Relaxer

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1:52

Relaxer

2019

1h 31m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

68%

Tomatometer

34 Reviews

58%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

With the impending Y2K apocalypse fast approaching, Abbie is faced with the ultimate challenge -- the unbeatable level 256 on Pac-Man -- and he can't get off the couch until he conquers it.

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Critics Consensus

Relaxer is bound to strike many viewers as unpleasant, but this thoroughly unique comedy will strike a chord with fans of defiantly unsettling cinema.

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Ben Sachs

Chicago Reader

Dec 30, 2019

Potrykus found innumerable ways to render cinematic the film's single location, a grungy Michigan apartment where a childlike slacker spends months trying to reach the fabled 257th level of Pac-Man.

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Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Mar 28, 2019

Some may find this movie unbearable; yet there's a place for pictures that push us to the limits of forbearance. Sometimes, even the loathsome have stories worth telling.

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Simon Abrams

RogerEbert.com

Mar 22, 2019

3.5/4

I can't honestly recommend Relaxer to most readers, but if you like this kind of thing, you'll probably love it.

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Taylor Baker

Drink in the Movies

Sep 14, 2021

10/100

Episode 34: Relaxer / A Scanner Darkly / The Beach Bum / Holy Motors

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Oct 21, 2020

This Millennial slacker Waiting for Godot has a few more tricks up its sleeve, but still feels like an overstretched stunt-though admittedly, some have found Relaxer as rewarding as it is undeniably offbeat.

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Allie Loukas

Battle Royale With Cheese

Feb 27, 2020

If you can sit and watch someone play a video game on a 1999 couch covered in sweat and spoiled milk for 91 minutes and try to gather a deeper meaning of isolation and social regression, it may be for you.

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Ara C

@Aracan Sep 30, 2025

This was fun. It is also the most scabrous movie I have ever watched. Don't see it on a full stomach.

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bryan b

@heybryan Dec 16, 2021

Its not even so bad its good category. Its completely unwatchable.

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jaap a

@RT58225111 May 17, 2021

An interesting scenario that smacks of the 90s but judging by its thin content it would have served better as a short film.

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Aug 22, 2020

Absolutely bonkers! Wild film.

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Apr 23, 2020

90s nostalgia . The one friend kept reminding me of Kenny powers too and I loved it . The movie as a whole I would describe as more of a conversation than an actual film with a plot and everything . With that being said I did slightly enjoy . Was a little gross and I felt like I could smell the room thru the screen 2.2. Sometimes pointless movies with no direction are exactly what I need . Really reminded me of clerks the whole time

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Joel Potrykus

Director

Joshua Burge

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Relaxer: Trailer 1

1:52

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Synopsis

With the impending Y2K apocalypse fast approaching, Abbie is faced with the ultimate challenge -- the unbeatable level 256 on Pac-Man -- and he can't get off the couch until he conquers it.

Director: Joel Potrykus
Producer: Joel Potrykus, Ashley Potrykus
Screenwriter: Joel Potrykus
Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
Production Co: Oscilloscope Films, Sob Noisse Movies
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 22, 2019, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 4, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.7K
Runtime: 1h 31m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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