DAZED AND CONFUSED
A film review by Chad Polenz
Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz
*** (out of 4 = good) 1993, R, 97 minutes [1 hour, 37 minutes] [comedy] starring: Jason London (Pink), Joey Lauren Adams (Simone), Milla Jovovich (Michelle), Shawn Andrews (Pickford), Rory Cochrane (Slater), Adam Goldberg (Mike), produced by James Jacks, Sean Daniel, Richard Linklater, written and directed by Richard Linklater.
Richard Linklater is quickly becoming one of the most influential and creative directors today. His debut film, "Slacker," was a surrealistic journey through a strange Texas town which was more of an experiment in dialogue rather than any type of commercial product. "Dazed And Confused" is his second film, which plays more upon defining characters and presenting teens as they really are. It's not perfect, but it is original when compared to most other movies of the genre.
There really isn't any one star of this movie as the focus of attention never seems to last longer than a few minutes at a time (the same technique used in "Slacker"). This time the camera does not wander too far, it finds a bunch of characters and repeatedly comes back to them, showing them as a collective group.
The story takes place on the last day of school in 1976. All juniors who are about to become seniors are getting ready to "initiate" the incoming freshmen. The males make wooden paddles to whack the boys, while the females round up all the girls and cover them in goo and force them to do humiliating acts. The way this is told, so blatantly, as if this is socially acceptable really freaked me out. Their attitudes were so intense, almost evil, it borders on Sadomasochism, but maybe that is the point. Then again, after the seniors whack the freshmen they invite them to hang out and party with them.
There are characters of all the typical high school cliques here: jocks, nerds, sluts, princesses, drug users, and punks. But they're not really fighting with each other, for once they all have something in common - they just want to party and have fun.
Meeting members of the opposite sex comes easily to almost all of the characters There are a lot of scenes that have potential to build up character and define a relationship, but Linklater doesn't spend much time worrying about these characters' love lives. Teenagers fall in and out of love so fast, and the story makes this obvious by ignoring it (what you don't see is the most obvious I guess).
"Dazed And Confused" doesn't have the charm "American Graffiti" had, but I admire its boldness in portraying suburban teens in such a pessimistic manner. It could be seen as trying to make a condemning statement about their lifestyles, but I think the message is open to interpretation.
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