Génération rebelle

Not what you might expect from a movie like this, but Dazed and Confused does deliver on many levels. Taking the setup from the classic American Graffiti and switching the setting to post-Vietnam in 1976, this is a coming-of-age story about a group of teenagers that for the most part represents what the entire young generation of that time was feeling and going through. The film covers one last day of school filled with many happenings including, hazing freshmen, playing mailbox baseball and getting shot at, as well as drinking lots of beer and smoking lots of marijuana. Writer and director Richard Linklater seems to have a good grip on the material and handles it with real sincerity and even sympathy towards some of the characters. The ensemble cast is well-cast and deliver the good dialog with a great sense of realism. Headlining it are a young Ben Affleck as a crazed senior determined to make the freshmen's summer miserable, Milla Jovovich who I don't think utters more than five lines in the whole movie, and Matthew McConaughey as an older guy who still hangs out with the high schoolers but is so cool and organizes the get-togethers.

This movie is very funny in some parts, but it is also very deep. It doesn't achieve classical status like American Graffiti or The Breakfast Club, but it is a strong and realistic portrayal that speaks to all people at that age where life is either far ahead or right around the corner. Indeed, there are many scenes with some "brainiacs" talking about President Ford and his political beliefs, then switching to deciding whether or not to go to a party. Also, I credit Linklater for not pulling an American Pie and becoming exceptionally crude and vulgar with this material. Yes, many teens do talk like this but not all teens rip off their clothes and have wild sex with each other.

All in all, a very good movie that gives a real sense of what it was like to live in the 1970s, and what it's like to be young in this country.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Cast: Jason London, Rory Cochrane, Sasha Jenson, Wiley Wiggins, Michelle Burke, Matthew McConaughey, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Marissa Ribisi, Shawn Andrews, Cole Hauser, Milla Jovovich, Joey Lauren Adams, Jason O. Smith, Ben Affleck, Christin Hinjosa, Parker Posey, Nicky Katt.

Directed by Richard Linklater.

"Dazed and Confused" is one of the best teen films ever made, and for many reasons. It stands the test of it's time, along with George Lucas' "American Graffiti" and John Landis' "Animal House". It shows the highs and lows of partying, friendship, and drugs. The plot is about upcoming seniors and freshmen in a Texas town on the full last day of School in 1976. The characters are very likable in this, well, at least most of them. Richard Linklater gives a great independent direction. This isn't a film that encourages kids to do drugs, but it shows a true portrayal of teenagers in a America, in a very fun way. "Dazed and Confused" is one of my all-time favorite films, and one that I can watch over and over again. Well done.

5/5 stars.

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", which takes place during the 70s, was one of the best movies of the 90s. It really is phenomenal how much talent was in this ensemble; if you want to see Adam Goldberg, Matthew Mcconaughey, Milla Jovovich, Joey Lauren Adams, Parker Posey, or an almost completely unrecognizable Ben Affleck (playing the sort of role he would almost never play again, an a**hole) before they were stars, look no further. And of course this was an early movie for director Richard Linklater, who had made the relatively unknown "Slackers" previously and who would go on to make "School of Rock", which was almost as good as "Dazed and Confused".

Taking place on the last day of school in a small suburban town, "Dazed and Confused" is a brilliant ensemble piece rivaling anything done by Robert Altman that covers the broadest spectrum of teenagers imaginable. We see the nerds, the potheads, the jocks, and the cheerleaders, as well as the incoming freshmen, as they celebrate the beginning of summer. Some celebrate less than others, of course; freshman hazing is a big part of the movie, both male and female. The dialogue is fresh and unexpected; lines about George Washington's proclivity for marijuana, why you just gotta love high school girls ("I get older, they stay the same age", as McConaughey's character says), and the herd mentality when a fight breaks out demonstrate how all-over-the-map the dialogue can be, and it's always affecting and usually quite funny.

Of course, it's the acting and the characters that really steal the movie, and it really is amazing how many people in this movie went on to bigger things. As I said before, Affleck was the most surprising, but Mcconaughey had the most memorable role as an older dude who can't seem to let go of his youth, a slick slimeball who chases after under-age jail bait. And he has never been funnier or better than he was in this. Eventually, his character will wake up and the kids aren't going to want to hang out with him and the girls aren't going to want to sleep with him anymore, and he's going to have a rude awakening. But for the time being, he's all macho cool swagger, and Mcconaughey pulled off the part perfectly. Parker Posey is also excellent, playing a senior bitch (but only because she's "supposed" to be) unleashing a humiliating hazing on the incoming freshman girls.

You have to give props to the writing. It's not a long movie, but it covers so much ground that it feels big. At one point, a character says that the 70s obviously suck. That may have been, but it's never looked cooler than it did in "Dazed and Confused". And the soundtrack must be mentioned too. The 70s was a decade full of musical highs and lows, and thankfully the soundtrack highlights the highs while ignoring the lows, and we have songs by Aerosmith, ZZ Top, Dr. John, War, and other seminal 70s rock figures (curiously missing: "Dazed and Confused" by Led Zeppelin, but that's forgivable). Brilliant; there's not a single clunker, and it adds to the free, easygoing atmosphere of the movie. "Dazed and Confused" is quite possibly the best "teen movie" ever made, and, from the point of view of someone who grew up in the 80s anyway, the best movie about the 70s ever made.