Dazed and Confused

There are spoilers in this review...

What a great, great movie. If you want to know what being in High School in the mid 70's was like, rent this film. I grew up in the metro Manhattan area. We didn't have the freshman hazing, and few of us could afford the cars (although we sure knew about them and lusted after them), but the rest of this movie is so dead on about my experience of High School in the 70's that it's scary. Every character in the film corresponds with someone that I knew during that time. Yes, there was a lot of pot smoking, yes, obtaining beer was quite easy for underage kids...I used to buy it in bars when I was 16. We made pipes in shop class. We hung out and had parties at night, drove the streets drinking beers and smoking joints listening to the same music. There were no youth centers though. The girls that I knew were as beautiful, and also struggled to get into their jeans. They used pliers too, but they also put them on while they were wet to further get that skintight look. There was no HIV virus to worry about, Herpes was not a big thing then, the biggest worry was getting pregnant. Everyone was having sex... All of these facts also were no big deal. Most of my peers grew up just fine, and now are upstanding pillars of the community. Many today would like you to believe that this is an example of the road to ruin. It was an incredible great time. The film has interesting character development, with the same types I remember. Philosophers, heads (now called stoners), bullies and waifs. This is my American Graffiti and it is perfect. Waxing nostalgic? Perhaps, but anyone that didn't live through that time will sill love the dialog in this film, as it deals with the universal experience of that point in one's life. This is high school in the 70's. Check it out.

Sometimes I write reviews and I can see people reading them, cursing my words and saying that I don't know what I'm on about. I'm well aware at how well Dazed and Confused was received, getting 5/5 ratings from the majority of viewers. I guess that means I just missed something about it and it didn't work for me.

It's about the last day of school in an American High School, back in 1976. The older students are looking forward to generally beating up the younger kids (as is tradition... apparently - all I can say is that this didn't happen to me at school in Britain during the eighties and nineties and I'm glad it didn't!).

I found most of the characters either unlikeable or boring. I found it hard to root for someone who enjoys bullying people smaller than them (which is most of the older kids), just as I found it harder to identify with the younger ones who just sort of spent most of the film running away or waiting to take a hiding. Plus there's no real story. What you have here is a collection of scenes with numerous different characters all doing their own things on the last day of school. There's also too many characters. Many don't really have much impact and aren't really fleshed out enough to be believed in. I think it would have benefited with a smaller cast. Although, the cast is pretty impressive - maybe not when this movie was made, but, in retrospect, there are a fair few Hollywood A-listers all here in the younger (pre-fame) days.

However, as much as I didn't really like it, I had to give it credit for getting the 'look' of the period right on. It really could have been filmed in the seventies for the way it was presented. Plus the soundtrack was right up my street. For once a film set in the seventies didn't have a single Abba track involved and there was far more use of some 'classic rock anthems' such as Alice Cooper (hooray!).

I didn't hate it, I just didn't like it as much as everyone else apparently did.

In the Austin, Texas, area, several youths complete their last day at school and celebrate through the night.

"Dazed and Confused" failed at the box office in 1993-94, but has gone on to achieve a deserved cult status. It's one of the best high school comedy-dramas, along with "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982). The difference between these two is that "Fast Times" contains more goofy antics whereas "Dazed" is more of a docudrama with amusing flashes. In other words, although "Fast Times is generally realistic, excepting the over-the-top parts with Spicoli, "Dazed and Confused" is more like a slice from real life.

What makes "Dazed" work so well is that it gets the LOOK of the mid-to-late 70s just right, particularly the hair & clothing styles, although Slater (Rory Cochrane) seems like a nod to 90's grunge.

Secondly, the actors pull off the material. A large part of the film's success is the excellent casting choices. You get a few up-and-comers here: Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich and Ben Affleck, along with one or two of lesser note (in regards to future success), e.g. Jason London and Parker Posey.

All the standard school archetypes are present: the jock who parties on the side, the bullies, the hot sister and her little long-haired brother, the black dude, the sexy Lib teacher, the streetfighter, the cool guys, the geekier crowd, the babes, the guy who graduated years ago but still hangs around, the mentors & mentees, etc.

Then you have the standard school experiences like setting up parties at a friend's houses when the parents are away, keg parties, running from bullies, dealing with coaches & teachers, flirting, the possibility of sex, hanging out, meaningless conversations, fights, smoking pot at school or in your friend's bedroom, etc.

Like "Fast Times," "Dazed and Confused" is a joy to watch because it successfully takes you back to the high school years with all its joys & agonies.

Some don't like it because it's more of a slice-of-life than a plot-driven, contrived story. The plot here is simple: It's the last day of school and the youths want to celebrate. If they can't do it at their friend's house they'll find a place at a park or local hangout, but they WILL party. The rest of the film involves their interactions within this context.

I've heard some complain that the movie conveys a terrible message. What message? There is no message. The message is that school's out and it's time to celebrate! Besides, there are a few positive points that can be mined from the proceedings: the arrogant bully gets what's coming, make a stand and fight when you have to (even if you get beat up), ultra-tight pants must be put on with pliers, be true to yourself, etc. But, really, this isn't a flick to look for deep messages, its simple purpose is to take you back to the school years (in this case, 1976) and all the fun & pain thereof.

Aside from those already mentioned, Michelle Burke stands out on the female front as Jodi, along with Joey Lauren Adams as Simone (she has such a beautiful, soothing voice). Then there's redhead Marissa Ribisi as Cynthia.

