I have found it too easy to pop a movie in the player these last few days. Tonight it was Richard Linklater's 1993 feature, Dazed and Confused. My first screening, in 1993, consisted of a packed Bloor Cinema. It really is a crowd film. And it appealed to my own sense of nostalgia: While I did not spend May of 1976 in Texas, and did not enjoy the ritualistic pleasures of a coming-of-age paddy wacking, Dazed was a look back to that time for me. I would have been the age of the younger kids; hence my keen insight into a lack of paddles on my end.I saw Dazed again about three years ago. For some reason what was a rear view mirror to me back in February of '93, didn't sustain any longer. In its purest form, the film did provide some kick but now I was looking at a broader picture -- an inconsequential plot.
Well, somewhat like my experience rewatching True Stories last night, Dazed and Confused again felt pretty perfect. I'm three years older since my previous look at this picture; maybe I'm clawing at my youth with more desperation.
I laughed a lot.
The cast is terrific. And that Matthew McConaughey has one of the film's best lines (which earned an explosive laugh from the crowd at the Bloor Cinema): "That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, and they stay the same age."
2 comments:
very interesting blog...
Have to disagree with you on this one. Maybe it's my dislike of watching stoners/teenagers drinking on film, given that that was so prevelant around me growing up. I just found the whole film lacking in any insight. It seemed like a "this what I did on my summer vacation story" and how often were those very interesting?
My opinion. Feel free to have one of your own.
Post a Comment