Richard Linklater shaped a whole generation of movie aficionados in the '90s with slice-of-life stories that found magic in the mundanity of everyday life. Most of his best movies barely have any plot, they just follow the characters as they wander aimlessly making the most of every uneventful situation.
That's when having such a wide range of characters as charming as they are hilarious makes all the difference. From Linklater's best comedy movies to some of his most personal coming-of-age stories, the filmmaker's unparalleled sense of humor turns each one of his movies into a delightful experience and brings about a unique set of characters.
10 Mitch Kramer — Dazed and Confused (1993)
What makes Dazed and Confused such a dynamic coming-of-age story is how the movie constantly alternates between the perspective of senior high school students and the new batch of freshmen, who are the target of incessant pranks and jests. Amid the chaos, Mitch Kramer stands out as someone committed to evolving from a boy to a fine young man overnight. He's the most relatable character in the film because Linklater lays out all his awkwardness and insecurities with the same intention as his determination to fit in.
While Mitch does look like a fish out of water alongside the unforgiving seniors, he never lets the pressure of high school get the best of him; he's all about experimenting with a little bit of everything, with no excess in mind. On the grand scale, those are the ones who succeed; Mitch is on the right path to becoming the next Randall "Pink" Floyd.
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9 Mason Evans Jr. — Boyhood (2014)
Actor and character get mixed up in Boyhood's unusual coming-of-age approach: in order to faithfully portray the physical transition from a little boy into youth, Linklater decided to film actor Ellar Coltrane over the course of 12 years. The film will hit close to home for everyone who went through puberty, thanks to how genuine the passing of time feels and to how real Mason Evans Jr. appears to be. By the time viewers get to the end of this nearly 3-hour-long journey, Mason will be regarded as an old childhood friend.
Viewers get to see the good and the bad of him as he grows up: turbulent family moments, outbursts of cheerfulness with friends, sparks of love, and the restraints of a shy personality. Mason is a mirror to everyone's experience of coming to terms with growing up; an experience that, in the film, is generally pleasant even in the toughest moments.
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8 Charlie Willoughby — Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
Willoughby is probably the first thing that pops up in the mind of someone asked to think of a typical '70s hippie: one of those guys who live for the next Woodstock and whose brain is constantly under the effect of marijuana. However, Willoughby is one decade behind, refusing to move on once the '80s kick in. Every moment of him in Everybody Wants Some!! is pure gold, delivering incredible stoner one-liners and life-hack knowledge that is as fascinating as it is useless.
Willoughby also features the only big twist in the movie, which is the secret that he's actually 30 years old and keeps transferring from one college to another to play baseball until he gets caught. Willoughby doesn't get a chance to say goodbye to his fellow players, but he does leave a Pink Floyd album with one huge joint on top of it for his friends to enjoy.
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7 David Wooderson — Dazed and Confused (1993)
Matthew McConaughey was one of the many movie stars whose careers were launched in Dazed and Confused, dropping his iconic "alright, alright, alright" line for the very first time. However, Wooderson is much more than a single catchphrase, as the character steals the show for himself whenever he's onscreen.
Although he's already in his early-20s, Wooderson still enjoys hanging out with high school students in search of free joints. He's always seen with either a cigarette or a beer in his hands, and he constantly talks as if he's just woken up. In sum, Wooderson is the living definition of taking it easy; one of the first apostles of the "Dude" even before the Coen brothers came up with The Big Lebowski in 1998.
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6 Dewey Finn — School of Rock (2003)
On the surface, Dewey Finn is just a loser trying to do his own thing in School of Rock, but Jack Black's captivating performance adds depth and transparency to his character. In the face of an unbearable gap between him and his students, Finn truly believes in the power of music as a collective principle and a language of its own.
Rather than simply giving in to selfish impulses, he uses his underhanded substitute teacher position to pass on the only thing he does well: jamming rock and roll tunes. Finn's energy is contagious, and his eccentricity prompts his students to leave their comfort zones as well, enabling the class to find their voice in music and develop a unique teacher-to-student relationship.
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5 Olivia — Boyhood (2014)
Boyhood isn't a movie solely about a boy's transition into adult life, but also about how the passing of time impacts the whole family household. Patricia Arquette delivers the performance of her career as Olivia, a caring and truthful mother who always puts her children first. She's portrayed as a strong-willed and independent woman who never holds back her feelings, overcoming obstacles such as a tough divorce and a financial crisis with her head up.
In Boyhood's most emotional moment, Olivia bursts into tears as Mason prepares to set off to college, wondering in a mix of awe and pain how quickly time passed and how drastically life changed in the blink of an eye.
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4 Walt Finnegan — Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
Everybody Wants Some!! plays with the many stereotypes that define college jocks in movies, and Linklater decides to comprise all the best traits in Finnegan. He's the ultimate good guy of the group, in a constant state of half making fun of his friends and half supporting them all the way through. Finnegan is always the first to say yes, and he's down for any kind of hangout: quite often he won't even know what he's getting into, he'll just go.
In a way, Finnegan is the embodiment of a wild card, navigating through a variety of social events with the same level of energy and commitment to fun, be it a punk rock concert, a performing arts costume party, or an old-fashioned country club. Glen Powell truly unleashes his full comical potential with Finnegan, delivering the best bad pick-up lines of the movie, with some of them surprisingly working.
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3 Gary Johnson — Hit Man (2023)
Hit Man is based on the true story of Gary Johnson, a seemingly run-of-the-mill professor who moonlights as a fake hit man in order to send those who contract him to prison. His most distinctive trait was faithfully adapted in Linklater's film: Gary's tendency to be exactly who his clients want him to be, impersonating multiple personalities that best suit the image of a hit man his targets might have in their minds.
In the film, the contrast between the sweet and innocent Gary and the ruthless assassins he eagerly pretends to be is dealt with a unique sense of dark humor, in a way it's difficult not to fall in love with both the distinctive charm of the ordinary Gary and his countless personas.
Hit Man will release on Netflix soon
2 Jesse — The Before Trilogy (1995-2013)
Jesse is Linklater's most charming character; the kind of man that will convince you to jump off a train in Vienna with him even though you know nothing about him. Viewers get to follow Jesse over the time span of almost 20 years, and it's surprising how little the character changes in this period of time. From Before Sunrise to Before Sunset to Before Midnight, Jesse is still the same playful, pleasant-to-be-around kind of man who's always with a witty remark or a sarcastic jest on the tip of his tongue.
Even when he struggles to conciliate his relationship with Céline with his commitment as a father, he manages to get around the crisis with a lovely joke about time traveling. Jesse is the kind of guy who will never let his pride get over his head, and that's how he succeeds as an artist and a helplessly romantic lover.
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1 Céline — The Before Trilogy (1995-2013)
It's almost ironic how most of Linklater's characters are male and connect to him on a personal level, but his most nuanced character is Céline. While he deserves a good portion of the credit, Céline's dramatically charged personality wouldn't have worked so well without the touch of a feminine mind, and that's where Linklater's co-writer Kim Krizan comes in.
Céline's free-spirited behavior prompted her to embark on an unforgettable nocturnal odyssey in Vienna, but her keenness to take risks led her to many other unexpected places and relationships: she's a woman who wants to experience a little bit of everything, and she effectively does so.
In addition, Céline is distinctively self-conscious to the point she knows exactly how other people will respond to her flaws — except Jesse, and that's why their relationship is so dynamic. No matter how well they know each other, they can't ever predict what the other will do next.
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