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Dazed and Confused is one of those movies that hasn't become a classic yet because not enough people have seen it. The fact that this film was made over 10 years ago still haunts me everytime I watch it because it makes me think about what an old man I've become. That doesn't stop me from watching this movie as if it were a weekly sitcom. I've told many people that this may be the most re-watchable movie ever made.

The plot of Dazed and Confused can best be described as loose - which is usually a bad thing, but for some reason it works here and makes the film very easy to watch. The story follows an incoming high school freshman named Mitch Kramer (Wiley Wiggins) and several soon-to-be high school seniors on the last day of school, May 28, 1976. Robert E. Lee High School in Austin, Texas has a tradition where incoming freshmen are hazed by the incoming seniors. For boys that means a viscious paddling by each senior male that can them down, and for girls it means public humiliation with the help of some ketchup and mustard.

The great part of the Dazed and Confused story is how Randy Floyd (Jason London) takes little Mitch Kramer under his wing and introduces him to the wild ways of the high school student. Mitch still has to take his paddling just like any other freshmen (even worse than most thanks to his senior sister, Jodi) but afterwards he gets to hang out with them on what has to be the hippist night of the year. Those nights after the last day of school were always the greatest, with the whole summer still ahead and no worries for the next few months. Having the movie take place on that night was a very key element to the mystique of this movie, and the one thing that really seperates it from the classic movie that everyone compares it to, American Graffiti.

The music in this movie can only be described as glorious. Even a deaf person could enjoy listening to all these greatest hits of the 70s. Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, and many others make the Dazed and Confused soundtrack one of the greatest ever. Unfortunately you won't find the song Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin. Despite all the appearances by hot Hollywood stars like Matthew McConaughey and Ben Affleck this movie was made on a surprisingly low budget, and they just couldn't afford to use every song they wanted. Nearly a quarter of the budget for this film was spent buying the rights to use all those classic hits.

There are dozens of scenes in this movie that depicts underage alcohol use (which means under 18, because this was 1976), and the reefer is passed around occassionally, but this movie really wasn't about all of that stuff. I think the worst thing about Dazed and Confused is its name. People see the name and they instantly relate it with movies like Half Baked and the Cheech and Chong trilogy. The only movie that Dazed really compares to is American Graffiti, and I believe D&C is the better movie. If you choose to follow the movie's tagline and "see it with a bud" make sure it's a friend and not dope. This movie is better than that. Chances are you'll watch it more than once, and only then will you discover how deep Dazed and Confused really is.

Rating: 9.5 out of 10 (the .5 that was deducted is the bone I'm throwing to everyone that complains about this movie not having a plot)