Dazed and Confused (1993) Gramercy/Comedy RT: 102 minutes Rated R (strong language, teen drug and alcohol use, some violence) Director: Richard Linklater Screenplay: Richard Linklater Music: Harry Garfield (supervisor) Cinematography: Lee Daniel Release date: September 24, 1993 (US) Cast: Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Rory Cochrane, Matthew McConaughey, Sasha Jenson, Cole Hauser, Jason O. Smith, Benn Affleck, Michelle Burke, Christine Harnos, Deena Martin, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Marissa Ribisi, Shane Andrews, Milla Jovovich, Joey Lauren Adams, Parker Posey, Nicky Katt, Christin Hinojosa, Catherine Morris, Esteban Powell, Mark Vandermeulen, Jeremy Fox, Renee Zellweger, Terry Mross, Rick Moser, Kim Krizan, Katherine Asher, Kathleen Cunningham, Richard Dillard, John Swasey, Fred Lerner, David Blackwell, Mona Lee Futz. Box Office: $7.9M (US)
Rating: ****
ABSOLUTE PERFECTION! No two words better describe Dazed and Confused, writer-director Richard Linklater’s flawless sophomore effort. After breaking onto the scene with 1991’s droll comedy Slacker, he went on to create one of the best high school comedies ever made. In my not-so-humble opinion, it’s also one of the best movies EVER!
I saw Dazed and Confused for the first time on October 6, 1993 (it opened in Philadelphia on Oct. 8) at an advance screening. I knew it would be great. It had many things I liked- a 70s setting, a rock-driven soundtrack, an ensemble cast and pot smoking. It made my list of all-time favorite movies that same night. I ended up seeing it four times at the cinema and many more when a friend gifted me with a screener copy the following January.
In anticipation of the “spiritual sequel” Everybody Wants Some, I watched Dazed and Confused for the first time in nearly 20 years. It’s still as great as ever. Structured like American Graffiti, it’s set over the course of a single day and night (May 28, 1976), the last day of school at Lee High School in Austin, Texas. Next year’s seniors are planning the annual hazing- boys get paddled, girls get humiliated- of the incoming freshmen. Star football player Randall “Pink” Floyd (London, The Rage: Carrie 2) struggles with deciding whether or not to sign a pledge promising that he will abstain from drugs and alcohol over the summer for the good of his team. His teammates urge him to sign; he thinks it’s a violation of his rights.
After a violent hazing, mostly at the hands of sadistic second-time senior O’Bannion (Affleck, Good Will Hunting), new freshman Mitch (Wiggins, Waking Life) is invited to hang out with Pink and his friend Wooderson (McConaughey, A Time to Kill), a man in his early 20s who still likes to socialize with high school students. He says, in one the movie’s most quotable lines, “That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.”
Most of Dazed and Confused takes place that night. The teens hang out, cruise, drink beer, smoke weed, make out and get into trouble. The night ends at an impromptu keg party in a field near the moonlight tower. As you see, there’s not much in the way of plot. I think the term is “hang out movie”. Or “party flick”. Either way, it’s a lot of fun.
Instead of just offering up high school archetypes like nerd, jock and mean bitch, Linklater gives us characters that are more like the kids we knew when we were in high school. They’re more grounded in reality than the kids in Porky’s. They don’t play elaborate, meticulously-planned pranks. The guys don’t go to ludicrous measures to spy on the girls in the locker room. The keg party doesn’t go wildly out of control. The night unfolds in pretty much the same way it has for many a high school student hanging out with their friends on a summer night. Like with any group of high schoolers, you like some and some not so much. As I’m sure you recall, every class has a few kids we could do without like resident mean girl Darla (Posey, Josie and the Pussycats).
The ensemble cast does a great job. Who would have guessed that three of them- Affleck, McConaughey and Renee Zellweger (in a wordless role)- would go on to win Oscars? Rory Cochrane (CSI) is great as resident stoner Slater. Some of his monologues are priceless. Other great and memorable characters include feminist Kaye (Harnos, Judgment Night), Pink’s girlfriend Simone (Adams, Chasing Amy), Mitch’s older sister Jodi (Burke, Coneheads), stoner couple Pickford (Andrews) and Michelle (Jovovich, Resident Evil) and intellectual trio Mike (Goldberg, Saving Private Ryan), Tony (Rapp, Adventures in Babysitting) and Cynthia (Ribisi, The Brady Bunch Movie). Rounding the ensemble are jocks Dawson (Jenson, Halloween 4), Benny (Hauser, Good Will Hunting) and Mel (Smith), macho bully Clint (Katt, A Time to Kill), Dawson’s girlfriend Shavonne (Martin), cute freshman girl Sabrina (Hinojosa) and sophomore Julie (Morris).
Dazed and Confused has an awesome soundtrack that includes cuts from Aerosmith (“Sweet Emotion”), Alice Cooper (“School’s Out”), Foghat (“Slow Ride”), Black Oak Arkansas (“Jim Dandy”), Peter Frampton (“Show Me the Way”), Jethro Tull (“Stranglehold”) and Nazareth (“Love Hurts”). Oddly enough, the Led Zeppelin song of the title is NOT in the movie (Linklater couldn’t get the rights). The music adds a strong note of authenticity as do the cars, fashions and interior décor. At one point, some of the characters go to a drive-in burger joint. Linklater has a great eye for period detail.
Dazed and Confused even looks like it was made in the 70s. A friend I brought with me on my third viewing said it looked like a movie that would be shown late at night on a UHF channel. The screenplay is spot-on perfect! The dialogue is both funny and authentic. The movie never feels too crowded. Linklater knows how to handle a large cast. Dazed and Confused is pure excellence! It paints a beautiful and realistic portrait of being a teen in the 70s (or any decade after for that matter). There’s a reason why it’s a cult classic.
