Dazed and Confused (1993)

Before I knew much about this, I expected it to be a John Hughes piece. Then I learned that Richard Linklater was at the helm. As I read of the 1976 setting and the lack of a central focus, I realized it must be more like American Graffiti for the next generation. Fine by me; I much prefer AG to many modern teen comedies.

Summer vacation is just beginning for an Austin neighborhood. Some high school seniors, especially grade repeater Fred O'Bannion (early Ben Affleck), are fiercely hazing all the imminent freshmen they can find. But halfhearted hazer Randall "Pink" Floyd (Jason London) invites primary victim Mitch Kramer (Wiley Wiggins) to a night on the town with other late teens and one twenty-something, David Wooderson (Matthew McConaughey in his silver screen debut). All the while, Pink is putting off a pledge not to do drugs, which he must sign to be allowed to stay on the football team.

Boyhood (2014)

It finally came via Netflix, and boy (heh), am I relieved not to have seen it in a theater. Oh, I've sat thru longer movies without breaks and felt fine about them, but when the action takes place across 12 years with 143 scenes, not always clarifying the year, it sure feels longer than 2 hours and 45 minutes. A $2.4 million budget across that time won't get you much in the way of visuals, either. I started getting uncomfortable in my seat about half an hour in.

Not to say it bored me. I didn't find myself waiting for something great to happen. And yet...nothing great does happen. It's never especially funny, intense, heartwarming, or tragic. Like in same director Richard Linklater's Before trilogy, the apparent point is to keep everything credible -- pretty much the opposite of escapism. That's basically the whole advantage to the 12-year shoot: no fake aging and no anachronisms. IMDb trivia indicate that the makers threw in some personal elements from reality to boot. You can call it sweet; I just say, "That's all well and good, but how is it for art and entertainment?"