Synopsis

Set in 1991, White and Lazy follows Steve as he tries to collect the month’s rent from his eccentric roommates. Prone to singing in front of the mirror, smoking grass, hunting down breakfast burritos, and ranting about Ronald Reagan, Steve is decidedly not up to the task… Meanwhile, his roommates turn out to be just as looney, offering everything from bank account numbers to political rants to make him go away. After all, paying the rent on time would be too mainstream…

Selected Review

Set in 1991, this comedic portrait of an indecisive young man trying to collect rent from his eccentric roommates taps into the grand lineage of poor college kids living as weirdo artists in houses with way too many people. It’s tried and true, and White and Lazy captures it with perfect authenticity.

On February 1st, rent is due, and it’s Steve’s job to go around the house and get everyone’s money. Except no one is particularly interested or able to pay up. The drummer roommate in the attic claims he’s already given enough money to the rich landlord, while the new-age-bedroom-poet figures she has two days left to pay, as she insists on using last year’s calendar. Steve knows the landlord won’t take kindly to the news and becomes increasingly anxious about the impending encounter.

Shot on 16mm, it’s a throwback to the indie age of Slacker and Clerks and would stand up to either. But there’s satire at play here—the bohemian lifestyles and laid-back deflection of responsibility play for laughs, but they come from within. Director and actor James Runde obviously knows the scene, and he has cobbled together a new slacker classic.

—Kentucker Audley, NoBudge

Press

• Supporting “Wisconsin’s Own” cinema in the wake of COVID-19
  Grant Phipps | Tone Madison | 03/23/2020
• Cinematalk Podcast #3: James Runde
  Ben Reiser | UW-Cinematheque | 12/13/2019
• Film Pulse Podcast: Episode 252
  Adam Patterson | Film Pulse | 05/08/2017
• Wisconsin Film Festival: Run Across Campus, Bike Naked, and Slack Off
  Lindsay Christians | Capitol Times | 04/18/2016
• Director’s Cut: 2016 Wisconsin Film Festival
  Jim Healy | PBS Wisconsin | 04/13/2016
• 5 Questions: ‘White and Lazy’s’ James Runde
  David Klein | Lake Front Row | 04/11/2016

Screenings

• Moving Image
  09/16/2021 | Cactus Club | Milwaukee, WI
• NoBudge Shorts Program
  06/29/2017 | Videology | Brooklyn, NY
• Madison Pinney Library Mini Film Festival
  03/18/2017 | Madison Public Library – Pinney Branch | Madison, WI
• Wisconsin Film Festival
  04/17/2016 | Madison Museum of Contemporary Art | Madison, WI
• Madison Public Library – Lakefront Cinema Showcase
  05/28/2015 | Madison Public Library – Central Branch | Madison, WI
• UW-Madison Department of Communication Arts Spring Showcase
  05/09/2015 | UW Marquee | Madison, WI