Free love, high school hazings, Matthew McConaughey in ‘not being anyone shocker’ – there is much to admire about Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.
If there’s any two words that should you darting off in the other direction, it’s the combination of ‘Matthew McConaughey’ and ‘coming of age comedy’. Believe it or not, long before he became Hollywood’s go-to guy for romantic comedy posters that involve him leaning on women, Matt managed to make a few good movies in the 1990s.
To be more specific, everything you think you know about McConaughey will go right out the window once you’ve seen him play David Wooderson, an older guy that likes to hang out with his high school for one specific reason: “That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.”
With a cigarette box packed up in his t-shirt sleeve, a surprisingly cool bowl-shaped haircut and a propensity for trying to get high on any occasion, Matt’s charming layabout steals the show. In one particularly memorable scene, he asks Wiley Wiggins’ young protagonist Mitch: “Say, man, you got a joint?” After being told that Mitch hasn’t, he smiles and offers a simple response: “It’d be a lot cooler if you did.”
Matt’s cast against type role is just one of many standout performances in this 1970s-set ensemble piece, which boasts an ridiculous number of future stars, such as Milla Jovovich, Parker Posey and Joey Lauren Adams.
Set on May 28, 1976 and the last day of school, writer, producer and director Richard Linklater’s focuses on the annual hazings of incoming freshmen, the improvisation surrounding a botched end of term party and in the aforementioned Mitch, a young kid’s most memorable night of his life.
Oh yeah, Ben Affleck is in there too
Evoking nostalgia for your own final school days (even if you weren’t living in the 1970s) and expressing a time when social networking actually meant getting out of the house, there’s an authenticity that shines through in Dazed and Confused and that’s one of the reasons why it’s so revered 18 years after its original release.
Despite earning a meagre $8m during its theatrical run, Dazed’s legacy is such that it frequently pops up in lists for the top cult films of all time and best high school movies, while Quentin Tarantino listed it as one of his favourite movies of all time in 2002. Critics were bowled over upon release too, with review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes delivered a 98% ‘Fresh’ rating.
However, if there’s one main reason that we’ll give you to check out Dazed and Confused ASAP then it’s for its incredible soundtrack, which surely ranks as one of the best ever. Boasting a huge assortment of the finest in 1970s rock, from Lynyrd Skynrd (‘Tuesday’s Gone’), Foghat (‘Slow Ride), Alice Cooper (‘No More Mr Nice Guy) and Black Sabbath (‘Paranoid’), it’s the perfect accompaniment to a film that passes right over you, with no danger, no threats and barely even a third act.
Rather, Linklater’s work is leaves nostalgic memories, a stonking soundtrack and an eerie glimpse of a tolerable Matthew McConaughey. Best of all, although many Dazed and Confused fans and I get older, the film’s appeal never fades.
For more cult films, check out the Jameson Cult Film Club.
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