijacks to visit his lady friend on a military base in West Germany. When his hijinx lead to his company getting captured, however, Winger has more than a few tricks up his sleeve to spring them loose.
5Real Genius
Val Kilmer gives one of the best performances of his early career as Chris Knight inReal Genius, who preferred to goof-off more than focus on his physics work, despite his brilliant acumen for science. Turns out, the professors at Chris' technical school are using students as think tanks for astro-propelled national defense systems. Kilmer steers his sidekick Mitch through the pitfalls of being a brilliant student and away from a fate like that of Lazlo Hollyfield, a disgruntled former student living in tunnels beneath the school, played hilariously by Jon Gries ofWhite Lotusfame. Chris and Mitch use their professor’s laser technology against he and his bumbling assistant Kent in the end, creating a popcorn avalanche in the film’s hilarious crescendo, another of Knight’s ultimate pranks.
4Spies Like Us
Chevy Chase gave a cracking performance inSpies Like Usas Emmett Fitz-Hume, a wannabe spy who works as a CIA analyst thanks to a legacy, but spends more time slacking off than studying for his clearance tests. This leads Emmett to hatching a plan to cheat on his test, with crib sheets hidden in his fake eyepatch and prosthetic arm. His higher-ups spy on his test, and as punishment, Emmett is given a “promotion” to pursue a suicide mission with his cheating co-hort Austin Millbarge (Dan Aykroyd). Emmett’s genius, however, comes in handy when saying things so dumbfounding to his opposition, he can always stall for time to escape from a sticky situation.
3Good Will Hunting
The boy genius from Southie, Will Hunting (Matt Damon) would rather spend his days working demolition jobs and getting in street fights with childhood foes than explore the brilliant mind he was born with inGood Will Hunting. Still, he takes a custodial job at the nation’s most prestigious technical university, M.I.T., for a reason, solving a combinatorial mathematics problem on a hallway chalkboard that eludes the school’s most talented young mathematicians. Will certainly takes some convincing however, as Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård) enlists his psychologist friend Dr. Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) to persuade Will to put his rare genius towards a career. Will, however, is more interested in seeing about a girl.
Related:The Best Matt Damon Movies, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes
2The Devil and Daniel Johnston
Daniel Johnston was the definition of a tortured genius, andThe Devil and Daniel Johnstonshowed every aspect of his descent into mental health issues and agoraphobia despite an incredible songwriting talent. Johnston started out with a ton of promise, finding the favor of 90s artists like Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth — even making it on to MTV. His success was short-lived, and despite having parents and friends devoted to helping him realize his talent,he fell further into depression and darkness, eventually becoming a complete hermit. Still, Johnston made a few comeback performances before his death that reminded audiences in his home of Austin, Texas and the rest of the world just how talented he truly was.
1Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) cruises through life without pursuing his only passion, being a musician, which proves elusive as he only plays when he wants and has no clear goal inScott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Still, love can be quite a motivating factor, so when Scott meets Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), he kicks his Indie band into high gear to further his music career and defeat Ramona’s seven evil exes in a film that crossed cinema and video games in an action-packed narrative. Scott uses his previously unrealized brilliance to secure swords, power-ups and eventually get another shot at winning Ramona’s hand. Though the film didn’t open well, Scott Pilgrim has since become a cult film hero for overcoming his slacking ways to kick some serious ex-boyfriend butt.
