My Top Ten Richard Linklater Movies

Happy Belated Birthday to Richard Linklater, who turned 57 yesterday.

I keep meaning to do this top ten because I really love some of Linklater’s films. Then I remember that there are a few I still need to see, such as Tape & Waking Life, which are very likely to knock number ten off this list since I can’t say I liked that one very much.

But time is short these days and I’m unlikely to see my “unseen Linklaters” anytime soon. So I’m doing this list now, which goes like this:

1-3: Love ’em
4-6: Really like ’em
7-9: Like ’em
10: Barely remember it & would rather just watch the original, which is a classic.
11: Ugh.

For now, here are My Top Ten Richard Linklater Movies (that I’ve seen):

11. Slacker (not really a fan of this one)

TOP TEN:

10. Bad News Bears (meh)

9. A Scanner Darkly

8. Everybody Wants Some!!

7. Before Midnight

6. Boyhood

5. Bernie

4. Before Sunset

3. Before Sunrise

2. School Of Rock

1. Dazed And Confused

Not Seen:
SubUrbia, The Newton Boys, Waking Life, Tape, Fast Food Nation, Me And Orson Welles

15 thoughts on “My Top Ten Richard Linklater Movies”

  1. I still haven’t watched Dazed and Confused, I really should as I also love some of his films alot. Though Before Sunset is my fave of that trio.

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  5. Linklater is an odd duck. He is one of my all time favorite makers of film. A true genius… most of the time. If Jack Black is in it, I don’t even watch it. RL is at his best when he’s not trying to be funny. I mean like when he just let’s life be funny. But when he’s trying to do comedy, it’s not good in my opinion. The Before Trilogy are three of my favorite films ever made. I love them to bits and pieces. I want to eat every line. I want to be them so bad. I fell so hard for Julie Delpy. And you’re right about Bad News Bears… Walter Mathau and Tatum O’Neill FTW. Another movie I have seen more times than I can count. I hope he does a third 70’s movie. Those are great and Waking Life is deeeeeeeeep. Oh and I liked Slackers. I lived Slackers. But you couldn’t pay me to watch Bernie or School of Rock.

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    • I remember doing a post once in my early days here asking what kind of film people would make if they could & I said I wanted to be like Richard Linklater. I know what you mean about his stuff being better when he’s not trying too hard. I love Dazed & Confused and totally wanted to be slightly older so I’d grown up in the Seventies portrayed in that movie instead of in the Eighties (I mean, I was alive in the Seventies but my life revolved around Sesame Street). I figured you’d like Slackers! I really wanted to… I’d probably hyped it up too much in my mind after seeing all his later stuff first. I’ll definitely watch Waking Life at some point. And, oh man – another Jack Black hater?? 😦 I love Jack and I adore School Of Rock! You should maybe try Bernie, though, as he’s not being his usual “Jack Black” in that at all. That true story is still fascinating as hell to me. Bizarre. Give it a try! (After Stand By Me). 🙂

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      • Yeah. I saw Slackers first and fell in love with Linklater right then and there. Then I just watched him grow creatively until Boyhood. (I freaking loved that movie… so proud) Me too!!! I wish I grew up in the 70s. The 80s were cheesy. They had Led Zeppelin. We had Duran Duran. I dated a girl who had been a teenager during the 70s. The concerts she had seen!! It made me sooo jealous.

    • When Linklater’s movies are good, they’re REALLY good. 🙂 Those two are brilliant. I’d choose Dazed (obviously) because I love that one but I’m still amazed by Boyhood’s achievement. We actually watched a kid grow up! That’s amazing. I think that movie will get even more recognition years from now.

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  7. I don’t like most of those movies. The only one I liked was School of Rock. I also don’t really like Jack Black. One of his few movies I like is School of Rock. That was just a movie that really worked.

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