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| Scene from Dazed and Confused |
Welcome to Alternative to What: a weekly column that tries to find a great alternative to driving to the multiplexes. Based on releases of that week, the selections will either be thematically related or feature recurring cast and crew. The goal is to help you better understand the diversity of cinema and hopefully find you some favorites while saving a few bucks. At worse, this column will save you money. Expect each installment to come out on Fridays, unless specified.
THIS WEEK:
Dazed and Confused (1993)
- Alternative To -
Everybody Wants Some!! (2016)
As discussed a few days ago on here, director Richard Linklater is a great yet unassuming auteur. His use of time and place is unmatched in its ability to turn a day of debauchery or loitering into high art. This weekend's Everybody Wants Some!! looks to at least have the debauchery on tap as he returns to baseball by infusing them with frat houses and a wicked 80's soundtrack. For many, there's a certain film that may sound familiar even in Linklater's career. For those wondering if this sounds like Dazed and Confused, it is likely because it shares a lot of vague similarities - just in a different decade (the big difference being that this is a college film to the older film's high school daze).
Widely regarded as Linklater's best, Dazed and Confused has a lot of enviable prestige attached to its cast that makes its unassuming plot somehow richer. Taking place over the course of one evening, the story follows the various cliques in high school as they enjoy their last moment before entering "the real world" as it were. It's a 70's cavalcade on the soundtrack that paves the way for plenty of drinking and smoking among teenagers who have nothing better to do than loiter around and discuss very mundane yet ill-informed topics made all the more impressive by Linklater's capability to provide a certain authenticity to the conversation.
At times, the film itself feels like a raunchier spiritual sequel to American Graffiti with its ensemble cast and period appropriate style. However, it inevitably works on its own largely because it captures the essence of high school culture without having to set up a complicated plot. It's just an excuse to watch people talk to each other without a care in the world. The film points out the insecurities of growing up, and how if you don't - you're just a tragic figure. The film's major point, among its many highlights, is that it helped to launch Matthew McConaughey's career, also featuring his famous "All right, all right, all right" catchphrase that has appeared in more than a few of his movies.
Widely regarded as Linklater's best, Dazed and Confused has a lot of enviable prestige attached to its cast that makes its unassuming plot somehow richer. Taking place over the course of one evening, the story follows the various cliques in high school as they enjoy their last moment before entering "the real world" as it were. It's a 70's cavalcade on the soundtrack that paves the way for plenty of drinking and smoking among teenagers who have nothing better to do than loiter around and discuss very mundane yet ill-informed topics made all the more impressive by Linklater's capability to provide a certain authenticity to the conversation.
At times, the film itself feels like a raunchier spiritual sequel to American Graffiti with its ensemble cast and period appropriate style. However, it inevitably works on its own largely because it captures the essence of high school culture without having to set up a complicated plot. It's just an excuse to watch people talk to each other without a care in the world. The film points out the insecurities of growing up, and how if you don't - you're just a tragic figure. The film's major point, among its many highlights, is that it helped to launch Matthew McConaughey's career, also featuring his famous "All right, all right, all right" catchphrase that has appeared in more than a few of his movies.
Of course, it would be easy to spend this Alternative to What suggesting any Linklater movie. He's been consistently engaging and provocative with his unique style. However, the impact of Dazed and Confused is unmatched for him and definitely has the most in common with Everybody Wants Some!!'s carefree attitude. By the end, you don't only feel like you've experienced high school in the 70's, you somehow understand all of the characters and have gotten high on that amazing soundtrack of classic rock hits. While Linklater continued to play with style and music in the future, there's no denying that he hasn't done anything nearly this raucous since.
Which is what's so appealing about his latest. Maybe this is the return to the fast and loose style that made him a sensation in the 90's. With the reviews being positive and continuing his winning streak, calling this a spiritual sequel doesn't feel like an insult in the slightest. If nothing, it makes for yet another compelling companion piece for a director whose filmography somehow feels unified by some strange cosmos. While I'd recommend any of his work as a substitute for seeing Everybody Wants Some!!, it would only be appropriate to watch Dazed and Confused if you really want to prepare for the atmosphere you're likely to expect.
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