Remember The Daze

A film about graduating from high school in the year 1999 made in 2007. They were trying to capture the feeling of the well-known well-loved classic Dazed and Confused which chronicled various students on the last day of high school in 1976. Both films feature tons of underage drinking, illegal drugs and the pursuit of sex.

Remember The Daze was fun, there were a lot of actors whom I've seen in works since that it was entertaining for me to see them in this state. Hell, how often do I have the chance to watch Blair Waldorf tripping on shrooms, or that little boy from Holes beating the crap out of some preppy jerks?

Another thing that really stood out in this film was the editing. For a film to carry multiple characters and plots it's important for the editing to make it not feel like a mess. The editing did that here, the transitions were seamless and beautiful. Panning over the crowds at the parties to get to the next group or through various shots of each characters in their cars getting to where the action would be happening. On top of that the film had some great moments of clarity. It wanted to get to the real question, this taking place in 1999, what does the future hold for all these characters. It's the end of millennium, and having been around at that change I remember the whole world freaking out about the future. The characters touch on it briefly but it's passed off as a "I'm so high" type of conversation that you'll never bring up again.

While I did enjoy this movie a lot for many little things there was one really big thing missing for me. The 90s. This film is supposed to take place in 1999. I was around then, yes I was nine years old and not out partying at all hours celebrating graduating high school like the students in this film, but I remember how things were. Nothing about this movie felt like the 90s to me. It felt very much like a movie made in 2007. At one point Meredith Brooks' song "Bitch" is playing in the background and that brought me back to the fact that this was taking place in '99 not '07. Although that really couldn't have made a difference, I listened to that song just today and it's 2011.

That was my main problem with the movie, other than that it was good. Nothing fantastic, but a fun watch. It's currently streaming on netflix so if you're feeling a little nostalgic for the days of summer breaks with your best friends in the small town where you were up, then Remember The Daze is a one to watch.

Overall I give it *** and 1/2 stars.