Dazed and Confused (1993)

Dazed and Confused

★ ★ ★ out of 5

Directed by Richard Linklater

Starring Jas0n London as Randall Floyd

Wiley Wiggins as Mitch Kramer

Matthew McConaughey as Wooderson

Imdb Link

It’s the last day of school, 1976. The upperclassmen haze the incoming freshmen, by paddling, hunting down, or otherwise humiliating them. Everyone is doing something that night, going to a party, getting high, trying to get laid.

To be honest, I expected something more out of this film. I don’t know what, but something. I feel like I always go into Richard Linklater films expecting something other than what I get. I mean, he has some films that I really really enjoy, such as the Before trilogy, or School of Rock, then there’s films like Dazed and Confused, and Slacker where I expect something so much different out of them, and I really don’t end up enjoying them all that much. Slacker had an interesting premise, but sloppy execution and dialogue that made these slackers sound a lot more philosophical than they actually are. I found a lot of that same problem in Dazed and Confused. I felt like it had some hilarious moments, but the execution felt no different than any high school movie John Hughes ever made, it was the same style, same kind of direction. Then also a lot of the dialogue just didn’t suit the characters. I mean, Richard Linklater is a great writer, he really puts some great ideas into his dialogue, and it’s interesting to listen to. But oftentimes, you can’t differentiate one character from another, they all speak the same way. Which is, awkwardly, quirkily, philosophical. They all have big ideas, and they all sound like they come from Richard Linklater, not from the character. Which is never a good thing with dialogue. To be honest, you could not be able to tell a quote from the nerds in this movie, apart from a quote from Jesse in any of the Before movies, or any character whatsoever in Slacker. They all sound like Richard Linklater talking. Sometimes it works better than others, I mean, Jesse in Before is an author and a romantic, so it’s believable that he’d talk like that. Whereas a football player or a high school nerd in Dazed and Confused? Ah, not so believable. It’s full of really great characters who feel unique as well though, such as Slater and Wooderson, who both have their share of damn good lines. They’re some of the few characters that do not feel like the writer talking. Honestly though, I found Dazed and Confused to be just alright alright alright. It wasn’t good, wasn’t bad. Didn’t do anything for me, probably because a) I was not alive in 1976. Or 1993 for that matter. b) I’m not the partying type, so I don’t find much relatable in the film. This falls in the middle of the spectrum for high school movies for me though. But if you want something truly  amazing about the same era of high school. Go check out the TV show Freaks & Geeks.