Overall Rating
  Awesome: 59.29%
Worth A Look: 22.12%
Just Average: 6.19%
Pretty Crappy: 6.19%
Sucks: 6.19%
4 reviews, 89 user ratings
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| Dazed and Confused |
by Ophelia13
"Fah Q."
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The school year has almost ended, and it is time to pull out the summer movies. The blockbusters. The slapstick comedies. All those cinematic masterpieces people watch in the darkness of the theatre while they should be out in the light of day. But before there can be summer movies, there must be movies like “Dazed and Confused”.It’s the last day of school in 1976, and for the class of 1977 it’s going to be a long night. They’ve got classes to skip, pot to smoke, beer to drink, incoming freshmen to humiliate, and a whole summer to look forward to. They try not to look forward, to see the future. They live in the here and now, in the hazy and lackluster present. What they can’t avoid seeing they view with a sort of optimism by default—the class motto seems to be “Chill out, man. It can’t get any worse.” But beneath the clouds of smoke and classic rock, some of these are real people with real goals and principles. It is these that our movie is about; it is these who are dazed and confused. Their last night of the school year will be a long one, and so will the rest of their lives.
“Dazed and Confused” is one of those pre-summer movies, like “American Graffiti” and “Can’t Hardly Wait”. Almost always billed as a comedy, this type of movie is supposed to capture the feeling of anticipatory celebration that ends the dull monotony of being in a classroom every day for hours on end. What they don’t include in the billing is that unspoken need for the movie to capture something else: the desperation of high schoolers. This is a standard brought about by American Graffiti, and one expects the sense of insecurity and tension that we first saw there. Here we have that sense, and just as in the films of this type that came before it, it has been spattered all over the screen. It plays to stereotypes, of course. The jock can’t decide his purpose, the nerd wants a girl, and the bully is about to be brought down by his insecurities.
It is billed as a comedy. And comedies are supposed to be funny, to make you laugh so hard your sides hurt. Sometimes though, you can watch one that doesn’t make you laugh out loud, and it’s still just as good. Sharp writing, good timing and a healthy dose of originality can make a comedy great, without all that other stuff. “Dazed and Confused” had very little to offer when it came to side splitting hilariousness, but managed a quick wit and a tongue in cheek attitude toward it’s subjects.
Richard Linklater did the world a favor when he cast an entire film with unknowns. Here we are introduced to good actors (Marissa Ribisi, and Milla Jovovich), now famous actors (Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams) and great actors (Adam Goldberg). Never mind that you can’t see most of these actors as high school students-- or even college students. That’s not the point. The point is that they are acting; they know it, you know it, and they know that you know it. With that knowledge, they pander beautifully to the audience, and you can’t help but enjoy it.
Overall, it’s no work of art. It’s not an insight into the teenage mind; it’s not a brilliant portrayal of anything at all. But it’s fun, and it sets you up for spending your vacation in a darkened theatre watching things explode.Perhaps a time will come when people no longer think of the last day of school as a big deal. That will also be the time when there is no summer blockbuster. Until that sad and fateful day, we’ve got “Dazed and Confused,” and what an enjoyable trip that is.
link directly to this review at https://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=1030&reviewer=130
originally posted: 06/08/00 19:18:57
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USA
01-Jan-1993 (R)
DVD: 02-Nov-2004
UK
N/A
Australia
N/A
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