Sometimes complicated plots and extravagant set-pieces are overrated. Sometimes the appeal of a film is escaping into a comfortable atmosphere to laze around with likeable characters. Quentin Tarantino dubbed this particular kind of cinema “hangout movies”, films where the primary focus is simply characters ‘existing’ and conversing with each other. Tarantino’s own movies are often too edgy and erratic to qualify – although Reservoir Dogs and Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood come close – but these selections provide a sense of downtime and unhurried interaction for a particularly soothing type of sub-genre.
Tarantino identified Rio Bravo as the first great hangout film. This 1959 Howard Hawks film is a classic Golden Age Western, where Sheriff John T. Chance (John Wayne) must defend his town from threats after imprisoning the brother of a local outlaw. But Rio Bravo is primarily concerned with how Chance and his deputies – a recovering alcoholic known as Dude (Dean Martin) and older crippled called Stumpy (Walter Brennan) – pass the time while holding out. This includes serious discussion of the Dude’s drinking problem, affectionate banter with Stumpy, or them all singing the cowboy ballad “My Rifle, My Pony and Me” together. Additionally, the arrival of gambler Feathers (Angie Dickinson) brings a screwball romance to Rio Bravo, which despite the suspenseful danger waiting just outside, carves out a warm and inviting space on the frontier.
Robert Altman was a highly innovative director, famous for his overlapping dialogue and vast ensemble casts. Few exemplify his signature techniques better than Nashville, Altman’s 3-hour masterpiece that features “24 main characters” and mostly consists of their lives within the country and gospel music heartland of Nashville, Tennessee. Some are established bands, others hopeful singers, some producers, some reporters, and some just audience members. Nashville provides a mesmerizing and sprawling portrait of ‘70s America, with a lot of heart given toward these individuals and some great music too, culminating in one of the greatest film endings of all time.
One of the exemplary John Hughes ‘80s teen movies consists of 5 teenaged archetypes – popular Claire (Molly Ringwald), jock Andrew (Emilio Estevez), troublemaker John (Judd Nelson), nerd Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) and goth Allison (Ally Sheedy) – hanging out together during Saturday detention. Although they initially grate against each other, due to their discordant cliques, through the day they open up and reveal their troubles beneath their archetypes, as well as a musical dance-number. Some of it may be outdated, but The Breakfast Club is a classic piece of teen-empowerment that delves into identity, after spending time with people you thought you knew.
Richard Linklater often makes films with loose narrative-structures about the passage of time; be it the Before trilogy, Boyhood, or his debut indie-film Slacker. And Dazed and Confused is no different, following different groups of Texas teenagers during the last day of school in 1976. The movie is very subdued and observational, witnessing these teenagers as they argue and drink and smoke and laugh with each other. But it’s also suffused with this aura of anticipation, of the characters looking towards the future even as they’re trying to enjoy the present. “That’s what I love about these high school girls”, as Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey) (in)famously says, “I get older, they stay the same age”. Dazed and Confused shows how cruel teenagers were too through various ‘hazing’ rituals, but it also shows how precious this age could be, combined with a rocking ‘70s soundtrack. Few films can capture the aimless mundanity and the immense profundity of hanging out right after school ends.
The commercial breakout of Paul Thomas Anderson chronicling the rise and fall of “the Golden Age of pornography” sounds like it should be a sleazy joke. But what is most surprising is how wholesome Boogie Nights really is (beneath the drugs and nudity), where Dirk Diggler’s (Mark Wahlberg) dream of being a porn-star is him fulfilling his potential, and the company he keeps a sincere and loving “extended family”. Boogie Nights itself is a swirling and startling film, that opens with an extended long-take and glides through numerous party scenes. The soundtrack is, again, fantastic and compliments PTA’s slick direction. These intoxicating hangout vibes of the ‘70s first half do lead to further depravity later in the ‘80s, but whatever the outcome or ‘reality’ of the era, Boogie Nights is a fun and commanding reminiscence of it.
Another Hangout movie nostalgic for the ‘70s is Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous, his semi-autobiographical film about an underaged rock journalist William Miller (Patrick Fugit) sent to cover the road tour of up-and-coming rock band Stillwater. Almost Famous languishes on these “on the road” scenes, installing the sense of community and collective irresponsibility they held, accompanied by pitch-perfect music of the era. Of course, Almost Famous is also about such scenes can turn ugly, and that William must maintain his journalistic integrity to be “honest and unmerciful” about his new rock star friends. But such potent dilemmas come from the fun scenes of relaxing backstage or them singing “Tiny Dancer” on their tour-bus. After all, it’s by spending time together William get to really ‘know’ them beneath the rock star glamour, understanding that “the only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone when you’re uncool”.
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