Dazed and Confused is beloved far and wide and is considered to be a touchstone of 1970s youth culture. Released in 1993, it was an integral film in the burgeoning independent movie movement of the era.
First time directors were making waves with very low budget but artistic and successful debuts like Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, Michael Moore's Roger and Me, and Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi. One of the biggest catalysts of the era was Richard Linklater's Slacker.
Slacker was widely respected, and it was giving film students spontaneous orgasms, but I was never really a fan. I appreciated the editing and the non-conventional structure of Slacker, but I found the people in it to be boring. I've spend more than enough time around flakes in real life, thank you very much.
In fact, I've had very mixed feelings about Linklater's movie career. I loved Boyhood, I enjoyed SubUrbia, I had a great time with Everybody Wants Some. I even like his Bad News Bears remake. But then I hated The School of Rock. I can't take Jack Black. I thought Before Sunrise was gorgeously shot, but it failed to emotionally involve me. Looking over his oeuvre, I see I need to catch up on some of his titles.
Like everyone else I adore Dazed and Confused. This movie is the perfect embodiment of my own youthful partying life. Linklater had some prior experience with the subject. My generation were, after all, the prototype slackers.
Of course had I been there, I would have been watching Family Plot at the drive-in and not at the Moon Tower party.
Dazed and Confused works because it not only defines seventies rock and roll/party culture, it represents youth from all generations. We tend to idolize an era not only for the styles and trends. We put rose-colored glasses on our own youth.
Plus we know these people. The jock who gets along with the heads and the brains. The quintessential stoner dude. The popular mean girl. The creepy older guy who can't escape his high school glory days. The bullies and their nerdy victims.
The one I most relate to is smart kid Tony, played by Anthony Rapp. I didn't realize until now he was the likably annoying kid next door in Adventures in Babysitting.
Alright, Alright, Alright is an oral history of Dazed and Confused. I always enjoy these type of books. Memories are faulty anyway, and it's good to see various perspectives on details.
One thing that took me by surprise is how Linklater felt that Dazed and Confused is an anti-nostalgia story. Most people consider it to be one of the most nostalgic films of all time. He makes a pretty good point, though. There is a dark undercurrent in the movie. Adults tend to forget the constant pressure teenagers regularly go through. Pressure from parents, faculty, and even their own peers.
It's not hard to predict ugly futures for some of these people. Ben Affeck's character O'Bannon is headed straight for alcoholism and possible incarceration. Rory Cochrane's Slater will probably be an unemployable terminal burnout. Sasha Jenson's Don shows signs of being an abuser of women. Parker Posey's Darla would in all likelihood marry a rich guy and become an insufferable Karen.
Universal wanted to market Dazed and Confused as a stoner comedy, but it's so much more than that. The movie is structured more like an art film. The studio execs went nuts trying to conform it into a more conventional narrative. "What about a love affair, with a dramatic breakup and reconciliation at the conclusion?". "How about a real ending?" Linklater made some concessions, from studio interference as well as by his own instincts during the editing process. The original drafts were much darker. Richard Linklater mostly stuck to his guns and Dazed and Confused is the movie he wanted to see released.
It's no surprise to that the cast and crew were depressed at the end of shooting. They didn't want the experience to end. And we, the viewers, do not want the movie to end. Nor did most of us wish to see our own hard-partying youthful days come to an end. Some, like me, held on longer than was prudent.
There are moments of puerile humor in Dazed and Confused. Some of it is cringe-inducing. That's part of being young. But there are sequences in the film that are pure visual poetry. The beautiful final scene in Wooderson's car as the four kids drive into their futures, blissfully unaware of the tribulations ahead, can bring a tear to my eyes.
Alright, Alright, Alright is a reverent and minutely detailed look at the conception, the execution, and the aftermath of Dazed and Confused. It is as joyous and heartbreaking as the movie. If you love the film, and who doesn't, you owe it to yourself to buy a copy. Like Dazed and Confused itself, you are likely to revisit it numerous times.
