L-I-V-I-N

By AARON MESH

Among the lessons taught by Richard Linklater in Dazed and Confused—the importance of specific locations, how much deeper nostalgia cuts when it isn't whitewashed, what Matthew McConaughey likes about high-school girls—the most trenchant in this era of slack improv is that stoner comedy doesn't have to be sloppy. This is a movie of laser-Floyd precision, each scene meandering to a specific purpose, like a symphony in 420 time. It has the ecstasy of youth: It feels like the filmmakers, like dopily wise Dawson, wanted to "look back and say that I did the best I could while I was stuck in this place." Academy.

  1. Best paired with: Laurelwood Tree Hugger Porter.
  2. Also showing: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Laurelhurst), Grease 2 (Bagdad, 9 pm Thursday, Aug. 18). 

WWeek 2015

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