Dazed and Confused
"...DAZED AND CONFUSED unfolds in a loose, natural style that suits its teenage characters....Enjoyably playful spirit..."
- New York Times 09/24/1993
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Written by: Richard Linklater
Cast: Joey Lauren Adams, Ben Affleck, Michelle Burke, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Cole Hauser, Sasha Jensen, Milla Jovovich, Jason London, Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, Anthony Rapp, Marissa Ribisi, Wiley Wiggins, Renee Zellweger
Rory's Character: Ron Slater
Synopsis:
Richard Linklater's DAZED AND CONFUSED takes a hysterical, nostalgic
cross-clique look at high school social development. On the last day of school
in May 1976, students at a suburban Texas high school wait, lackadaisically, for
classes to end. The restless almost-seniors--an eclectic group of stone-heads,
fraternal jocks, and snobby sorority girls--can't wait to haze the incoming
freshman, an annual event as harrowing for freshman boys as it is humiliating
for girls. Amidst this teenage wasteland of drugs, partying, and rock and roll
is football star Pink (Jason London), who saves scrawny pre-frosh Mitch (Wiley
Wiggins) from being paddled to oblivion by upper-classmates. But Pink has his
own battles: he's struggling over the head coach's demand that football players
sign a pledge to abstain from sex and all psychoactive substances. When a wild
end-of-the-year party is cancelled, the students end up congregating at a
beer-blast in the back woods, organized by aging hang-about Wooderson (Matthew
McConaughey). In the same way that George Lucas assembled a cast of fresh young
faces for AMERICAN GRAFFITI, Linklater here creates an unforgettable cast of
characters that are immediately familiar to anyone who has ever been through
high school.
Own Review:
Okay, first off I want to clear up some things. If "Dazed and Confused" would be real life and I would live there, I would definitely be hanging with Slater, if you know what I mean :) So, of course I love the Movie. Sometimes when I read synopsis about the film on shopping sites or whatever, I always get the feeling that those people never really saw the movie. It seems a lot of people see it as a usual teen-flick and put it in the same categories such as: Can't hardly wait, American Pie etc. Now, don't get me wrong, I like those movies, but I think "Dazed and Confused" has a little bit more to offer. The performances by the Actors are wonderful and most importantly believable. The Film goes from hilarious to serious and back without loosing it's vision. It manages to get the audience hooked by the story. Everybody would love to go to a Party like that. Of course my favorite Character is Slater. Rory did a pretty good job in this movie, and gives the character of an all-time-stoned dude a lovable but never goofy site of comedy. It is said that he actually is responsible for a lot of Dialogue himself, especially the legendary speech about George Washington and the growing's in his garden. Which is so hilarious, that it even end up beeing a huge part of the trailer. Slater says this with such sincerity that it cracks me up every single time I watched it. Matthew McConaughey is brilliant in the part of an older town-guy who still lives the way of the 70's and likes his high-school girls. All of the cast had done a pretty good job portraying those characters and Ben Affleck might surprise a few people showing that he can be really funny. Not to mention the kick-ass soundtrack. All in one, the movie is fantastic, so go buy it if you haven't seen it yet.
Outside Reviews:
Links:
Rolling Stone - Dazed and Confused
Slater Quotes:
__ George Washington was in a cult, and the cult was into aliens man!__
__ Behind every good man there is a woman, and that woman was Martha Washington man, and everyday George would come home, she would have a big fat bowl waiting for him, man when he come in the door, man she was a hip, hip, hip lady, man.__
__This place used to be off limits man 'cause some drunk freshman fell right down the middle smacking his head on every beam man. Autopsy said he only had one beer, how many did you have? Mitch: Four. Slater: You're dead man, you're so dead.__
__Didja ever look at a dollar bill man? There's some spooky shit goin' on there. And it's green too!__