Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused by Melissa Maerz is look at what led up to the cult classic film Dazed and Confused getting made and how it became a cult classic. The film Dazed and Confused has been a favorite of mine for some time, I got introduced to it about 20 years ago by a roommate, and I have introduced this film to countless friends over the years. This is one of those movies that I will rewatch every year or so. It makes me laugh like no other, it’s like hanging out with my high school friends over and over and again. The book is very detailed and doesn’t shy away from controversies both on set and off. Over 3o crew members were interviewed and over 20 cast members, the most notable exceptions from the cast and crew are: Milla Jovovich and Shawn Andrews from the cast and Lee Daniel the Director of Photography (who worked on Richard Linklater’s 3 first films and early parts of Boyhood). This book had interviews and quotes from everyone else in the cast and crew. The story of the making of film is very David and Goliath-like as Writer/Director Richard Linklater battles the corporate entity that is Universal Studios, to make and independent minded movie. How the unsupervised cast partied their way through the shoot and each other. How much of the movie was improved. How Matthew McConaughey was cast and what he added to the character. Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused by Melissa Maerz was published in November 17th 2020 by Harper.

What I Learned from this book: How much of the cast hooked up with each other. How McConaughey was cast. How Milla Jovovich and Shawn Andrews were a couple, were very difficult and technically quit the movie then got married when she was 16. McConaughey got in the movie more because Shawn Andrews role was reduced to being difficult and kept drastically changing his acting in each take. How some scenes the cast was really high and really drunk. How much the studio interfered or tried to. How Linklater got permission to use Led Zeppelin songs from Roger Daugherty but could not because Robert Plant said no, but years later granted it for School of Rock. The studio fought to cut Mitch and Julie’s make out on the blanket, because it implied sex. Julie hated every minute of the make out scene. Hirschfelder got to pick which extra to make out with, he picked a girl he had a crush on from school. The real people Dazed and Confused was based on sued. The paddling scenes really caused bruises on some of the young actors. The story how McConaughey ad-libbed the famous “alright, alright, alright” lines.

What I Liked: Don Phillips. who cast Dazed and Confused and also Fast Times at Ridgemont High, tells the stories of how he discovered McConaughey and Sean Penn, which are both fantastic. I thought the cast process was really interesting, to learn all of the people who auditioned the movie. My favorite quote was: “Whether you were smart or dumb in high school, a popular kid or an outcast, you probably felt oppressed. That’s the defining experience of being a teenager, and it’s a feeling Linklater captures really well in Dazed and Confused.” I like that the stories and the emotions were real, there’s some apologies in the interviews for past behaviors.

What I Disliked: Milla did not get interviewed, I think it would have been very enlightening, she was the topic of some drama, it would be nice to get her side of it. I wanted a little bit more on how the screenplay was written.

Recommendation: If you are a fan of Dazed and Confused and want to know all the behind the scenes details. If you are an actor and want to know the process of the actor of Dazed and Confused go through. Directors can learn a lot of techniques and learn to stick up for their vision and their craft. I rated Alright, Alright, Alright: The Oral History of Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused by Melissa Maerz 5 out of 5 stars. This book is up their with Future Shock: the making of Blade Runner which I think is the best book on the making of a movie, this one is close.