If You Loved Dazed and Confused...

Rachel
Jun 9
4 min read

Updated: Jun 9

When I was 14 years old my dad told me one of his favorite movies was Dazed and Confused. My first thought was: isn't that a song? And no, I was not thinking of Led Zeppelin's song, I was thinking of Ruel's song and I have no shame. It's really a great song but the nostalgia is going to kill me. Anyway, I wanted to see the movie my father said he liked so much, so I sat down and watched it. But even after that hour and forty minutes was up, it refused to leave my mind. Their straight-out-of-the-seventies outfits, the teenage angst, the sets that tied the whole aesthetic together. I always say the best movies are the ones you continue to think about for days or even weeks after watching. My dad and I no longer shared just our faces, but also our favorite movie.

It has been approximately seven years since I first watched Dazed and Confused, and I have since made it my life's mission to find and watch every movie that is similar enough to provoke the same effect the original had on me. I've combed through quite a few movies hoping for success, and found a few films I would recommend to anyone who loves Dazed and Confused. They are ranked below based on actual similarity and perceived similarity. The further down the list you go, the less similar they are in terms of plot, however they share other similarities like aesthetics, characters, how I felt after watching, or simply vibes.

Everybody Wants Some!!

Year: 2016

Director: Richard Linklater

Starring: Blake Jenner (very sorry), Glen Powell, Tyler Hoechlin (aka Derek Hale), Zoey Deutch

Description: In 1980 Texas, a college freshman meets his new baseball teammates, an unruly group of disco-dancing, skirt-chasing partyers, and they navigate their way through the freedom and responsibilities of unsupervised adulthood.

Why I Recommend: Richard Linklater, the director of both films, describes this movie as the "spiritual sequel" to Dazed and Confused. This perfectly describes how intertwined the films feel. They have the same energy, similar aesthetics, and are both hangout movies. Linklater is, after all, the king of hangout movies. This film is about as similar as it gets, earning it the number one spot on this list.

SubUrbia

Year: 1996

Director: Richard Linklater

Starring: Amie Carey, Giovanni Ribisi, Steve Zahn (aka Frank Heffley), Nicky Katt, Dina Spybey, Parker Posey, Jayce Bartok

Description: Five teen friends spend their time hanging out behind a convenience store in a sleepy Texas town. Through pointless discussions, the group descends into a self-perpetuating cycle of malaise. Their routine, however, brakes when Pony returns to town, forcing the group to question their desire to stay in the suburbs doing nothing with their lives.

Why I recommend: Again, this is another classic Linklater hangout film. The characters are lazy and relatable, defy authority, and smoke way too many cigarettes. It'll make you reconsider your life choices while simultaneously making you wish you didn't have a job.

Almost Famous

Year: 2000

Director: Cameron Crowe

Starring: Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Anna Paquin, Zooey Deschanel, Jason Lee

Description: A high-school boy in the early 1970s is given the chance to write a story for Rolling Stone magazine about an up-and-coming rock band as he accompanies them on their concert tour.

Why I Recommend: This is genuinely one of the greatest movies ever made. Regardless of its similarities, I believe everyone needs to see this movie. My last Letterboxd review of it states "this movie will forever change your life. I am this movie and this movie is me." Both movies take place in the 70s and similarly portray this in their cinematography. Just like Dazed and Confused, this movie will be the only thing on your mind for weeks after watching; just how it should be.

Empire Records

Year: 1995

Director: Allan Moyle

Starring: Liv Tyler, Renée Zellweger, Robin Tunney, Rory Cochrane, Johnny Whitworth, Ethan Embry, Anthony LaPaglia

Description: Twenty-four hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults thanks to each other and the manager. They all face the store joining a chain store with strict rules.

Why I Recommend: I would say this film has a bit more of a direct plot compared to one I would classify as a hangout movie, but it's not concrete. However, you get to watch a group of teenagers/young adults try to figure out their lives and work through their angst. In that way it's similar to Dazed and Confused. This one will have you looking up every record store in your area to see if they're hiring (they're not).

The Stöned Age

Year: 1994

Director: James Melkonian

Starring: Michael Kopelow, Bradford Tatum, Renee Griffin, Clifton Collins, Jr.

Description: A pair of '70s-era drug-befuddled buddies tries to cash in on the abundance of women at an unbelievable party.

Why I Recommend: This is yet another film I somehow discovered about drug-obsessed young adults. Need I say more? Well, I will. This movie is far stranger than Dazed and Confused and will leave you wondering what you just spent the last hour and a half watching. You may lose brain cells, but it's worth it for a good time. As you can see on the poster, it's "better than 'Dazed and Confused'" (this is not true).

I've decided to keep this list concise to make sure the films I chose didn't veer too far from Dazed and Confused. I have loads of other films that explore the indie hangout genre and will work on creating more lists to share those! I know what it's like to love a movie so much that you are willing to spend hours searching for another film that will make you feel how that one did. I would do anything to watch this one for the first time again, but unfortunately nobody has successfully built a time machine yet. I will probably make a part two to this blog post in the future as well; no stone goes unturned!