Written by Mark Sieber
First time directors were making waves with very low budget but artistic and successful debuts like Spike Lee's She's Gotta Have It, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, Michael Moore's Roger and Me, and Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi. One of the biggest catalysts of the era was Richard Linklater's Slacker.
Slacker was widely respected, and it was giving film students spontaneous orgasms, but I was never really a fan. I appreciated the editing and the non-conventional structure of Slacker, but I found the people in it to be boring. I've spend more than enough time around flakes in real life, thank you very much.
In fact, I've had very mixed feelings about Linklater's movie career. I loved Boyhood, I enjoyed SubUrbia, I had a great time with Everybody Wants Some. I even like his Bad News Bears remake. But then I hated The School of Rock. I can't take Jack Black. I thought Before Sunrise was gorgeously shot, but it failed to emotionally involve me. Looking over his oeuvre, I see I need to catch up on some of his titles.
Like everyone else I adore Dazed and Confused. This movie is the perfect embodiment of my own youthful partying life. Linklater had some prior experience with the subject. My generation were, after all, the prototype slackers.
Of course had I been there, I would have been watching Family Plot at the drive-in and not at the Moon Tower party.
Dazed and Confused works because it not only defines seventies rock and roll/party culture, it represents youth from all generations. We tend to idolize an era not only for the styles and trends. We put rose-colored glasses on our own youth.
Plus we know these people. The jock who gets along with the heads and the brains. The quintessential stoner dude. The popular mean girl. The creepy older guy who can't escape his high school glory days. The bullies and their nerdy victims.
The one I most relate to is smart kid Tony, played by Anthony Rapp. I didn't realize until now he was the likably annoying kid next door in Adventures in Babysitting.
Alright, Alright, Alright is an oral history of Dazed and Confused. I always enjoy these type of books. Memories are faulty anyway, and it's good to see various perspectives on details.
One thing that took me by surprise is how Linklater felt that Dazed and Confused is an anti-nostalgia story. Most people consider it to be one of the most nostalgic films of all time. He makes a pretty good point, though. There is a dark undercurrent in the movie. Adults tend to forget the constant pressure teenagers regularly go through. Pressure from parents, faculty, and even their own peers.
It's not hard to predict ugly futures for some of these people. Ben Affeck's character O'Bannon is headed straight for alcoholism and possible incarceration. Rory Cochrane's Slater will probably be an unemployable terminal burnout. Sasha Jenson's Don shows signs of being an abuser of women. Parker Posey's Darla would in all likelihood marry a rich guy and become an insufferable Karen.
Universal wanted to market Dazed and Confused as a stoner comedy, but it's so much more than that. The movie is structured more like an art film. The studio execs went nuts trying to conform it into a more conventional narrative. "What about a love affair, with a dramatic breakup and reconciliation at the conclusion?". "How about a real ending?" Linklater made some concessions, from studio interference as well as by his own instincts during the editing process. The original drafts were much darker. Richard Linklater mostly stuck to his guns and Dazed and Confused is the movie he wanted to see released.
It's no surprise to that the cast and crew were depressed at the end of shooting. They didn't want the experience to end. And we, the viewers, do not want the movie to end. Nor did most of us wish to see our own hard-partying youthful days come to an end. Some, like me, held on longer than was prudent.
There are moments of puerile humor in Dazed and Confused. Some of it is cringe-inducing. That's part of being young. But there are sequences in the film that are pure visual poetry. The beautiful final scene in Wooderson's car as the four kids drive into their futures, blissfully unaware of the tribulations ahead, can bring a tear to my eyes.
Alright, Alright, Alright is a reverent and minutely detailed look at the conception, the execution, and the aftermath of Dazed and Confused. It is as joyous and heartbreaking as the movie. If you love the film, and who doesn't, you owe it to yourself to buy a copy. Like Dazed and Confused itself, you are likely to revisit it numerous times.
Written by Mark Sieber
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