I Miss Sports, So I’m Writing Movie Reviews To Ease My Soul: “Dazed and Confused” (1993)
We have a lot of free time on our hands these days. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all indoors, scrambling for ways to fill up the abundance of free hours each day.
I decided to use this period of seclusion (however long it may end up being) to finally get around to seeing all those movies friends have told me to see through the years. You know when someone tells you about an awesome movie they saw, and you’re like, “cool, I’ll cross it off the list?” Well, I’m tired of bullshitting my friends. It’s time to put a dent in that list.
On Saturday night, I decided to check off the 1993 cult classic “Dazed and Confused,” a feel-good comedy (which we could all use these days) starring a bunch of then-unknowns including Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Jason London, and Cole Houser, among others.
It’s the last day of high school in May 1976, in a small town outside Austin, Texas, and the class of ’77 is hellbent on making sure their last high school summer gets off to just the right start, with hopes that an ordinary night at the town pool hall devolves into the keg party of the season. They’re also focused on properly hazing the incoming freshmen, who fight the good fight but ultimately fall victim to the seniors’ onslaught of physical and psychological abuse. These two plot lines intertwine to create an epic teenage saga you’ll want to believe in. And I trust you’ll be as bummed as I was when the sun began to rise on a night that will make you understand why “it’s bigger in Texas.”
At first glance, “Dazed and Confused” feels like little more than a half-baked, predictable teen comedy. However, it becomes clear in time that this film is as multi-faceted as some of its characters. Take star quarterback Randall “Pink” Floyd as an example. He’s vehemently against his coach’s requirement that his players sign a pledge to refrain from alcohol and drug use for the entire summer, in hopes that sobriety will put his team on the fast track to that coveted state championship. But Randall’s got a lot more going on in his life than football. He has friends in high places — the jocks and cheerleaders — and plenty of pals in more raggedy corners — you know, your stoners, geeks, and nerds. And he’s not so sure he’s willing to throw that all away for four more months of blood, sweat, and tears underneath the blazing, unforgiving Texas sun. It’s a teenage dilemma that’s probably a lot more common in America than Hollywood would suggest.
The same could be said about incoming freshman Mitch Kramer. An athletic introvert, he’s on the express train to popularity, as Randall and some of his buddies take Mitch along on their crazy night of adventures, introducing the fourteen-year-old to a mysterious new world of beer, marijuana, and girls.
There’s a big age range between the oldest and youngest characters. McCounaghey plays a 20-something who still enjoys hanging with the younger crowd, while some of the characters are just out of eighth grade and just beginning their formative years. And somehow, this age range is what makes for such a relatable, enjoyable movie. They might not be at the same points in their life, but they all recognize this night for what it is — one of the waning moments of innocence that they’ll hold on to forever.
