Dazed and Confused (1993)

The adventures of high school and junior high students on the last day of school in May 1976.

Director:

Richard Linklater

Writer:

Richard Linklater

Stars:

Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew McConaughey

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jason London	...	Pink
Joey Lauren Adams	...	Simone
Milla Jovovich	...	Michelle
Shawn Andrews	...	Pickford
Rory Cochrane	...	Slater
Adam Goldberg	...	Mike
Anthony Rapp	...	Tony
Sasha Jenson	...	Don
Marissa Ribisi	...	Cynthia
Deena Martin	...	Shavonne
Michelle Burke	...	Jodi
Cole Hauser	...	Benny
Christine Harnos	...	Kaye
Wiley Wiggins	...	Mitch
Mark Vandermeulen	...	Tommy

Storyline

It's the last day of school at a high school in a small town in Texas in 1976. The upperclassmen are hazing the incoming freshmen, and everyone is trying to get stoned, drunk, or laid, even the football players that signed a pledge not to.

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Plot Keywords:

hazing | high school | last day of school | football | pledge | 

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Taglines:

It was the last day of school in 1976, a time they'd never forget... if only they could remember.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive, continuous teen drug and alcohol use and very strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Shawn Andrews (Kevin Pickford) and Jason London (Randall "Pink" Floyd) did not get along during the shoot, and writer, producer, and director Richard Linklater eventually had to break them up from fighting at one point. This wound up changing the ending, as it was to feature Pickford instead of Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey). This also accounts for their virtual lack of dialogue between each other, despite being in each other's scenes quite a bit.

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Goofs

Near the end of the movie when they are smoking a joint on the football field, the long shot shows them all sitting about 20 yards from a large dead patch of grass, but in the close-up, Slater's head is almost in the dead spot.

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Quotes

Tony: [describing his dream] So there I am, getting it on with this perfect female body and...
Mike: What?
Tony: I can't say.
Mike: No, you can't give a build-up like that and not deliver. You know, a perfect female body, it's not a bad start.
Tony: But with the head of Abraham Lincoln. With the hat and the beard, everything.

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Alternate Versions

An earlier cut of the film opens with Randal and others stealing the statues that would later be painted.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: The Hollywood Knights (2019)

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Soundtracks

Show Me the Way
Written and Performed by Peter Frampton
Courtesy of A&M Records, Inc.

User Reviews

If you like "Fast Times at Ridgemont High", you'll like this film!

Dazed and Confused has a lot in common with Fast Times at Ridgemont High; both movies contain a lot of future stars playing teenagers, both have lots of terrific Rock tunes on the soundtrack, and both derive laughs from their characters and situations and not through jokes, pratfalls and other typical Hollywood clichés. One difference between the two films is that Dazed and Confused is a period-piece, filmed in 1993 it takes place in 1976, and directer Richard Linklater does a marvelous job capturing the habits, the styles and the attitudes of the era. In that regard maybe this movie is more inspired by "American Graffiti" than Fast Times at Ridgemont. But it doesn't matter because to me D&C is the best of them all.

This movie seems to be as personal to Linklater as it is to me, and its not so much about plot or big scenes as it is about realism and the overall flow...and it flows beautifully. The movie follows a group of high school juniors and another group of 8th graders (next years seniors and freshmen)through the events surrounding the last day of school in Austin, Texas in 1976 (the whole film takes place in approximately 24 hours). We observe the hazing, the partying, some introspective banter and many familiar rituals as the characters prepare not just for the summer, but for the next school year and beyond. This was the same general time period I was in high school, so this movie had a special impact on me.

At this point I need to mention Wooderson (McConaughey,in his film debut), a key character, he's that 20-something dude that still hangs with the high school crowd. Did every town in America have a guy like this or what? Wood, Dawson, Slater, Pickford; these guys all remind me of guys I grew up with in my hometown.

The greatness of this film is that it rings so true...the way the "jocks" party with the "freaks" (or "grits' as they were also called where I grew up), the way they just aimlessly cruise around in muscle cars until they find out where the party's at, or the mailbox bashing (here it was beer bottles thrown at signs), or even the bottle cap flipping...we did that all the time! The only thing i didn't see was a bong. (besides the one Slater was making in shop class..HEY, we did that too!) Yeah thats right -joints are better for cruising anyway.

This is the kind of movie to rent on one of those Friday nights where you have to work early the next day. I first rented this movie on one of those very nights. Its a great Friday night movie and why not? No heavy handed plot, lots of partying and good music, and it makes you feel good. Speaking of the soundtrack...Linklater makes great use of period music; We get the gamut of 70s pop/rock including Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, ZZ Top, War, Dylan and even Black oak Arkansas (remember them?)....Jim dandy to the rescue! This movie really took me back.

Dazed and Confused is also a bit of a curio because of all the young actors (who were all unknown at the time) who went on to star in other movies. You will see Matthew McConaughey (his best performance ever), Ben Affleck, Parker Posey (she's a riot), Adam Goldberg, Joey Lauren Adams and Milla Jovavich (ok,i'm reaching now), among others. My only complaint involving the cast is that Wiley Wiggins' (as Mitch Kramer) mannerisms are a bit irritating, but other than that everyone does a tremendous job.

This movie has become like a fascinating time capsule about that post-revolutionary decade of the 70s, a decade filled with great music, movies and television (seriously, what the heck has happened to entertainment in this country?)... so its worth viewing for historical and social aspects as well as its entertainment value.

But anyway, I hope you enjoy one of my personal favorites...a really cool, funny and realistic look at what teenage life was like in so many towns in America in the mid-70s.

It may be set in Texas, but it could just as easily be Ohio.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 February 1994 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Dazed and Confused

Filming Locations:

Toney Burger Center, Sunset Valley TX

Box Office

Budget:

$6,900,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$918,127, 26 September 1993

Gross USA:

$7,993,039

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,993,039

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gramercy Pictures (I), Alphaville Films, Detour Filmproduction

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1