Rent Dazed and Confused on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Richard Linklater
Directed by: Richard Linklater
Starring: Jason London, Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Milla Jovovich, Cole Hauser, Parker Posey, Adam Goldberg, Nicky Katt, Joey Lauren Adams, Rory Cochrane, Anthony Rapp
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
High school and junior high students find various adventures on the last day of school in May 1976.
Verdict
This has such a simple concept. It's just one day, the last day of class, for several high school students. The film excels at creating an atmosphere. While I don't know what school was like in the 70s this feels authentic. Even if I'm being fooled, many movies can't even do that. It seems like a time capsule, capturing the style and culture. Woven into the fabric of this one night are the stories of students; seniors graduating or new freshman and their escapades. Linklater is a master at creating a mood movie, a world you'd like to live in for a little bit. That alone would be enough, but this adds effective narratives.
Watch It.
Review
Linklater was inspired by American Graffiti (1973), which depicted seniors cruising the strip in 1962. Can't Hardly Wait (1998) seems like an analogous example depicting the 90s. All of the movies capture that time period as the characters hang out for a night.
It's the last day of high school in the 70s, and everyone is ready for the day to end. This captures the mood and feel instantly. Students already plan parties and the summer. Teachers are checked out. A few conversations are more intelligent than high school students could muster, but it does add levity. Just a few minutes in and I wanted to visit this world.
The rising seniors have a tradition of hazing incoming freshman. Mitch (Wiley Wiggins) gets caught and paddled by second year O'Bannion (Ben Affleck). Football quarterback Floyd (Jason London) gives Mitch a ride after and they hang out for a bit as Floyd recounts how he got paddled. Not all seniors delight in bullying.
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| Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew McConaughey play Randall "Pink" Floyd, Mitch Kramer, David Wooderson |
Pickford's plan for a house party goes awry when the keg arrives while his parents are still home. Instead everyone heads to the pool hall. How can you not like Wooderson? Matthew McConaughey does a great job in his break out role. What I like about the character is that Wooderson seems cool if you're a teen as you're hanging out with someone older that seems mature. When you're older, you realize how sad it is that his friends are high school students. He inhabits two spaces as an adult while still hanging out with teens. Wooderson hangs on to his past glory, and I'm sure he likes the adoration he gets. He's not that much different from Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite (2004).
Several plots are embedded in this hang out story. Floyd considered quitting football despite being the quarterback, torn between living up to expectations and forging his own path. Mitch gets to hang out with upperclassmen for the first time, impressing his friends. They eventually hatch a plan to get revenge on O'Bannion.
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| Sasha Jenson, Matthew McConaughey, Jason London, Wiley Wiggins play Don Dawson, David Wooderson, Randall "Pink" Floyd, Mitch Kramer |
From the pool hall, a keg party starts in the woods which leads to Floyd and his friends smoking on the football field. Floyd's torn over whether to play football. Wooderson gives him the sage advice of living his own life without worrying about the expectations of others.
This is one of those movies that captures a mood so completely. It manages to generate a feeling that few movies ever approach. We know people like these characters. Some of us were these people. It allows us to live another day in high school whether we were around in the 70s or not.
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