One night. That's all Richard Linklater needs to convince you that high school can be a magical, stressful, illuminating, insignificant, life-defining, dope, bummer of a time. Sometimes all at once. As with the other movies on this list, you'll notice Dazed shares an appreciation of and dedication to the seemingly inconsequential parts of the high school experience: getting high, drinking beer, pulling pranks, driving around aimlessly, scamming on chicks, getting into fights, and listening to sweet tunes. The cast is untouchable, the dialogue is natural (a rare feat in this genre), and each scene plays out with a casual assurance that really makes it feel like someone just followed a bunch of bored teens around with a camera all night. Plus, its philosophy about high school is spot on. And the entire teenage adventure boils down to that conversation between the jocks on the football field:
Pink: All I'm saying is that if I ever start referring to these as the best years of my life, remind me to kill myself.Dawson: Well, all I'm saying is that I want to look back and say that I did the best I could while I was stuck in this place. Had as much fun as I could while I was stuck in this place. Played as hard as I could while I was stuck in this place...Dogged as many girls as I could while I was stuck in this place.
That's the dichotomy of "surviving" high school in a nutshell.
