I had been hearing good things about this movie for twenty-five years. It seemed like a perfect fit for me, since I grew up in the era and I love the soundtrack songs. (Especially "Stranglehold" by Ted Nugent and "Slow Ride" by Foghat.)So when I finally watched the movie last week, I was initially dazed and confused. I was expecting a different movie altogether. DAZED AND CONFUSED isn't sweet, like Pretty in Pink or 16 Candles. It's not poignant, like AMERICAN GRAFFITI, THE LAST PICTURE SHOW, or COOLEY HIGH. It's not funny, like PORKY'S or FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH. It's not even tragic or dramatic in the traditional sense, like ALPHA DOG or THE LORDS OF DOGTOWN. There are elements of all these films in the characters and the story line, but they all come together in ways that are strangely unsettling and even thought-provoking at times. The first thing that shocked me was the idea of big kids "paddling" little kids for fun, in broad daylight. I could have understood if it was one bully, and he got punished at the end. Or if there was one kid who got picked on, and he stood up for himself at the end, like THE KARATE KID. But the idea that EVERYONE gets bullied in such a horrible way, and ALL the big kids are in on it, just freaked me out. How could that be true? And what would it prove? It's even weirder when a woman pulls a shotgun to protect her kid. Wouldn't she tell other parents? And the police? Where are the other parents? And the police? The movie doesn't give you any easy answers about what's happening or why. Then there was the whole plot line of the popular jock who refuses to sign a pledge to quit using drugs and drinking alcohol. What's funny is that this guy gets off on hurting smaller boys, beating them a bat, and the whole town knows it. But the coach wants him to stop using alcohol and drugs. The beatings don't matter? Then there's the overly serious way they present the jock's struggle, like he's Paul Scofield playing Sir Thomas More in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. You can't tell if this is meant to be satire or real drama. You have to decide for yourself. And that's what makes this movie so disturbing. The boys have tons of disturbing scenes in this movie, but the girls are just as dark and the sexual encounters are really frightening. During the "initiation" scene a girl about 14 years old has to go up to a senior boy and tell him that she's his and he can do "whatever he wants" to her. And the older girls FORCE her to do this! That's supposed to be funny? But then it's okay, because the boy senior takes her out for the evening and they get along just fine. So it's okay to have girls brutalized and debased by older girls because boys will take care of them? What message is this movie even trying to send?Part of me wants to say the movie is just garbage, yet there's something about the flat, matter of fact way all these horrendous events are portrayed that makes it all seem true to life in a very complicated and disturbing way. There's no easy sentimentality about these characters, and no real "happy endings." At the end of the movie, the star jock doesn't necessarily do the "right" thing, but he does do his "own" thing.And the movie is like that too.

What happened? I first saw this movie maybe 20-ish years ago. I loved it! I saw it again today, and I'm horrified! First off, let me say this is a well written and well directed movie. Richard Linklater is one of the best storytellers in the industry. He certainly knows how to capture and interpret the ebb and flow of real life. The different emotions his films bring out in those who not only watch, but act in them, are genuine. Clearly, Linklater can successfully reproduce the feelings and era in which his films take place. Dazed and Confused is set in 1976. I can't remember the clothes without looking at old family photos. I can't remember the music without YouTube and Spotify. Looking through some of the user reviews posted 10-plus years ago by those who went through high school in the 1970's comment on how accurate this movie is. Really?In short: Dazed and Confused (mostly) follows some high school freshmen as they try to escape getting paddled (spanked) by the seniors, and in some cases adults not even in school. A sort of "right-of-passage" to higher learning (hazing). There'll be guns, lots and lots of weed, and fights. There will be blood. Then there's Matthew McConaughey's character, Wooderson ("Alright, alright, alright."), a (much older) high school dropout who's looking to get back in. His intentions aren't all that noble, though. "That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age," he says while noticing a female freshman (9th grader). The boys flirt with teachers, and occasionally have a sexual remark about a fellow classmate, perhaps it accompanies a slap on the ass as they walk past. WTF?Am I really so old that this whole thing horrifies me?I know it's only movie. Certainly, Dazed and Confused is a little deeper than that, as my personal rating obviously reflects. It's about adolescence. It's about finding one's own way. It's about battling the trials and tribulations of growing up. It's all relative, and in this case, it's coming of age in 1976. Some of us lived through what this movie portrays, others, like me, went to high school in the mid-1980's and experienced a different culture. It was lame and boring. But in 20-years we'll be watching movies about high school life in the 2010's. How alarmed will we be then?Be afraid. Be very afraid.Two things you'll LIKE about Dazed and Confused: 1) The nostalgia. 2) The emotions this movie will stir up.Two things you'll DISLIKE: 1) The emotions this movie will stir up. 2) The thought of wondering what your own children are up to in school.

Ordering at the Speak Box, in a muscle car. Yes? No?Figure likely, being that Ben Affleck is in the film and the producers/director were taking anybody into the film, as they picked up Mathew McConoughy the night before first shoot.

I won't lie that I watched it after I saw 'Everybody Wants Some!!' from the same director. Because I liked that film and I heard that was a spiritual sequel to this one. So there goes my reason. I usually love the 80s and 90s teen films, you can't compare them to what they make now. The film was from the edge of before my generation began, but I'm very related that time than the other end. So I felt very familiar and enjoyed it thoroughly.The film focused on the final day of the high school. It opened in the afternoon during the final class and followed by night where a party was arranged by the seniors that does not take off after their parents suspected it. Between the freshmen and the seniors, a tradition follows. Some of them escape, but those who got caught, struggles to way out. Not everyone, some make it their best time in high school. So who gets what and how everyone's night turns out revealed in the remaining.We can see some of the big names of the today's cinema in this 23 year old film. Matthew McCanaughey, Milla Jovovich, Ben Affleck and many more. Though the film never focused one particular character, it was neutral and stayed that way till the end. But it told the story of the final day of the high school about the individuals and their intentions. You do not have to be a youngster to enjoy it, it will work for everybody. So I hope you watch it, especially before to try 'Everybody Wants Some'.7/10