No review of "Dazed and Confused" would be complete without noting the excellent soundtrack. You get some great rock/metal of the 70s like "Sweet Emotion," "School's Out," "Stranglehold," "Do You Feel Like We Do," "Love Hurts," "Paranoid," "Rock & Roll Hootchie Coo," "Rock & Roll All Nite," "Slow Ride," "Cherry Bomb," "Tuesday's Gone" and many more.

The film runs 1 hour, 42 minutes, and was shot in the Austin, Texas, area.

GRADE: A-

Dazed and Confused takes its viewers on a nostalgic trip back to the 1970s, delivering an experience that's as groovy as it is hilarious. From start to finish, this film had me grinning ear to ear, yearning to step into the bell-bottomed jeans of its characters and experience the era firsthand. This coming-of-age comedy captures the essence of teenage rebellion and camaraderie with effortless charm.

As a newcomer to the film, I found myself thoroughly enchanted by its whimsical portrayal of high school life in the '70s. The impeccable soundtrack, featuring iconic hits from the era, sets the perfect backdrop for the shenanigans of our teenage protagonists. Whether it's cruising around in vintage cars or engaging in mischievous antics, every scene is infused with a sense of carefree abandon that's simply infectious.

I couldn't help but give Dazed and Confused a solid 8 out of 10. It ticked off all the boxes for what I look for in a comedy, delivering countless laughs. However, while the ensemble cast is undeniably charismatic, I couldn't shake the feeling that the film could have delved deeper into the stories of its main characters. While we get glimpses into their lives, I found myself yearning for a bit more depth and development.

Nevertheless, this minor quibble hardly detracts from the overall enjoyment of the film. Dazed and Confused remains a timeless classic that celebrates the spirit of youth and rebellion. Whether you're a child of the '70s or simply a fan of feel-good comedies, this film is sure to leave you with a smile on your face and a newfound appreciation for the grooviest decade of them all.

I must concur with the other reviewers who have commented on the eerie accuracy of this film. I too attended high school in Texas in the 1970's, and this film is so flawless in recreating this time and place it lends the impression you were being documented without your knowledge. If you are of an age and background that permits you to relate to Dazed & Confused on this level, it will give you an unusual affinity for the film. This is exactly how we dressed and wore our hair, those are the cars we drove, the music we loved, that looks exactly like my high school (with only slight variations in paint colors), those seemed to be my teachers, and all of these people were the people I knew then. There is no question but that the author of this piece had to have been one of us.

As someone who was there, I hope I can clear up or offer some insight into a few of the points people have raised about the film. The drug use; well, it was the 70's. In my high school, really hardcore drugs such as heroin were virtually unknown, we talked about it but never saw it, but both marijuana and LSD were as common and available as sand in your shoes. My generation had a very permissive attitude toward these substances. My own clique would never have had the brass ones required to actually partake on campus, as getting caught would not have meant a detention but a trip to jail; on the other hand it was not infrequent to find us stoned in class. But we did leave campus to blow a joint, absolutely, (usually in either the home of one of us who lived nearby or a van that belonged to another of our group, parking at the shopping center down the street). In D&C we see Slater and some of his friends smoking weed right in the schoolyard, that didn't happen in my school. There wasn't a single teacher at my high school who would not have immediately recognized the odor of marijuana and sought out the source. With the clarity of thirty years hindsight, I remain of the opinion that we frankly had a healthier attitude on this subject than do so-called role models of today. Bad drug problems are bad drug problems, but the recreational use of marijuana is substantially less detrimental than either alcohol or tobacco, which both get a free pass because they're legal. Marijuana also failed to serve as a "gateway" drug in our clique, none of us were led by it into harsher substances. I'm glad I'm not in high school today.

One point of particular discussion I have noticed here on D&C's IMDb page is the movie's rather brutal depiction of hazing, "busting the freshmen". Several have reported that this did not occur at their school. You were lucky, and be glad of it. I attended high school in Dallas in the 1970's and this absolutely was a part of our life. I, like all girls, was spared the brutal whippings that Mitch and his friends have inflicted upon them by the seniors, but it absolutely happened to incoming freshmen boys and was generally sanctioned, or at least overlooked, by the adults in charge. For the record, YES IT IS ASSUALT AND BATTERY. Dang! What else do you call violently beating someone with a board until they cry? Battery, plain and simple. Outrageous, mean spirited and cruel, and frankly the homoerotic ass-fixated nature of this hazing paints a far more unflattering psychological portrait of those dealing out the punishment than of those receiving it. As girls we were at least not physically assaulted, but we did undergo some nasty initiation rituals, but usually only those of us trying to get into an organized club, not just all of us en masse simply because of our age (this is also depicted quite accurately in the film, what those poor girls endure from that bitch to get on the cheerleading squad, God love 'em). And it is likewise plainly obvious in the film just as it was in real life, the senior boys learned this bizarre monkey-like behavior from those bastions of simian progress, their "coaches", roles universally filled by academic failures who represent the Wooderson's of the future.

As disturbing as the hazing is, it belongs in the film because it was there, it was real, it was a part of our lives in that time and place, and I felt a delicious satisfaction when that one kid's mom met O'Bannion at the front porch cocking a shotgun. "I don't think so, creep!" You go girl! As both Mitch and Sabrina deal with the initiation rituals in a manner that is respected by their older peers and grants them access to the cool clique, it is too intrinsic to the storyline to be removed or whitewashed. I might add this is the only movie I have ever seen that captures this.

In summation, this is a movie directed at a rather specific audience. My friends who are of dramatically different age or grew up in a different part of the country do not generally relate to this movie nor enjoy it on the same level, although they often find it entertaining. But if you, like the filmmaker, were a Texas high school student in those amazingly permissive 1970's, and didn't particularly hate your life at the time, I think you'll absolutely love it. Highly recommended.