Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Majorthebys Charming and brutal

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

nnienhaus Some of you are saying this is so far from your experience in high school while others tell what actually happened. So it didn't happen to you but it actually did happen to some people. Just because you went to high school in thIs time periods and it wasn't true to YOUR experience doesn't mean it never happened. It doesn't matter anyway I was a movie that captured parts of the culture in the 70s get over it

Dan1863Sickles 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.

iNickR 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.

Jackson Booth-Millard Following his debut with independent teen movie Slacker, the second film from director Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise, School of Rock, Boyhood) was another teen movie, I was especially attracted to watch when I read more about the cast. Basically it is May 28th 1976 in a small town in the suburbs of Austin, Texas, the last day of the academic year at Lee High School, many of the kids are skipping classes, smoking weed and ready to celebrate the summer vacation, with a big keg party at Kevin Pickford's house. The Seniors are excited to chase the newbie Freshmans for hazing and no-nonsense spankings, while the girls face verbal abuse and humiliation. There is no plot as such, it is mainly a series of conversations while characters walk and drive to the party, and of course when they are there the many groups of greasers, nerds, stoners and athletes indulge in boozing and drugs to their heart's content, but they do change perspectives through their actions. Starring Jason London as Randall "Pink" Floyd, Rory Cochrane as Slater, Waking Life's Wiley Wiggins as Mitch Kramer, Sasha Jenson as Don Dawson, Michelle Burke as Jodi Kramer, Shawn Andrews as Pickford, Road Trip's Anthony Rapp as Tony Olson, Christin Hinojosa as Sabrina Davis, Big Daddy's Joey Lauren Adams as Simone Kerr, Marissa Ribisi (Giovanni's twin sister) as Cynthia Dunn, Cole Hauser as Benny and Nicky Katt as Clint, and featuring up-and-coming young talents Adam Goldberg as Mike Newhouse, Milla Jovovich as Michelle Burroughs, Matthew McConaughey as David Wooderson, Ben Affleck as Fred O'Bannion and Parker Posey as Darla Marks, and look out for Renée Zellweger as the Girl in blue pickup truck. Seeing the young big-name actors is the highlight of the film, it has a pseudo-documentary style, and it has similarities to Fast Times at Ridgemont High and American Graffiti, it is not like American Pie, full of sex, crudeness and over-the-top jokes, it is a simple but effective look at the interactions, attraction and distractions by teenagers killing time, with a terrific soundtrack, including songs by Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Bob Dylan, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Kiss, a most watchable comedy drama. Good!